A new breed of tech-driven healthcare innovators is upending the local healthcare system in developing nations like Nigeria by offering other ways to expand access and shifting the focus away from a hospital-centric treatment model.
One such company, Famasi Africa, has integrated a number of testing and telemedicine services into their medicine management platform in an effort to deliver healthcare in several ways.
Users of the Famasi service have a variety of plans to choose from depending on their individual healthcare requirements, such as wellness plans and plans for chronic diseases including diabetes, hypertension, and others.
Patients receive free, round-the-clock access to online healthcare teams that are experts in their particular ailments in addition to receiving medications delivered right to their front door. Additionally, Famasi provides cheap consultations and may schedule at-home tests for patients at their convenience thanks to a collaboration with the Nigerian healthtech platform Healthtracka.
Healthtracka enables Nigerians to order tests for infectious diseases and other crucial health indicators without having to travel to a hospital or clinic by utilising its network of mobile phlebotomists. Instead, tests are performed at the patient’s home, and then the sample is sent to a nearby lab for analysis. The patient then receives their results via email.
HealthTechs Put Payments First
Famasi is committed to assisting Nigerians in paying for their medications in a way that works for them, in addition to collaborating with neighbourhood pharmacies and testing organisations like Healthtracka. Subscribers can use a split payment plan or credit to buy drugs from the company and pay for them later. Adeola Ayoola, the CEO of the business, told Nairametrics that Famasi will also make an effort to coordinate patients’ prescription refill appointments with their individual financial cycles.
Famasi Africa has always used technology to make the patient experience more seamless, from booking appointments to making payments. However, when Ayoola and her co-founder first established the business, there was no specific staff of engineers working on the Famasi website. Famasi instead used Flutterwave’s online store builder as a simple way to bring the firm online, as she stated in an interview.
Since then, Flutterwave has established itself as a crucial business partner and has assisted the startup in managing online payments. Through a special international payment system, it has even made it simple for patients’ relatives living abroad to conveniently pay for medications in their preferred currency.
While Famasi works to make it easier for patients to get their medications, Crib MD, a different Nigerian company, combines pharmacy services with basic healthcare delivery.
With one of its insurance flexible coverage plans, Crib MD, a full-stack healthcare platform, offers a telemedicine solution, in-home doctor visits, and an online pharmacy service.
Just a year after its start, Crib MD acquired retail pharmaceutical company Charisland Pharmaceuticals, which provides quick drug delivery services throughout Nigeria. This acquisition highlights the growing significance of digital-first businesses in the Nigerian healthcare market.
Collaborations between many players, including hospitals, pharmacies, tech companies, and distribution services, will become more significant as Nigeria’s at-home healthcare movement gains prominence.
At-home services appear destined to continue reshaping Africa’s healthcare systems, with companies like Famasi, Healthtracka, and Crib MD all declaring publicly their ambition to grow into new African markets.
