Denovo Health Rides (DHR)

Northern Nigeria, Nigeria and Africa at large are faced with low quality medical laboratory service especially the remote and rural areas. This is due to inaccessibility to the necessary facility as a result of difficult terrain or complexity of the hospitals. 

Denovo Health Rides (DHR) is metalogistic-2-way flow based laboratory referral service. DHR service is to connect patients with adequate and quality medical laboratory service at and from there comfort zones using technological and digital opportunities.

Denovo Health Rides currently use mobile and social media to reach out to surveyed medical laboratory facilities that have the necessary infrastructure or that need a particular laboratory service because of limitations.

This will improve health diagnostic value, access to medical history or report at comfort zones by the physician and patients, reduce nosocomial infections, mortality rate, disease/outbreaks transmission, promote social distancing and create employment opportunities or source of income for some individuals.

Some of the world's highest rates of diseases are found in Africa, particularly among children, and it's not just because of the warm, humid climate. The highest rates are in the countries of Sub-Saharan Africa, where, according to the World Health Organization, almost 62% of deaths are a result of communicable diseases, nutritional problems, and perinatal/maternal issues.

What this means is that most deaths in Africa are actually preventable. The cures or preventative measures exist, but they aren't being applied due to poverty, inaccessibility and other factors preventing public health especially the remote areas that have the least quality medical laboratory service.

Capturing of medical information or used of paper records for declaring or storing of patients information have also proved inconvenient to the patient and to the hospital system, which unfortunately suppose not be.

Infections and Pandemic recently have become a menace in the world e.g. COVID-19. And most Africa countries are trying to survive through numbers of insecurities.

The right to test results from labs within hospitals, other health care facilities and physician offices has already been in place under HIPAA and NHA. Also the unfortunate recent outbreaks have made a called and promote virtual meeting and Telemedicine service in health delivery. DHR uses logistics and developing bio-metrics and digital technology to implement the following strategic solutions to the aforementioned problems;

1. Connecting patient in need of medical laboratory service with quality facilities from there comfort zones with transport or infrastructure limitations using logistics and vehicles. Creating a Laboratory referral network.
2. Survey and discovery of blood donations from available facilities to the needing facilities. Maintaining or establishing a network of blood banks
3. Creating a platform that permit access to digital patients medical information at there comfort zones. Promoting Telemedicine in Africa.

Our service will also provide employment opportunities to the remote populations and tackle many cause of disease and mortality rate that are preventable and saving many lives.

With the support of Ministry of Health, our solution will target patients who are in dire need of medical laboratory investigation both sick and healthy-individuals. Currently we used Middleman opinion to understand the needs of most of sick-individuals by meeting  and asking the of the needs of the patients from the hospital/clinic management, physician and medical laboratory personnel whose custody the patient is. While the healthy-individuals are those individuals wish to have a personnel tests or organizations who want to there workers to go through some laboratory investigation, whose samples are collected from there comfort zones (home or offices).

Hence DHR service will permit access to any laboratory investigation which will be used in the treatment and management of the individuals, also access to quick blood donations and derivatives which will save lot of lives and indirectly support gynaecological health in improving maternal health.

DHR solution is to improve health diagnostic value. Inaccessibility to quality medical laboratory investigation; most remotes areas are disconnected from quality laboratory service. But with the use of logistics vehicles, DHR is ready to connect patients with quality and reliable laboratory service. Manual used capturing of patient information have proved inconvenience for patients and hospital system, but with DHR intended digital access to patient information it will improve convenience and turnaround time and this might be the first e-Lab in Nigeria. Also DHR is ready to contribute to response to any infection or next pandemic and epidemics.

Health logistics is not a new market, currently Denovo Health Rides utilized logistics to tackle inaccessibility to medical laboratory testing facilities. Our still on due process website platform will be the first platform that provides data of medical laboratory facilities, management and accreditation, laboratory investigation data and laboratory testing reports which can be accessed by authorized government agencies, hospitals, physician and patients using bio-metrics and identifications which can be used in decision-making and strategic response to infections and pandemics. So sketching the proposed platform and needs digital technology expertise to guide the platform building. This will improve access to, promote quality assurance, verification and validation and improve diagnostic value in the health system. Denovo vision also intend to use drones for delivery, which will support scalability and quick and systematic area coverage.

Added to above mentioned, Confidentiality, privacy, quality and reilability will be the most feature of Denovo Health Rides which will be in compliance with HIPAA and NHA, also through effective cold chain service. And future production of sample transporting medium which will support the venture financial sustainability. 

Currently, Denovo Health Rides employ logistics (used of vehicle) to deploy it services which can be simply and easily access by phone calls, text messages and emails. In line with e-Lab (www.tru-solutions.com), the proposed platform employs Geographical technology, bio-metrics and sensor technology. Data will be secure and protected as indicated by HIPAA. Hence Denovo Health Rides will employ both logistics to access patients sample or blood donations and digital technology to permit access to medical laboratory investigations/service and reports at clients comfort zones. Biotechnology and drones will also be utilized to maintain cold-chain service and scalability in transportation of samples.

We currently utilized vehicles in Service-delivery like most of our potential competitors (www.uber.com,www.lifebank.ng,www.riderintl.org ,). While our platform is being developed in line with www.tru-solution.com (e-lab). Also Denovo health rides intend to use drones in delivery of patients sample and blood donations like it is being employ by Zipline in vaccine and blood delivery.

Theory of Change of Denovo Health Rides is to provide access to reliable medical laboratory testing facilities and improve medical testing especially remotes and rural population that are disconnected from quality laboratory testing in Africa. 

The short-outcome of Denovo Health Rides is to promote definitive therapy by physician, quality of laboratory facilities and validation of equipment,  laboratory data, promote social distancing, reduce nosocomial infection and pandemics, and reduce unnecessary visits to laboratory testing facilities.

And the long-term outcome is a healthy environment, employment opportunities, patient and hospital convenience and access to medical details, improved medical testing facilities, promote trust and assurance in medical laboratory testing and reports and provide data in public health/Epidemiological decision-making.

Currently serving 100 people. Before end of this year, should be serving most of North-western Nigeria Population. And in the next 5 years will be serving some of Sub-Saharan and West-Africa population

To fully Create the proposed DHR platform before and establish health impact and acknowledgement within Health practitioners, Ministry of Health and patients end of 2020

Scaled to other States in Nigeria before end of first year.

Maintain financial sustainability by second year.

By year five, Expecting to expand network to other African countries and expand service delivery with used of drones.

Our most barrier political constraints which have limit incorporation of venture and movements. Another barriers to the success of Denovo Health Rides Solution is financial constraint with competitors both local and foreign with capitals who are ready to scale up into available markets. Also Denovo Health Rides requires understanding of corporate partnership with public and private facilities and business development.

Denovo Health Rides is currently addressing some of these barriers by engaging in challenge-solving hackathons. Which help redefine, and establish networks as well as contacts of other ventures, expertise in partnership corporation and business development like the Departments of MIT or SOLVE. Denovo Health Rides currently have network with some number of mentors that are expertise in public health, supply chain management and programming tools.  DHR also plan on pursuing funding sources to help scale of the concept.

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Denovo Health Rides has 3 Team members

Denovo Health Rides is a concept developed by medical personnel, computer scientist and programmer guided by mentors of public health and supply chain management. Denovo Health Rides team have few experience in both medical and technology field.

And as the Team lead of the team, participated in the MIT Virtual solving challenge (Solveathon), 2020 in a paired group of Hack The Crisis Nigeria and AIC Raise, where fortunately my suggestion with collective support ideas was voted for and pitch during the Solveathon.

Denovo Health Rides (DHR) currently partnered but not documented with two public and government hospitals with laboratory testing facilities, 1 private diagnostic facility and 4 Private Clinics. DHR deliver patients sample for laboratory investigation to them. DHR are currently trying to reach out to the Katsina State Ministry of Health and the National Ministry of Health.

Denovo Health Rides is Meta-logistics service built based on 2-way flow new model. It involve the referral of samples for laboratory investigation and also delivery of laboratory reports to the point of origin/request in-person or digital.

Denovo Health Rides will charge for services provided through MoU with partners. Will expand service using paradigm of distribution by creating series of strategically located centers and the cost of logistics will be determine using a cost-per-kilometre assessment, base on key performance indicators (distance, turnaround time, number of samples/pint of blood, logistics information services, logistics additional service and supplementary additional services. 

Denovo Health Rides will train all staff in necessary skills needed and will be encourage to pursue personnel development. Technical staffs will be are trained on phlebotomy, conditions of samples in transit, GPS usage, documentation and DHR platforms usage. The cost of training will be minimized by employing community health workers, medical laboratory technician or medical laboratory assistance who are bit familiars with sample collection. Riders’ systems and procedures when hired and are encouraged to expand their technical skills through ongoing training.

Denovo Health Rides is a Hybrid organization and will expand service to other states with current country, other countries in Africa and out of Africa. Also achieve financial sustainability on donations and selling of authorized services.

Added to the primary service value of Denovo Health Rides, data that will be generated which includes but not limited to data of up-to standard laboratories, medical information's, blood banks data, validated laboratory materials, numbers of registered medical laboratories, laboratory investigations (list) data can be sold to authorized stakeholders, health ministries, researchers, students and other agencies. As data will be secure and protected according to NHA and HIPAA, so Denovo Health Rides will be positioned to gain public trust by working with Government agencies

Beyond logistics, Denovo Health Rides focused on financial stability and sustainability planned to be manufacturing media or subordinates service/agents needed in transporting samples in the right conditions. And creating a network of voluntary donors (as recommended by WHO) which will be supported by external donors. Also Logistics market which previous year have shown $75 billion value market and Tele-health service that it needs have recently up-shoot, placed Denovo Health Rides in a space for economical sustainability.

We are applying to Solve for the chance to have access to MIT networks or other MIT Solve Teams with different caliber of intelligent. In Denovo Health Rides, we believe MIT Solve is the avenue that will grant us access to expertise in business monitoring and evaluation, solutions technology, legal and regulatory matter, securing corporate partnership, financial modeling and marketing strategy. We also believe winning MIT solve will improve the profile and press presence of the solution. We are also applying to win financial funding which will help beat financial constraints or weakness that the solution is wrestling.

Denovo Health Rides seek support and mentor-ship in the above selected relevant areas like business model, advisors, marketing, media and eposure, legal matters, staffing, service paradigm distribution and partnership with solution technologies.

Partnership with Ministries of Health will support the solution in gaining the trust of the public and market presence of the solution. Also partnership with MIT Solve will help the solution stay connected with other potentials partnership which can contribute to the goals of Denovo Health Rides. Partnership with the likes of NASA will help in scalability to drone technology, Google, Vehicles companies and some tele-medicine platform (e.g. KANGPE HEALTH) to improve health care delivery. 

Denovo Health Rides objectives are in line with Goals, 3, 8 and 17 of the SDGs. Denovo Health Rides is a logistic based solution that target primarily the most vulnerable population (rural and remotes areas). The solution permit access to health information, quality medical laboratory service, promote use of digital technology which have become difficult to access because of the unsocial terrain, limited facilities or infrastructure, inaccessibility to social media or digital technology. Currently Africa is experiencing community transmission of COViD-19 Pandemic which have keep on rising faster at the community level because of limited knowledge and inaccessibility to testing facilities and technology. 

Denovo Health Rides will not only help to battle the current pandemic but also infections and next pandemic and also improve the security of health delivery. We strongly believe also that our service is the solution needed in AFrica especially and some developed worlds to survive through the pandemic and the next as indicated in a Hackathon won (3rd Position) and as also demonstrated by the President of WHO that "Testing, Testing and Testing" is the key to tackling the pandemic.

Currently have help in delivery about 10 samples during this lock-down for laboratory investigation and donated a pint of blood to contribute in saving lives. 

DHR solutions will permit million of peoples to get access to health information and quality medical laboratory service, also promote use of digital technology and maternal health which all have become difficult due to the unsocial terrain, limited facilities or infrastructure, inaccessibility to social media or digital technology. 

Denovo Health Rides will not only help to battle the current pandemic but also other infections and the next pandemic.

We strongly agreed also that our service is the solution needed in Africa and some developed worlds to survive through the pandemic and the next as indicated in a Hackathon won and as also demonstrated by the President of WHO that "Testing, Testing and Testing" is the key to tackling the pandemic.