On Aug. 19, 2015, health care and technology executives will gather at the Protea Fire & Ice Hotel in Melrose Arch, Johannesburg. The agenda of this meeting is to discuss the upcoming African Innovator Round Tables: Health Care Innovation Summit.

The summit will address the theme, “Transforming Health Care with Technology.” Africa is lagging behind poor countries in South East Asia in all indicators of health. When measured a few decades ago, Africa was ahead of these Asian countries.

The change in health care is a necessity for Africa. On average, Africans live 14 years less than the average world citizen and 21 years less than the average European citizen.

All of Africa is not blighted by the lack of health care. There are some sporadic success stories. These success stories are made possible by multilateral institutions, governments, private firms or non-governmental organizations.

Although there are some success stories, all of Africa needs more assistance. Lack of skills, access to facilities and medication, and chronic disease care continue to place high demands on the existing health care resources in Africa.

Economic instability pushes governments to reconsider health care budgets and the adoption of new technology. While health care budgets are being decreased, there is a growing expectation of safety, access and enhanced patient experiences.

These high demands cannot continue to be met unless there are some changes. “In order to address these challenges, African governments and health care providers must turn to technology innovation especially in the areas of mobility, clinical decision support, patient management systems and data analysis and business intelligence for health care resource planning,” according to the African Innovator Magazine.

Moreover, “At the Healthcare Innovation Summit, delegates will have the opportunity to take part in in-depth round table discussions, which will cover technological issues that affect the development of health care in Africa, as well as hear from a number of top-flight local and international speakers.”

The summit is hoping to attract guests such as innovation officers in health care facilities, chief information officers in the health care industry, chief medical officers, technology service providers, academics, advocacy groups and health care press.

Topics discussed will include:
– Unleashing the potential of applications and wireless devices in health care
– Investing in data integration and software integration
– Addressing the challenges of fragmented information in health care
– Embracing new technology
– Finding the next biggest opportunity for health care in Africa

Conference Information

Date: Aug. 19, 2015
Delegate Fee: 950 Euros
Group Discounts:
-3 or more delegates – 5 percent discount per delegate
-5 or more delegates – 10 percent discount per delegate

The Healthcare Innovation Summit registration fee includes entry into all round table sessions, networking sessions, all conference documents, delegate bags, corporate gifts, USB sticks, light lunch and refreshments.

– Kerri Szulak

Sources: African Innovator, IT News Africa
Photo: IT News Africa