A TeleMedicine Transfer Model for Sub-Saharan Africa

Given the documented benefits of telemedicine, especially in resource-constrained health-care contexts, we empirically examine the factors they contribute to successful transfer of telemedicine to Sub-Saharan Africa. The results indicate that policies specific to the advancement of ICT influence the country´s advancement in ICT infrastructure and telemedicine capabilities. Likewise, the level of ICT infrastructure and the nature of the country´s health services sector impact the telemedicine capabilities of that country. Additionally, telemedicine seems to be more valued in regions where resources for health-services provision are scarce, and its value tends to diminish as the resources become abundant. However, telemedicine seems unable to thrive where ICT infrastructure is scarce. This is an indication that the value of telemedicine to SSA is leveraged by leveraging ICT infrastructure in general and ICT for telemedicine, in particular.