Computer-mediated communication systems can be used to bridge the gap between
doctors in underserved regions with local shortages of medical expertise and
medical specialists worldwide. To this end, we describe the design of a
prototype remote consultation system intended to provide the social,
institutional and infrastructural context for sustained, self-organizing growth
of a globally-distributed Ghanaian medical community. The design is grounded in
an iterative design process that included two rounds of extended design
fieldwork throughout Ghana and draws on three key design principles (social
networks as a framework on which to build incentives within a self-organizing
network; optional and incremental integration with existing referral
mechanisms; and a weakly-connected, distributed architecture that allows for a
highly interactive, responsive system despite failures in connectivity). We
discuss initial experiences from an ongoing trial deployment in southern Ghana.Comment: 10 page