Free Education for Social Good: Nonprofit Started by UCSF Radiologists and Stanford Medicine Co-Founders Honored with Tech Startup Silver Stevie Award
Over half the world’s population lacks access to basic health services, according to the World Health Organization and World Bank. Bhavya Rehani, MD, assistant professor in residence at the UC San Francisco Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, saw this firsthand as a child while visiting her grandparents in their small village in India.
Inspired by her grandparent’s legacy of kindness and helping others, a tradition passed on through her father and then to her, Dr. Rehani volunteered and travelled extensively during medical school and residency. She wanted to create sustainable solutions in decreasing health disparities worldwide using free technology and education solutions which was the inspiration behind the creation of Health4theworld.
Dr. Rehani came to UCSF in 2014. Here, she met world-renowned neuroradiologist William Dillon, MD, professor and executive vice-chair of the UCSF Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging. The pair, along with Dr. Rehani’s husband, Ankur Bharija, MD, director of inpatient geriatrics and faculty at Stanford Medicine started working on training medical professionals online, and from this came Health4TheWorld.org.
Health4theworld uses innovative technology for social good including machine learning, virtual reality and mobile health. Apart from this, the team is developing an online free education platform for medical professionals that will be launched soon. Teaching modules created by volunteer leading medical experts in the United States cover a wide range of topics that are directed at health professionals in developing countries. Courses are now offered in cardiology, emergency medicine, gastroenterology, geriatric medicine, neurology, obstetrics & gynecology, palliative medicine, pediatrics, physical medicine & rehabilitation, pulmonology, radiology and surgery. Health4theworld has a stellar team of more than 100 volunteers and leading health experts as well as a luminary advisory board in health and technology. In one year, it has already expanded to 22 countries.
Health4TheWorld was recently honored with the Tech Startup of the Year Silver Stevie Award 2018 from the American Business Awards. The Stevie® Awards are the world's premier business awards. They were created in 2002 to honor and generate public recognition of the achievements and positive contributions of organizations and working professionals worldwide. In short order the Stevie has become one of the world's most coveted prizes.
Health4TheWorld seeks to create the largest online education platform to educate doctors, nurses, healthcare workers, and allied healthcare professionals in low-resource settings.
Learn more about the Health4TheWorld team and their work.