Evaluation of the Efficiency of Telemedicine in the Management of Cardiovascular Diseases in Primary Healthcare in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Medico-Economic Study in Cameroon Georges BEDIANG a,1 , Chris Nadège NGANOU-GNINDJIO a , Yannick KAMGA b , Jean Serge NDONGO a , Fred-Cyrille GOETHE DOUALLA a , Cheick Oumar BAGAYOKO c and Samuel NKO'O a a Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Yaoundé I, Cameroon b Department for the Control of Disease, Epidemics and Pandemics, Ministry of Public Health, Cameroon c Faculté de Médecine, de Pharmacie et d'Odonto-Stomatologie, University of Bamako, Mali Abstract. Objective: To assess the efficiency of tele-expertise (tele-ECG) for patients and for health facilities in managing patients with cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) in primary health care in Cameroon. Method: This study was a medico- economic study combining two approaches: cost minimization and cost- effectiveness analysis. It was conducted alongside the previous published controlled multicenter study carried out in Cameroon's two health facilities where tele-ECG has been implemented (intervention centres) and two other where telemedicine has been not implemented (control centres). Results: The average total cost for patients was 9 286 F CFA (US$: 16) in the intervention centres compared to 28 357 F CFA (US$: 49) in the control centres (p <0.01). The calculated ICER favouring tele-ECG was 25 459.6 F CFA (US$: 44). Discussion: Telemedicine is efficient for managing patients with CVDs in primary health care in Cameroon. It enables health facilities in remote areas to offer new healthcare services at a lower cost and improve patients' financial access to healthcare. Keywords. Telemedicine, Efficiency, Cardiovascular Diseases, Cameroon, Sub- saharan Africa, Developing Countries, Low-middle Income Countries. 1. Introduction Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are one of the major causes of death in the world [1] and represent a significant economic burden on health care systems [2]. In Cameroon, their mortality rate is about 12% [3]. This high mortality rate can be explained by the difficult access (geographical and financial) to care and the lack of healthcare professionals, infrastructures and governance [4]. With the rapid development of digital health, telemedicine can strengthen the health system by offering new possibilities for 1 Corresponding Author, Georges BEDIANG, PO Box: 1364, Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé – Cameroon; E-mail: bediang@yahoo.com Challenges of Trustable AI and Added-Value on Health B. Séroussi et al. (Eds.) © 2022 European Federation for Medical Informatics (EFMI) and IOS Press. This article is published online with Open Access by IOS Press and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License 4.0 (CC BY-NC 4.0). doi:10.3233/SHTI220623 910