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As the internet revolutionizes many aspects of our lives, it is no surprise how it is also influencing the way people perceive health care and their relationship with the medical establishment. In Kenya people are discovering how the internet can become a tool for gaining healthcare information and more. |
As the internet revolutionizes many aspects of our lives, it is no surprise how it is also influencing the way people perceive health care and their relationship with the medical establishment. In Kenya people are discovering how the internet can become a tool for gaining healthcare information and more.
"An increasing number of our patients are coming to the doctor after reading about their cases over the internet. They ask several questions from what they have read," says Professor Revathi Gunturu, a consultant clinical microbiologist at the department of pathology, the Agha Khan University Hospital (AKUH).
While some might think that online medical information might be acting as a substitute for visiting the clinic especially with rising costs, professionals like Gunturu feel that this is rather not the case.
"The fact that the cost of healthcare is sky high in Kenya is never in doubt. But I don't see how this has influenced the use of the net by either the patient or the doctor," she observes.
She explains that all educative or self-help websites direct the client to the doctor in the end. And as such, she adds that the internet poses no threat to the existing healthcare system.
"Freely available high speed internet did nothing like that in the USA or Canada for one thing. So why should Kenya be any different?" she poses.
Purchasing Medicine Online
There is also controversy about purchasing medicine through the internet, and how safe it could be.
Dr. Nicoleta Mungai, also known as the Kenyan online doctor, runs an online pharmacy website which has been in existence for the past year. She concurs with Gunturu that the unprecedented use of the internet is not so much a result of the high cost of medical care. According to her, people are turning to the internet for healthcare information primarily for convenience purposes.
"This is happening because most of my clients want a quick service. They want a service where they can visit a doctor and get someone to purchase drugs for them. That is our work," she says.
The website provides a range of services which include home care nursing services, elderly care services, in addition to the purchasing of drugs for their clients.
Even though experts in the medical field have hailed the internet as a useful tool in health, some are voicing reservations when it comes to how the online medical service is regulated. Many maintain that supervision of the internet remains lax at best and that this kind of service is open to abuse, which might endanger people's lives.
"As we are speaking, there are no laws in place to supervise medical information and services accessed through the internet," says Dr. Kipkerich Koskei, the country's chief pharmacist who is also the registrar of the Pharmacy and Poisons Board (PPB).
Since laws regulating the use of the internet are yet to be formulated, Koskei maintains that the existing physical health facilities are the only ones recognized by law to give any information or service on health matters. He says that other people offering these services over the internet are doing so illegally.
Matters touching on people's health is a very sensitive subject in the country. Many choose to tread very carefully when dealing with it. And despite the fact that the position of the government is clear on the issue, Mungai however is quick to assure the public of the safety nature of its web-based services. She says that they have taken the necessary precautionary measures to protect their clients.
"We request to see a prescription from the client's doctor before purchasing drugs on their behalf," she says.
Doctors Also Benefit
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| "This century will be driven by Information Technology the same way the Nineteenth and Twenteeth centuries were driven by the railway and the motorcar respectively." |
According to Dr. Frank Njega, who is a well known psychologist, people should choose their sources of information on the internet with care and should avoid sensational websites.
"The use of the internet is good as it helps patients discuss with their doctors from a position of knowledge. The doctor must always examine the patient before administering treatment," says Njenga and insists that the internet is not a substitute for seeing a doctor.
Despite the fact that the use of the internet for health reasons is catching on fast with the public, Gunturu says that the internet is yet to gain a universal appeal in the country. As far as she is concerned, this trend is proportional to the economic level of people.
"High speed net and more information at quicker speed is easily available and accessible to high income groups as opposed to other people," she says.
Gunturu adds that almost all patients of European descent seem to read on the net before consulting a physician, while high income indigenous Kenyans comes a close second.
Whereas the debate on the pros and cons of the internet will go on and on, experts contend that the advantages by far outweighs the disadvantages.
They give examples of specialists advising doctors in distant hospitals on how to manage difficult cases, of pathologists examining slides and discussing results with colleagues across the globe though the internet. In addition they say that virtual libraries are invaluable sources for all fields of learning.
"Thousands of journals are available for my residents on the net which is unbelievable. Internet is the most amazing human achievements," says Gunturu.
Njenga agrees. He says: "Kenyans like other people in the world have embraced technology rapidly. This century will be driven by Information Technology the same way the Nineteenth and Twenteeth centuries were driven by the railway and the motorcar respectively."
Gunturu adds that e-medicine has revolutionized medical treatments and accessibility to specialist care in other some countries. She says this can only be a positive development.
"The fact that a cardiologist or radiologist can sit at his computer in a city hundreds of kilometers away in a rural clinic and diagnoses and treats patients without moving from their chair is a truly fantastic thing," says Gunturu.
Gunturu adds that e-medicine has revolutionized medical treatments and accessibility to specialist care in other countries. She says this can only be a positive development.
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