eHealth and COVID-19
3 Digital Transformation Priorities for Healthcare Organisations in Africa
South Africa’s healthcare sector has conducted roughly four million COVID-19 tests with around 650 000 positive cases identified. While infection rates continue to climb in much of the developed and developing world, stringent measures to contain the coronavirus in South Africa have helped flatten the curve to the point where most normal economic activity can resume. While public efforts at hygiene and social distancing have certainly contributed greatly to the decline in daily case numbers, it’s undoubtedly the tireless work of the healthcare sector that has helped the country get through the greatest public health challenge in a century. Efforts to treat infected patients were complicated by a prevailing shortage of medical staff. The World Bank estimates South Africa has only 0.9 medica...
Why Cybersecurity is Critical for the Healthcare Industry
Sourced from Getty Images. Healthcare institutions, particularly hospitals, have long been a tempting target for cybercriminals. These institutions hold massive amounts of extremely sensitive and personal data that can be exploited in various cyberattacks. Moreover, with healthcare receiving more funding and grants due to COVID-19, it’s become a (perceived) easy target. The reality is that within healthcare’s IT systems lie critical patient information such as ID numbers, credit card and banking details and other highly sensitive data such as patients’ HIV status that can be used to cause considerable damage. An ID number alone can fetch quite a price on the black market which is why the global healthcare system must stay ultra-vigilant and mitigate any damage and potential liability. Curr...
