The Use of Technology in Improving Multidisciplinary Care in Low-Resource Settings

Abstract

BACKGROUND: A multidisciplinary team comprising providers from several specialties is needed for comprehensive cleft care. Although multidisciplinary cleft teams may be readily available in high-income countries, in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), there are often barriers preventing patients from accessing and receiving treatment from multidisciplinary teams. The purpose of this article is to discuss technology's role in facilitating the sustainability of multidisciplinary cleft care in low-resource settings. METHODS: A review of the current literature, observation of teams in LMICs, and the senior author's (P.D.) experience were used to determine the technological modalities available to facilitate multidisciplinary cleft care in low-resource settings. RESULTS: Three-dimensionally printed models, telemedicine, digital educational videos, virtual reality goggles, smart surgical glasses, and artificial intelligence have been demonstrated to benefit education, surgery, speech, and language pathology, and presurgical infant orthopedics, while also exhibiting the potential to benefit other specialties as technology and artificial intelligence continue to develop and advance. CONCLUSIONS: Generally, there is a shortage of appropriate multidisciplinary cleft care specialists in many LMICs to constitute traditional in-person teams. New teams will thus have to rely on remotely located specialists for their expertise. It is, therefore, inevitable that technology will play an increasingly important role in the future delivery of team-based comprehensive cleft care services.

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