The MPESA Foundation has launched Daktari Smart, a telemedicine initiative in Lamu county, in partnership with Gertrude’s Hospital Foundation.
The program targets over 32,000 children in Lamu, Samburu, Homabay, Baringo Counties, and aims to reduce the number of referrals of sick children by giving county health facilities access to specialists. Two other counties will be brought on board in the next phase of this program.
It will also optimize the capacity and reach of healthcare delivery systems by helping bridge the gap of access to healthcare services in Lamu.
According to the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Board (KMPDB), the doctor to patient ratio currently stands at about one doctor for every 6,355 people. This leads to difficulties in getting access to a qualified medical professional, with the ratio increasing when it comes to specialists. The participating counties in the program either have one or no paediatrician to treat children.
Through the initiative, Doctors in Lamu County will thus be able to connect with their counterparts at Gertrude’s Children’s Hospital for specialist medical advice. This is in a bid to reduce patient referrals, save on costs, and increase prompt treatments.
The MPESA Foundation committed over Ksh. 168 million towards the initiative while Gertrude’s Hospital Foundation will invest over Ksh. 35 million in the next 3 years.
Daktari Smart will also have 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 in real-time without the interpretation from the health worker at the local facility.
“Patients in this county have been referred as far as Mombasa County and sometimes it’s too little, too late. And this is what Daktari Smart seeks to address,” said Karen Basiye, Head of Sustainable Business and Social Impact, Safaricom, in Lamu County during the launch.