I have been a strict proponent of increasing use of eHealth tools to ensure democratization of better quality health services, best quality healthcare and paperless clean environment for ALL.

Availability of a skilled workforce is definitely one very obvious obstacle in countries like India and Brazil.One of the challenges to implementing health information and communication technology is the need for a skilled workforce that understands health care, information and communication technology, and the people and organizational challenges involved. The intersection of these areas is commonly known as the discipline of biomedical and health informatics (or health informatics for short)

This paper explains the need for skilled and trained professionals for better utilization of information technology and the various peculiarities faced in Developing countries.

E-health and m-health applications hold vast promise to improve global health. As these projects develop, leaders need to be cognizant of the need for a well-trained workforce to lead their implementation. An ideal approach will include needs assessment as well as education and training opportunities for that workforce. Successful local examples can be expanded into larger networks whose scale can be leveraged to more rapidly and effectively disseminate them. Such an approach should also foster the establishment of academic partnerships and centers of excellence in education and research in developing countries for sustainable capacity building while still being responsive to local needs

Read the original article on Health Affairs.