An exciting new development in Uganda’s healthcare picture has been making doctors and other healthcare professionals sit up and take notice, it’s called LifeHealth. Piloting now in the Buikwe District and starting to roll out in Kampala, LifeHealth is revolutionary and exactly what’s needed in today’s fast-paced 24/7 environment.
This affordable telemedicine platform allows individuals and families to quickly contact and visit their healthcare providers and to be in control of all their own medical records. For doctors, labs, pharmacies, and other providers, it means immediate access to patients and their health records.
For both the patients and the providers, it saves time, money, confusion, duplication, and bother along the entire spectrum of medical procedures. LifeHealth provides access to the medical help people need, want, and deserve.
Utilizing secure web technology and innovative, easy-to-use software, LifeHealth brings the doctor to you through telemedicine. No more waiting for appointments or being too sick to go out of your house. Your doctor will be there on your iPhone, computer, or tablet in the privacy of your own home. As their slogan says, LifeHealth is truly ‘Beyond the Future of Healthcare.’
What exactly is telemedicine and why is it important? Here are a dozen important things you should know about LifeHealth;
- Telemedicine: Simply, telemedicine is a doctor’s consultation utilizing the most advanced and secure technology. Studies have shown that the majority of doctor visits can be handled virtually, without an in-person trip to the doctor’s office or clinic.
LifeHealth patients can save precious time and get an online face-to-face appointment quickly and with ease. With automated scheduling, there’s no waiting room to contend with, and both the patient’s and doctor’s time is used most efficiently and effectively. Whether in a big city or in the countryside, regardless of a patient’s location, quality healthcare consultation will be available.
- Records: Everything about a person’s medical history is kept in one secure, private place, ready for retrieval whenever needed. The patient is in complete control of these records: vaccinations, test results, prescriptions, allergies, surgeries, doctors’ notes, and upcoming appointments. Importantly, patient records can only be released with the OK of the patient (or parents, in the case of children).
- Doctors and Specialists: For healthcare professionals, LifeHealth is a game-changer. It offers better time management, a wider patient base, electronic billing and record-keeping, instant contact with patients, pharmacies, labs, 24/7 system support, and much more.
- Hospitals and Clinics: Adding the LifeHealth system brings the typical Ugandan hospital or clinic up to par with the very best of twenty-first century electronic software, helping the entire staff, both medical and administrative. Communications and authorized records-sharing between patients, caregivers, departments, and connected outside agencies is vastly improved and makes the entire remedial procedure smoother and more effective.
- Pharmacies: Both independent pharmacies and those associated with hospitals and chains will benefit from connecting to the LifeHealth platform. Instant communication with patients and prescribers, plus automated refill, billing, and record-keeping make the job much easier. Just knowing quickly and easily what other medications a customer takes can save a lot of time and potential trouble.
- E-insurance: E-claims are built into the LifeHealth program, for both filing and follow-through. Several insurance companies are either enrolled or in process, and the software makes the procedure extremely easy, for the patient, the adjuster, and any provider that is asked to substantiate a claim. Here again, the record-keeping and communication aspects of the platform play an important part in simplifying what is normally a complex process.
- Schools: LifeHealth is a particularly valuable resource for school systems. It provides both in-school and at-home virtual medical care, helping to close both health and academic achievement gaps. Through the LifeHealth network, each school nurse has access to the technology and medical equipment needed to connect students to pediatricians, specialists, and their parents in the same visit, which solves two issues prevalent today in children’s health: inconvenience and access to care.
- Government Agencies: Health and education agencies, as well as other government ministries at every level, can realize major benefits for their constituents by encouraging LifeHealth participation by households, doctors, hospitals, and schools in their domains. The platform’s statistical analysis gives the agencies an instant overview of the health status of their citizens. The Uganda Ministry of Health and the Buikwe Ministry of Health are enthusiastic supporters of LifeHealth.
- Businesses: Companies large and small have two advantages with LifeHealth. Their staff can enjoy significant enrollment discounts, making for greater employee satisfaction, and the businesses themselves can become part of LifeHealth’s loyalty partners, significantly widening their customer appeal.
- Mapping: The LifeHealth software includes an incredible state-of-the-art geolocation mapping system that allows medical personnel, government agencies, families, and researchers to pinpoint and track where health issues occur, acting as both a planning tool and an early warning system against outbreaks of disease or other medical alerts. The platform’s privacy protection ensures that individual or family data is collected and shared anonymously and can only be identified with the member’s permission.
- Developers and Partners: LifeHealth is a service of CTI, Inc., a global company with other major commercial interests in Uganda. Entrepreneur Michael Landau is the founder and CEO of CTI/LifeHealth. The company has many global and Uganda partners, including IBM, Zoom Health, Abbott Labs, IML Insurance, and Ecopharm.
- World-wide reach: While LifeHealth is currently available only in Uganda, LifeHealth/CTI and its partners are in talks to expand the program to other parts of Africa, then the Middle East and Asia, and eventually around the globe. As such, Ugandans are lucky to be the first in the world to experience this ground-breaking cyber-technology and medical innovation.
