NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 4 – Patients can now access medical care remotely through their smartphones following the launch of a mobile app that connects them directly to doctors and other health care providers.
Zuri health is a mobile app that helps patients to access and book certified healthcare services on-demand based on availability, location and specialization. Users have access to first-level medical consultation, saving them a hospital visit. Issues are escalated once it is determined that the user may need more consultation, tests, or an in-hospital visit.
Launched by Play Zuri, a local m-health start-up, the platform leverages technology and is available for IOS on Apple store and Play store for Android users in sub-Saharan Africa. With the app, a healthcare provider can offer their services to patients from the comfort of their premises
The app is easy to install and is affordable, and addresses the high cost of Medicare associated with expensive consultation and diagnostics, long waiting time and queues during doctors’ visits, and expensive hospital trips for small or minor diagnosis and prescriptions among others.
To log in, Android phone users will need to download Zuri Health from playstore. Once downloaded, the user registers either as a patient or sign up as a doctor. Doctors are expected to submit their National ID , Medical board Certificate proof, Registration proof, Clinic registration proof Personal Indemnity form.
Simply by texting ‘Zuri’ to 21702, patients can consult with a doctor for only Sh5, the cheapest consultation in the market. The user will only be paying for medication, test, delivery fees and doctor fees.
The app reduces doctor’s fees by 30-40% and transportation and delivery cost by 70-85 percent. The user therefore saves tremendously by receiving affordable first-level consultations and unnecessary and expensive hospital visits
‘’The advent of the Covid -19 pandemic has brought new realities in the market with the need to observe social distancing. The new app will not only help bridge the health care divide in the country but will assist patients access healthcare without the need to physically visit doctors,’’ said Ikechukwu Anoke- C.E.O and Co- Founder Zuri Health.
‘’We are creating an all-inclusive service that caters for all individuals with a mobile device, regardless of their location, health history and social history’’
Speaking during the launch of the app, Anoke said this was in response to the growing need by patients to seek on-demand affordable and accessible health care in the most convenient and flexible manner.
The Zuri Health app has features that include hospital Features which allow users to search hospitals by their proximity, fees, payment options and visitation times.
It also includes a telemed feature that allows for remote diagnosis and treatment of patients by means of telecommunications technology.
There is also a doctor on duty feature which is available as a premium feature where patients can chat with doctors after paying a one-off fee.
Others include doctor at home feature, the pharmacy feature and the labs and diagnostics feature.
The company projection is to have more than 20,000 registered doctors listed on the app, with 250,000 premium users and at least 1,000,000 plus mobile downloads by 2024.
