Denovo Health Rides

The highest disease 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. It means these diseases are actually preventable because the cures or preventative measures exist. But they aren't being applied due to poverty, inaccessibility, distance, and other factors in remote or rural areas.

In addition, 52% of remote populations have to travel a certain distance to access needed healthcare. And 75% of the health facilities in remote areas lack quality medical laboratory facilities for tests such as Tuberculosis, HIV, Lassa, COVID-19 tests, and other routine tests.

Currently, DHR is leveraging on local transits agents and cold-chain called sample-integrated referral system to transport medical samples from remote health facilities to equipped health facilities or transportation of blood products to needing facilities through a network of blood banks.  In addition, we seek to develop a mobile app/website that will support the solution. The result will connect patients or remote health facilities with quality medical laboratory facilities from their comfort zones. Also, the solution will facilitate laboratory information management systems (LIMS) and promote digital health technology.

Our solution targets clients who are in dire need of medical laboratory services such as testing and blood transfusion in remote areas. Clients, in this case, are individuals, last-mile health facilities, hospital/clinic management, physician and medical laboratory personnel, and other organizations.

The solution will maximize and improve trust in medical laboratory services, promote healthy competition among health facilities offering laboratory services, facilitate laboratory information management, permit access to digital medical results, reliable quick blood donations, and generally promote digital health solutions.

I am an experienced Medical Laboratory scientist. To create a lead while designing the solution, I visited various health facilities within the remote areas by meeting and discussing with health personnel and also some patients' relatives. The inputs of each of the health personnel and patients' relatives have continuously helped us in the implementation of our solution.

In recent times, I worked with a non-government organization as a Sample Transport Supervisor (consultant) under the USAID/PEPFAR project. During the period I coordinated the transportation of medical samples under the said project from 78 health facilities in two different states (Zamfara and Kebbi). The experience has also helped to redesign the solution such as the aspiration to develop an app/website.

In the future, we planned to mobilize programmers, healthcare personnel such as laboratory technicians and community nurses).

• To join a class of impressive peers that act as a trusted support group, offering inspiration, and guidance in business development.
• To join a powerful network of impact-minded leaders across industries and sectors which will permit insights into the global health ecosystem.
• Gain access to business mentorship, coaching, and media publicity which will improve DHR brand perception.
• Receive access to funding in grants and investments which will aid in tackling financial constraints.

The innovative concepts are reproducible and include the following;

• Maximize medical laboratory testings.
• Community and remote base.
• Support last-mile health services.
• Use traditional mobile logistics.
• Facilitate laboratory information management
• Telemedicine concept.
• Sustainable business model.
• Promote quality assurance, validation, and improve diagnostic value.
• Contribute to Research and Development.

The solution was shortlisted among UN75 top 100 innovative solutions. It also made it to the Final Stage of the Global Innovation Challenge by the SocialSchifters

The impact goal in the next year is to scale the solution to other local government areas within the state (Katsina) through a corporate relationship with the state ministry of health (MoH). In addition, the five-year impact goal is to expand the solution to other states in Nigeria and other countries. And it will be made feasible through a corporate relationship with medical and health regulatory bodies and both state and federal MoH.

DHR is targeting the sustainability of the 3rd (Goodhealth and wellbeing) SDGs. The purpose is being measured by contribution to the sustainability of the SDG-3 indicator (3.8.1) in improving the coverage of essential health services and sustainability of the SDG-3 indicator (3.d.1) in strengthening the capacity of all countries.

Most of the people in remote areas do not trust the services offered due to lack of necessary resources instead retire to traditional treatemts, while some of them have to refer patients to an urban health facility, according to most of the remote health personnel. The short-outcome will provide access to reliable medical laboratory testing facilities and improve medical testing. And the long-term outcome will facilitate a healthy environment, employment opportunities, patient and hospital convenience and access to medical details and improved medical testing facilities, promote trust and assurance in medical laboratory testing and reports, provide data in public health/Epidemiological decision-making in Africa.

Start-up such as the LifeBanks, Zipline, and Innocul8 has proven that effective cold-chain service can be used to deliver blood products, vaccines, and other medical products. While the majority of these start-ups are yet to provide solutions to medical laboratory investigations. DHR seize this opportunity to leverage transit, cold-chain, and digital technology to develop a 2-way flow model referral service. In addition, DHR currently seeks to develop a tele-platform (website/app) that permits access to services offered. The technology that underpins the solution includes communication, transportation (local), software/mobile applications, big-data, information management, and GPS. 

Team members and Staff will include community health personnel and some will be mobilized from the concerned populations. They will be trained in the necessary skills needed such as phlebotomy, conditions of samples in transportation, transit agent mechanical services, communications, information management, and GPS usage.

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

The current source of funds is through personal savings and revenue generated. DHR will seek both grants and investment in the future.