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Introduction
More than 80 Pacific Island health-related professionals attended a four-day conference on telehealth in the Pacific, hosted by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community in Noumea, New Caledonia, from 30 November to 4 December 1998.
The meeting was jointly organised by two regional health networks operating throughout the Pacific: PACNET, an e-mail-based communication tool serving the Pacific Public Health Surveillance Network (PPHSN), and the Western Pacific HealthNet (WPHNet), the network established by the Pacific Basin Medical Association.
Participants from all over the Pacific region included representatives of Pacific Island health administrations, members of regional and international organisations (WHO, the United Nations Development Programme), representatives of universities including the University of Guam, Fiji School of Medicine, and representatives of private telecommunications companies. [Click here for a full list of participants]
The overall aim of the conference was to improve communication and networking within the health profession through the promotion and use of new information and communication technologies.
The stated goals of the conference were to:
- improve communication and networking between health-related professionals working in those countries and territories that are members of the PPHSN, as well as other health-related professionals allied to the PPHSN (ie in regional and international organisations, training and research institutions and aid donors);
- widen the range of relevant resources available for health development through the PPHSN, in the Pacific Islands; to improve their accessibility for health-related professionals and partners based in the Pacific Islands, and to promote appropriate human resource development to take advantage of these resources;
- promote and develop the accessibility and use of information and communication technology for the purpose of improving health services management and delivery in the PPHSN country and territory members, particularly in the fields of:
- prevention and control of outbreaks
- public health surveillance and disease control
- distance clinical, epidemiological and public health consultation
- distance education;
- facilitate discussions among PACNET and WPHNet members (users, moderators and sponsors) to identify the methods and steps required to enable the collaborating networks to deliver improved services in the above-mentioned specific fields.
Both regional health networks, PACNET and WPHNet, began operations in April 1997 and serve Pacific Island countries and territories which are members of the PPHSN. The networks are based on advanced information and communication technology, ie e-mail and Internet services, access to which is rapidly improving in the Pacific Islands. Both networks have the ultimate goal of sustainable development for Pacific Island health services and both consider telecommunication and distance education as top priorities and key strategies in that process.
Dr Yvan Souarès, Epidemiologist, Secretariat of the Pacific Community provided some details on the development of PACNET and reviewed the contribution of PACNET to cost-effective regional public health surveillance. [ Click here for Souarès abstract]
PACNET and WPHNet have experienced similar stages of development, encountering the same encouraging rapid growth and improvement in membership and efficiency, and are also currently facing similar bottlenecks in reaching out to more specific users and potential partners. The expense of the technology, especially for health professionals, and a lack of appropriate training are common barriers to their efficiency and to the expansion of their networking capabilities.
A considered and greater integration of PACNET and WPHNet membership within the framework of the PPHSN and a complementary planning and management of their respective resources, operations, and services, is seen as a way to strengthen both networks and to increase users’ benefits.
