How Do Guatemalan Midwives and Smartphones Come Together?

A scarcity of infrastructure, a lack of resources for healthcare development or non-existent window opportunities for talented developers cement low-resource regions in their state for decades. The Medical Futurist argues that disruptive digital health innovations as technology transfers through collaborations are the safest and fastest way out. Cheap and creative solutions with low-key infrastructural needs embedded into the socio-economic background, just like the examples below. Leap instead of gradual development Technology transfer means the adaptation of best practices and technical know-how to an environment where the given technology has no roots and context. While in the original setting, that specific innovation was the result of organic development and those unique socio-economic conditions produced it, the technology to be transferred will constitute an alien solution in the new environment. Naturally, the process has its advantages and disadvantages in the scene where the given innovation will be adopted. It does not have to go through the experimentation, trial-and-error phase which usually follows the innovation cycle. There will be a ready-to-use technology to be adapted to the local environment. That means leaving out many stages of development and jumping from a probably underdeveloped status into futuristic, high-tech scenarios. On the other hand, it will be entirely alien to the receiving socio-economic conditions, and its rejection is more likely if there...
Source: The Medical Futurist - Category: Information Technology Authors: Tags: Future of Medicine Healthcare Design Portable Diagnostics Telemedicine & Smartphones asia digital health disruptive guatemala Innovation low resource medical mobile phone nepal south america technology transfer Source Type: blogs