Improving Access to Medical Technology in Developing Countries

By Ethan Bingemann.

Access to medical technology is a major issue across the world. According to WHO reports, half the world’s population goes without basic healthcare needs met. Many countries around the world do not have educated individuals or equipment to support their citizens’ healthcare needs. The UN has established universal health coverage as fundamental for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. For these goals to be achieved, healthcare must be made affordable and equitable for all.

In many countries, healthcare is only financially feasible if it is heavily commercialized due to costly required healthcare technology including vaccines, medicines, CT machines, X-ray machines, MRI machines and data storage systems. However, this commercialization often leads to prices that are too high for the average person to afford, making healthcare inaccessible to a large portion of the population.

Cybersecurity is also an issue when it comes to poorer hospitals and expanding use of medical technology. Safe medical information must be insured to all patients so that they can trust the care they receive. In 2021 alone there were nearly 200 cybersecurity attacks on hospitals across 30+ countries. These have highly destructive potential as they cause a fear of data security and could lead to lesser willingness to receive medical help.

However frustrating, this is not a problem that can be solved quickly. Medical infrastructure takes years to develop, and doctors who are needed to administer this technology must go through years of schooling in order to practice medicine and learn to operate these machines. The creation of medical tents and pop-up hospitals pushes medical development, but is far from an all-encompassing solution. These, when placed in areas lacking easy healthcare access, alleviate strain on public health systems by administering vaccines and helping with child births.

Machines and other medical equipment, as well as the expertise to operate them, provide a high barrier-of-entry for countries seeking to strengthen their public health sectors. Lack of funding for medical infrastructure also inhibits progress to improve healthcare. This can be partly mitigated by an expansion of telemedicine appointments. This allows experienced doctors with access to medical technologies to reach patients and offer their services until nations have infrastructure. Countries will also benefit from expanding internet access, as this will allow for more access to telemedicine.

Many countries also do not have the security systems required to store personal data about patients. As such, it is imperative to allocate sufficient funding towards developing multiple cybersecurity programs that could be distributed across nations to protect information in countries that do not have the ability to fund cybersecurity experts. Increasing access to medical education is also essential in the long run. Open collaboration with NGOs, including Doctors without Borders, International Medical Corps (IMC), the Red Cross, Center for International Health, and Corporation (CIHC) and Doctors of the World, can assist in achieving such initiatives.

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