Communication Technologies for Health Care Information Systems in Developing Countries

Wireless communication systems are considered a favourable information infrastructure for many developing countries, because they are easier and cheaper to introduce and to maintain, especially in remote and less developed areas. In this paper we present the application analysis of a distributed health care information system in Tanzania, and study which wireless communication technologies are suitable to implement it. We identify the main requirements of information systems’ communication in developing countries, and discuss to which extent they can be met by radio or satellite technology. The characteristics of current radio technology and future commercial satellite systems are analysed and matched against the specific requirements in developing countries. Furthermore, we argue that wireless information systems need to employ data replication, in order to cope with the limited bandwidth of wireless communication systems as well as to reduce communication costs and to provide the desired autonomy.