At least 9,500 patients have received specialized care through Daktari Smart, a telemedicine programme by M-Pesa Foundation and Gertrude’s Hospital Foundation. The programme is being implemented Baringo, Homabay, Lamu, and Samburu Counties since late 2021 and was recently launched in Narok this year.
In addition, through M-Pesa Foundation’s medical camps held in 12 counties, 20,000 people had been onboarded on Zuri Health’s platform for virtual medical consultations and follow ups. On the platform, patients are linked to doctors through SMS and WhatsApp where their conditions are closely monitored for up to six months after a medical camp. The service allows users to add up to three dependents who also receive free medical advice from doctors.
This was established in a forum where the Foundation and its partners gathered to mark World Health Day and take stock of how health can be transformed through technology.
“Over the coming years, we want to scale the use of technology and expand the use of telemedicine in other counties. This forum was an opportunity to strengthen our existing partnerships and explore new opportunities that we can leverage technology to expand access to healthcare,” said Karen Basiye, Executive Director, M-Pesa Foundation.
Partners present at the forum included the Ministry of Health, Gertrude’s Hospital, Safaricom Foundation, Gertude’s Hospital Foundation, Zuri Health, Amref, Flying Doctors Society of Africa, Savannah Informatics, Vodafone Foundation, and The Maa Trust, among others.
Daktari Smart is a kit that compromises electronic medical devices such as the Electronic Stethoscope, Vital Signs Monitor, Derma scope Camera, Ultrasound Machine, Otoscope (examine the condition of the ear canal and eardrum) and the electrocardiogram (ECG) used to check the heart’s rhythm and electrical activity.
Unlike the conventional video conferencing, Daktari Smart allows the health care worker at the local partner health facilities, to place the electronic medical devices such as a stethoscope or vital signs monitor on the patient. The specialist at Gertrude’s Children’s Hospital is then able to see the patient and hear the sounds real time without the interpretation from the health worker at the local facility.