USSD technology a low cost asset in complementing public health workers’ work processes

Abstract

Lowering costs and easy access to health information is important to public healthcare workers (PHWs) and patients who are both offline and online to improve equitable access to healthcare information. Harnessing mobile health (mHealth) improves the quality of and access to healthcare services in low income countries in which residents are remotely dispersed and have limitations in accessing the internet. Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) technology has been used to perform mobile money transactions through Ecocash, Telecash and Onewallet services but there is little use of the technology for clinical data repositories (CDRs). USSD codes facility is a cross-platform mobile handset support solution which allows the health services providers and patients to interact almost anywhere and at anytime. MHealth implementation through platforms such as EconetHealth m rely focuses on health tips and there is need for emphasis on linking CDRs with USSD technology.