Afrilab Medical Diagnostics
Diagnostic Facilities modernizing the West African Healthcare system
Our organization sets up medical diagnostic facilities which local doctors and pharmacists can use to prescribe diagnostic tests such as X-ray for bone fractures, ultrasound for expecting mothers, and HIV tests for at-risk children.
Providing West African Physicians with access to life-saving Diagnostic tools
Curving Global Antibiotic Resistance Abroad
Hospitals in Western Africa have a very limited supply of medical diagnostic machines. When a patient comes in with any type of medical concern, antibiotics are often overprescribed as a preventative measure due to the doctor’s inaccessibility to run tests to determine proper diagnosis. Antibiotics can fight against infection caused by bacteria, but not against parasites, or viruses. Without diagnostic tests it is often difficult to determine if the ailment or illness effecting the patient is a bacteria, viruses, or parasite. The overprescription of antibiotics is creating bacterial strains that become tolerant to antibiotics (One of our only clinical defenses against bacteria). MERSA and Antibiotic Resistant Tuberculosis are some common examples of antibiotic resistant bacteria that are spreading globally with a high mortality rate. Through our medical diagnostic facilities, Afrilab is making diagnostic tests accessible in third world regions where overprescribing antibiotics is most prominent.
Implemented a fast bike messenger service
Our growing bike messenger division allows us to collect life-saving test samples and offer blood bank messenger services in real time to achieve better patient outcomes. A few minutes saved may result in lives saved!
Implementing free patient portals and medical databases
Afrilab has also partnered with AfriHealth to positively effect patient outcomes by promoting and giving away free medical information systems to take hospitals and pharmacies off the paper standard and into the digital age. Hospitals, pharmacies and clinics are not technologically integrated throughout most of western Africa, this imposes challenges for many physicians making it nearly impossible to access patient records. The fully integrated software provided by AfriHealth’s engineers allows hospitals and pharmacies to utilize software to manage their patient data free of charge.
Financial Incentives Effectively Changing Cultural Norms
Our facilities market a large commission to practitioners for prescribing tests. We provide them with a online login and portal to keep track of their earnings and patient records from their phone. Our system financially incentivizes West African physicians to prescribe a series of diagnostic tests. Pharmacists have also been readily prescribing tests selling antibiotics when necessary because they are still able to make a living and have financial outcome without overprescribing medications which can lead to global resistance.
Using our data to partner with research institutions
Afrilab’s databases currently account for up to 200 medical data variables as well as patient socioeconomic data. We hope to partner with more research institutions in providing data to research potential local and global preventative care.
CURRENTLY PROVIDING MEDICAL DIAGNOSTIC SERVICES FOR 47 HOSPITALS, 23 PHARMACIES, AND GROWING RAPIDLY
Education & Training
Afrilab medical has partnered with regional education centers to successfully develop a curriculum for local students to be trained in healthcare worker roles including sonography. Allowing local educational centers to use Afrilab’s medical facilities to provide students with “hands on” training has been vital in creating a pipeline of well-trained young medical diagnostic practitioners for our locations.
Why Can Afrilab/AfriHealth become a Third world Philanthropic Game Changer?
Accountability
Afrilab recognizes that theft can be a big issue in terms of third world philanthropic donations. That is why the facilities have implemented extensive information systems to keep track of the incoming revenues from medical tests. There is a thorough record of every payment input into the system, as well as every administered test. Data cannot be altered by anyone inside the facility. The patient portal can be accessed online to see which patients are coming in and out of the facilities in real time. Video surveillance is also provided onsite to match the number of patients with the number of database entries.
Historically, completely free diagnostic machines have been philanthropically provided with working capital for salaries. Administrators would often immediately sell the machines, close the facilities, create fake data to submit for more needed salaries and the project would dead end after the donors eventually figured out what was going on.
Afrilab facilities take in revenue, which pays the staff, the administration and staff have a financial incentive to keep the locations in operation. If a location is not producing enough revenue to break even within six months, the machines are relocated by Afrilab to a new location and the staff is laid off or offered to move to that new location. This capitalist approach that we have created ensures long term sustainability for our organization and accountability for our growing number of employees.