Liquid Telecom makes telemedicine a reality for the Aga Khan Hospital Mombasa to deliver healthcare to remote communities

                          

Hospital goes digital by using Liquid Telecom’s high-speed fibre network to connect with outreach clinics that serve more than 3.5m residents across the coastal region

Nairobi, 23rd April 2019 – Liquid Telecom Kenya, part of the leading pan-African telecoms group Liquid Telecom, has made telemedicine a reality for thousands of patients at the Aga Khan Hospital, Mombasa. Using its high-speed fibre network, Liquid Telecom has connected the main hospital in Mombasa to seven of its outreach centres in the coastal region bringing healthcare closer to the community.

The roll-out of services started last August to improve access to medical services that would often not be consistently available in some of the more rural communities. This includes online consultations and diagnostic services. 

“Travel costs were often prohibitive for patients. For example, patients coming from Voi to Mombasa spend around Sh700 on bus fares, which is a major cost at a time when most of the population struggle to buy even basic medication, and often cannot afford to visit the hospital for follow up appointments,” said Hemed Twahir, Medical Director at Aga Khan Hospital Mombasa.

The hospital’s initiative comes at a time when Kenya is facing a shortage of healthcare specialists especially in dermatology (skin diseases and complications) and Otolaryngology (Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) diseases.

“As healthcare providers strive to make specialists more accessible to patients in an affordable way through telemedicine, Liquid Telecom Kenya has been able to offer both the high-speed internet connectivity and software to enable uninterrupted two-way audio-visual and data communication in a delivery that aligns exactly with our vision of driving digital transformation across Africa,” said Adil Youssefi, CEO of Liquid Telecom Kenya.

“When a patient at a clinic requires specialised attention, the clinicians logs a video request with the specialist and run a video conference with both specialist and patient. They also use our newly installed digital medical equipment to make a diagnosis, with everything about the patient recorded in the hospital records system”, said James Siku, Head of ICT at Aga Khan Hospital Mombasa.

Liquid Telecom’s high-speed Internet network has also enabled the hospital to run e-learning courses covering Continuous Medical Education (CME) and Continuous Nursing Education (CNE) between the main hospital and outreach clinics. It also includes public hospitals such as Rabai, Tsangansini and Mariakani, to exchange knowledge and discuss medical case management – in a collaborative process that drives best-practice treatment plans. The forums also help clinicians earn credits for their professional qualifications and credit transfers under Ministry of Health guidelines.

“We have installed digital stethoscopes and multi-purpose scope equipment for examining a patients’ vitals. With these, specialists will be able to see in real time, say, the condition of the skin, and other vital readings, then offer consultancy and diagnostics,” said Sultana Shermana, Interim CEO of Aga Khan Hospital Mombasa.

The hospital has invested in a state-of-the-art cardiac catheterisation laboratory that is first in the coast province for diagnosis of heart conditions and a 1.5 Tesla Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine and runs a digital HMIS - managing inpatient and outpatient records, lab results and diagnosis – that is now accessible across all of its clinics and main hospitals.

The telemedicine services focus on family medicine, obstetrician-gynaecologist, ear, nose and throat as well as dermatology for Ukunda, Kilifi and Voi clinics being given priority, benefitting a total of up to 200 patients a day. The other outreach clinics are Nyali, Changamwe, Mtwapa, and Bamburi Mwisho.


About The Aga Khan Hospital
Aga Khan Hospital, Mombasa is an ISO 9001:2008 certified secondary care hospital providing 24-hour inpatient and emergency services in the Coast Region of Kenya. The hospital offers a range of quality healthcare services in the areas of internal medicine, surgery, paediatrics, obstetrics & gynaecology, and intensive care. The Hospital includes comprehensive diagnostics, including imaging services, a leading ISO 15189-2007 accredited laboratory, high-quality physiotherapy, pharmacy service, and Halal certified catering service.
http://www.agakhanhospitals.org/mombasa 

About Liquid Telecom  
Liquid Telecom is a leading communications solutions provider across 13 countries primarily in Eastern, Central and Southern Africa that serves mobile operators, carriers, enterprise, media and content companies and retail customers with high-speed, reliable connectivity, hosting and co-location and digital services. It has built Africa’s largest independent fibre network, approaching 70,000km, and operates state-of-the-art data centres in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Nairobi, with a combined potential 19,000 square metres of rack space and 80 MW of power. This is in addition to offering leading cloud-based services, such as Microsoft Office365, Microsoft Azure and innovative digital content provision including Netflix and Kwesé TV across our fibre footprint.

Through this combined offering Liquid Telecom is enhancing customers’ experience on their digital journey.  https://www.liquidtelecom.com  

For more information, contact:
Daniel Mbugua
Email: daniel@africanlaughterpr.com   
Tel: 0706279454

James Siku, Head of ICT
Aga Khan Hospital Mombasa
Office Direct Line: +254 (0) 415051660
Email: James.Ojwang@akhskenya.org

In This Story:  #LiquidTelecomKenya #Telemedicine #AgaKhanHospital

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