Growing up in India, Bhavya Rehani, MD, saw firsthand the effect that poor access to health care can have.
“When my grandfather had a stroke, he didn’t have access to the doctors and therapists he needed,” she remembers. “This experience opened my eyes to the pain and suffering that can arise due to a lack of access to health care.”
Rehani
Inspired to find a solution and give back, Dr. Rehani went on to co-found the award-winning Health4theWorld. The non-profit organization uses the principles of selfless service, education and new technologies to provide health care to low resource areas and underprivileged communities globally.
Today, the organization has outreach in 110 countries, Dr. Rehani reported during her Annual Oration in Diagnostic Radiology delivered on Tuesday. She shared some of her experiences and the lessons she learned over the course of her 20 years working in global health in her lecture, “Building a Better Future for the Global Radiology Community—Selfless Service, Innovative Technologies and Online Radiology Education for COVID-19 and Beyond.”
Access Starts with Education
The World Health Organization estimates that more than half of the world has little to no access to radiology. According to Dr. Rehani, at the root of this problem is a lack of education. “I’ve talked with radiologists from around the world and the message is always the same – access starts with education and training,” she said.
To illustrate, Dr. Rehani points to countries like Chad, which doesn’t even have a single radiology residency program, and Zambia and Rwanda, countries that have only one radiology residency program each. Similar patterns can be seen in Latin America and Asia too.
“As you can imagine, providing training in these countries with too few residencies and fellowship programs has the potential to impact the lives of millions of people,” Dr. Rehani remarked.
Dr. Rehani noted that the challenge of access isn’t something confined to foreign countries. “There are rural parts of the U.S., including the Navajo Nation, that lack ready access to quality health care,” she added. “This should drive home the point that global health is not about helping people outside the U.S., but about helping people wherever there is low access to health care.”
Leveraging the Power of Technology
Because it would be simply impossible to provide hands-on training in all countries around the world, Health4theWorld instead leverages the growing power of technology – particularly online education. The organization works with volunteer radiologists in the U.S. who teach lessons to radiologists and residents abroad. These lessons, which include multi-disciplinary options and are free of cost, are both broadcasted live and made available for viewing via YouTube and at www.health4theworld.org.
“Following one of our trainings with Ecuador, the local doctors were able to diagnose mesial temporal sclerosis in a child,” Dr. Rehani said. “This is one of the best examples of the impact that education can have.”
Health4theWorld has also developed a number of other cutting-edge technologies for both remote learning and patient care. “Through learning management systems, mobile health, virtual realty and artificial intelligence, we’re transcending borders, reaching remote communities, and redefining health care,” Dr. Rehani added.
Help Spread a Message of Hope
To date, over 150 professors have provided more than 250 live workshops and 500 recorded lessons to users around the world. According to Health4theWorld, this work has contributed to a 70% score improvement in course participants – and they have no intentions of stopping.
“Our goal is to ensure every physician has access to free, reliable online education no matter which part of the world they are in,” Dr. Rehani said. “But to achieve this goal, we must work together as a global radiology community.”
To become active in this community, Dr. Rehani encourages radiologists to consider volunteering to teach online, mentoring an international resident, collaborating on futuristic technology projects, or donating PPE through various nonprofits.
“Most importantly, you can spread a message of hope,” she concluded. “It’s been a tough year, but by coming together as a global community, everyone will emerge all the stronger.”
