According to reports, over the next decade people will start diagnosing themselves using mobile phones, which could make doctors redundant.
A project called the Econet Disease Surveillance Network is under development. It is similar to the Energise project. Neither project was developed to generate income; their purpose is the welfare of communities.
The main aim of disruptive innovation is to replace an expensive structure with an inexpensive one, so that services can be provided to excluded sections of the population. According to disruptive innovation theory, there are three levels of solving a problem in healthcare. The first level is problem-solving by trial and error.
For example, a doctor can run many tests to diagnose a health condition. This costs a lot of money, so at the problem-solving level, the cost of health services is relatively high. The second level is pattern recognition. This level involves trained technicians conducting tests and comparing the results against established standards. It means the problem is diagnosed within a few minutes.
At the pattern-recognition level, the cost of health services is lower because of lower opportunity costs. This level also includes routine diagnoses, which can be carried out by a less skilled person. Typically, it involves the use of common test kits such as paper-based diagnostic tests.