E-health

ITU Telemedicine Expert Training Course — Tokai University of Japan leads the way

ITU has established long-term partnerships with the World Health Organization (WHO) and many research institutions following the World Telecommunication Development Conferences in Buenos Aires in 1994 and in Valletta in 1998.

On 7 February 2002, Professor Kiyoshi Kurokawa, Director of Tokai University Institute of Medical Sciences, announced the opening of an ITU Telemedicine Expert Training Course at Shonan Campus located in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa, some 60 km from Tokyo. This new initiative was greeted with applause from Katsuhiko Sato, Director of International Organization Office, International Affairs Department, Telecommunications Bureau, Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications; Masato Shinagawa, President of the ITU Association of Japan Inc.; and Marcel Duret, Ambassador of the Republic of Haiti to Japan; who witnessed the opening ceremony.

Tokai University Medical Research Institute, with its world-renowned achievements in both clinical and research fields, has been an active promoter of telemedicine in developing countries. The Institute is also a robust developer of advanced telemedicine technologies based on satellite and wireless communications. As a centre of excellence in research, the Institute has successfully implemented a number of telemedicine projects across the Asia-Pacific region.

In recent years, ITU has implemented a number of telemedicine pilot projects in developing countries to gain experience and identify suitable technologies and models for large-scale deployment. Human resources training is singled out as a key factor in the successful implementation of telemedicine projects.

At a meeting of Study Group 2 of the ITU Telecommunication Development Sector (ITU–D) held in Caracas (Venezuela) in September 2001, Dr Isao Nakajima, the Co-Rapporteur of an ITU–D study Question on telemedicine, proposed that an e-health Expert Training Course be hosted at Tokai University Institute of Medical Sciences. The proposal was adopted unanimously. Dr Nakajima is also Assistant Professor at the Tokai University Institute of Medical Sciences. This is the first attempt in the world to offer specialized training opportunities on telemedicine and e-health for health care workers from developing countries.

The e-health Expert Training Course (http://www.tsj.gr.jp) offers two programmes: a post-doctoral training programme involving a research study for six to twelve months, and a short-term training programme. The new venture has already attracted attention not only in Japan, but also from a number of other countries. Researchers from Bhutan, Haiti and Indonesia are among the first attendants in the post-doctoral training course.

ITU has implemented telemedicine projects in Bhutan, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Georgia, Kenya, Malta, Mozambique, Myanmar, Senegal, Uganda and Venezuela. The groundbreaking telemedicine pilot project in Uganda is already extending the reach of health services to isolated rural areas. Using an integrated services digital network (ISDN) point-to-point link connecting a hospital in downtown Kampala with a teaching hospital, doctors in both clinics, along with other specialists connected to the system via the Internet, can exchange information on patient diagnoses and treatment in a range of areas.