Tanzanian startup LyfPlus is offering affordable and convenient telemedicine services through its proprietary platform, working with specialist doctors and health facilities. And the whole idea comes from the personal experiences of founder William Mduma.
“After my mother had suffered permanent disability as a result of late medical intervention as well as other horrific experiences, we determined the context of the problem and the consequences it causes to people,” Mduma told Disrupt Africa.
“Because of a low number of healthcare professionals per unit population in the country, hospitals are overwhelmed by patient numbers, whereby the setting is usually characterised by long queues and large crowds of patients in health facilities.”
This causes patients to spend 5-7 days to book doctor appointments and wait 6-8 hours longer during the actual appointment days.
“Additionally, regional disparities where most specialist services are offered by referral hospitals in big cities, causes patients to travel an average distance of 80 kilometres to access those services,” Mduma said.
Solving the problem, the LyfPlus mobile and web platform integrates virtual physician consultation, medical testing and e-prescription, allowing patients to access essential health services instantly and conveniently.
“Offering teleconsultation and medical testing services allows us to provide continuity of care to patients throughout their ailment, which patients find better value in over single session appointments as it brings better health outcomes,” Mduma said.
Launched in 2019, LyfPlus has so far onboarded around 200 specialist doctors and 40 health facilities across Tanzania.
“With us, patients spend less than four minutes to book specialist appointments virtually, and spend US$20 less the cost of physician consultation. Pregnant women receive continuity of obstetric care throughout their pregnancy and remote patient monitoring allows chronic ill patients to access timely care affordably. Improved intervention time allows quicker detection of conditions and prevents complications, resulting into better patient health outcomes,” said Mduma.
“As far as proof of concept, we’ve validated the market and have designed a fit solution that meets the needs of the patients. With the number of specialist doctors we’ve onboarded and the health facilities we’ve partnered with, we are facilitating more than 600 appointments monthly.”
The startup, which was recently one of 10 selected for the latest Startupbootcamp AfriTech ASIP accelerator, has secured a total of US$80,000 in pre-seed funding and grants, and has already conducted feasibility studies in both Kenya and Uganda to assess cost-effectiveness and acceptance of telemedicine solutions through the “East Africa Cross-Border Telemedicine Platform” project.
“Through the partnerships we have fostered throughout this project, we have crafted a dynamic market-entry strategy that will position us head and shoulders above the existing competitors in these markets,” said Mduma.
LyfPlus charges patients between US$5 and US$16 for physician consultations, and takes a five per cent commission on tests done by its partner test facilities.