Redefining Pediatric Health In Southern Africa Through Technology And Innovation
The Sub-Saharan region has been plagued by a number of adverse socio - economic factors such as numerous epidemics, famine, civil unrest and stagnating industry. This press release seeks to introduce Med-eSmart an mHealth company looking to alleviate the challenges children in Southern Africa face in accessing health care.
- (1888PressRelease) July 24, 2016 - JOHANNESBURG, SA - Med-eSmart is a concept centered around a mobile app that will allow children from marginalized communities access to affordable Medicare. The platform is set to launch in January - 2017, after a 4 month research and development period. Though the pilot project will commence in Johannesburg South Africa, the medium / long term outlook is to expand to neighboring countries h Zimbabwe, Zambia and Mozambique. Through this press release, the hope is to raise awareness about the Med-eSmart initiative and hopefully garner support for its current Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign.
About 29,000 children under the age of five die every day, mainly from preventable diseases, and of these, Sub - Saharan Africa has the highest rates. Most of these mortalities are as a result of poor access to medical care.
The Med-eSmart objective is to bring high quality, affordable doctor's consultations and referrals to low income households. In the region, most of the best quality medical facilities are private hospitals.
Access to private medical facilities is mainly met through medical insurance programs. These however, are quite expensive for the average household. In beleaguered states such as Zimbabwe, this industry has all but collapsed.
Given the high penetration rate of mobile phones in the catchment, Med-eSmart could prove to be an effective and viable answer to these health woes. It is estimated that by the year 2020, there will be 525 million Smartphone users in Sub - Saharan Africa.
Leveraging on the well established telecoms infrastructure and relatively stable economy in South Africa, Med-eSmart is set to provide dependable and speedy access to pediatricians and general practitioners to the marginalized and most needy part of that society.
To effectively deliver this service, Med-eSmart will offer real time, virtual doctor's consultations. Users will also be able to make use of a store and go portal, sending pictures and / or text describing symptoms for swift diagnosis, advice or referral. An ePrescribing feature as well as medical shuttle vehicles will complement the diagnostic decision support framework.
The platform is best suited for low - acuity type conditions such as diarrhea, colds, bladder infections, acute bronchitis, cough, sinusitis, acute pharyngitis, acute cystitis and urinary tract infections.
Med-eSmart will benefit users in that they will avoid taxing travel costs, high doctors' consultation rates, and a general improvement in health outcomes in the region. The fact that it will be possible to treat children in the comfort and familiarity of their homes is an added bonus.
Med-eSmart aspires to reach as many interested parties as possible in the crowdfunding campaign and raise enough capital to get the pilot program off the ground. The campaign is being hosted on Indiegogo at:
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/med-esmart-a-doctor-for-every-child--2/x/11785112#/
To learn more, please call Tatenda on +27 84 069 9689 or email: john ( @ ) dzimbahwe dot co.za
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