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eHealth News and Analysis - free to your inbox The Green Report analyses the initiatives, trends and politics in e-health care in South Africa. With its finger on the pulse of developments in the industry the Report brings you timely information and analysis to assist you in your business life. You can make your thoughts and opinions heard through The Green Report by e-mailing the editor, Dr David Green (david@green.za.net) To stop receiving The Green Report e-mail report-unsubscribe@green.za.net This month's stories: iAfrica's health community undergoes a shift in strategy iAfrica's health community seemed to be on the verge of closing down with months of minimal to no action on the site. Now the site seems to have been substantially trimmed down with a new focus on answering readers' questions. A quick look around other South African health web sites suggests that this Q&A format is unique. Whilst some sites do indicate that they answer questions online, a daily check on the sites over the last ten days indicated no new answers posted in that time. So, it looks like it is a unique area to focus on for iAfrica - but is it what readers want? iAfrica reports that they are inundated with questions and from their perspective this is the way to go. In addition, they provide a range of skills to answer the range of incoming questions. These skills extend into the grey areas that may not be health care (e.g. Love and Sex) right through to advice on buying a second hand car. It is too early to predict if this strategy shift will yield the growth in revenues that their recent reported losses suggest that they need, but it definitely has potential. Have your say - click here to contact The Green Report -sponsor's message- Bluebird transfers clinical information rapidly and confidentially and then manages that information in your rooms. It will be the standard mode of communication between doctors. Bluebird was launched just five months ago and already over 1000 doctors have joined the network. Bluebird's powerful functions save you time, so sign up now for free software and free support. -end sponsor's message- For some years The Green Report (TGR) has received a weekly newsletter from Medisource, which describes itself as "The Internet Portal for the Medical Device and Technology Industry". Some time after Medisource started along came Medafrica.com. Big money, big fanfare, big staff and all the right credentials. It certainly seemed that Medisource would wither or at least be consumed by the behemoth. The situation now? Well, Medafrica has come and gone and TGR continues to receive the weekly newsletters from Medisource. Perhaps the lesson in this for e-commerce initiatives in health in South Africa is that doing the right things, properly, is what counts. Sure money, personnel and other resources can catapult you to the top, but they will not if you are not serving the needs of your online community. That bit is easy - finding out what your community's needs are is the hard part! Have your say - click here to contact The Green Report Hypertensive patients often forget to take their medication Most people on anti-hypertensive medication don't feel sick. Remembering to take medication on a daily basis under these circumstances is difficult, if not impossible. Patients who would benefit from a daily reminder can be enrolled to receive a daily SMS message to prompt them to take their medication. Fill in this form This service is free to your patients. The service is sponsored by HealthBridge who provide a real-time patient validation and claims submission system. Healthbridge allows practitioners direct access to the processing systems of the medical aids with an immediate response, resulting in faster payment (14 days from date of service to date of payment) a reduction in bad debt, and reduced administration. |
