iMpilo Blockchain

Our iMpilo blockchain solution focuses on solving 3 problems:

1. Patient Identification (the lack thereof is a key pain point)

2. Data blocking (brought about by information silos)

3. Centralised systems (the inefficiency caused by such systems)

Imagine this scenario: you are a low income earning, hard-working South African citizen. You live in a country that ranks 48th out of 89 countries on the 22 Global Healthcare Index, the highest-ranked African country, for best healthcare. 

That word "best" and the 48th ranking out of the 89 countries observed globally, would carry very little meaning for you, if any, because you exist on an island of inequality, surrounded by a vast sea of prestigious resources, in the form of the best healthcare provision, available on "the other side of the income fence", for the wealthy, that's 20% (10,8 million) of South Africans, whilst you are part of the 80% (43.2 million) South Africans without the income or network to help you. 

This inequality becomes tangible when you fall ill, something all too common and unpredictable, therefore without any financial planning. At that point you rely on the public sector system, comprising 422 hospitals and 3 841 clinics and health centres, but servicing 71% of a population of 54 million people.

In contrast on the other side of the income fence, the well off, possessing health insurance access, (20% of the population), have at their disposal, 215 prestigious hospitals and over 300 private clinics available, but affordability and proximity make a terrain you cannot venture into.

This problem affects far too many South Africans and exemplifies inequitable access to health care.With the public health sector as your best bet to be nursed back to healing you depend on its infrastructure, human resources and service orientation, but you are confronted with these problems when you arrived at the local primary health centre.

Remember, the South African healthcare legislation compels you to start here (if you require free healthcare), and only head to the hospital, via a referral. 

Here’s what you find when you reach the local healthcare center (clinic):

1. Silo mentality, silo’d records framework and incoherent behaviour of clinic staff within the same facility and other facilities in their ecosystem.

2. Under-staffed centres

3. Financially and materially under-resourced centres

As you journey through that facility, having most likely arrived at 6am if you want to be seen on that day, you will be issued with a file, into which multiple data entries will be made, as you weave your way through the multiple queues and various advice received from professionals within this public health facility. 

From first standing in an administrative queue to open your personal file to progressing to other queuing systems to be attended to by multiple professionals within the facility, expect to invest a lot of your day at this facility, today. 

Those file entries as you see various professionals, from glucose tests, to blood pressure tests, and others which are standard, to more sophisticated tests if deemed feed, all entries will be made into your file.

That’s a significant amount of critical information about your health condition, the possible causes behind your condition, and possible interventions made. If that data is lost, such a loss could jeopardise your well being in future, in terms of attainment of accurate diagnosis.

You perhaps now appreciate and understand why that file in your hand is the focus of the iMpilo blockchain project. 

iMpilo, is isiZulu, for "life", and will be unpacked further as to why that file in your hand is our prime focus, and is for the best interest of a patient.

We may not help you avoid this facility nor catapult you over the economic fence to afford private health care, but the proposed solution will assist the current system to become more responsive, transparent and streamlined to assist you. 

Our primary focus, is deploying tech for social good, in your favour, through a special focus on that file in your hand, your patient records

Firstly, here's some context about your patient records (the big picture): 

1) Patient Identification: Across both public or private healthcare systems across the world, right now, there exists no unique and/or universal identification of the client across medical systems.

2) Information blocking: This will or could happen when the medical professionals within the public health system do not have ease of access to your medical records, in their attempts to help you. Due to the silos mentioned above. 

Furthermore, such silos and operational procedures within the SA public health system, will unintentionally prevent even you, from enjoying easy access to your medical records (enclosed in the file in your hand) after this visit. That's how the system is inherently set up.

3) Centralised data systems: The creation, storage, processing, accessing and/or sharing of your patient records right now, happens in a fragmented fashion, thanks to these siloed approaches. Resulting in your patients-records undergoing inefficiencies and experiencing inaccuracies (or incompletion) as they journey across the breadth of the healthcare system. 

Further jeopardising you, and pushing you further away from experiencing quality healthcare, which requires accurate records, to execute accurate diagnosis (and recourse in the likely event of your experiencing a medical malpractice) 

4) Lack of quality data for designing a better health system: With the fragmentation of data and the costs of aggregating it and using it for decision making, health care managers & clinicians are not able to make good decisions on behalf of the patient.

5) Records lost in transit: When your patient-file journeys through the same health care system (in your presence or your absence) in the same hospital or public sector clinic, your patient data is 20% most likely to be mismatched. That same file in your hand (containing your valuable medical history), is 50% most likely to be mismatched when it is transferred between healthcare systems/facilities, by courier services (called "runners").

You would then understand why we are placing a specialist focus on that file in your hand, it is the last frontier, for us to assist you, in conjunction with other stakeholders within the public health ecosystem, to enhance your chances of experiencing as best a dignified healthcare experience as possible.

Medical malpractice? Yes, in 2021 alone, South African citizens like you (not in possession of private healthcare insurance), imposed a ZAR 120.3 billion claim on the South African government, a scenario referred to as contingent liability, for medical negligence claims. This is a health department, only given ZAR 249 billion, to manage above mentioned facilities, and keep 38 million South Africans alive. Not much of a budget by any stretch. 

Thanks to counter legal measures against those claims, the State only paid out a very modest fraction of those claims, dismissing most. 

The South African constitution and human rights charters, grant you rights to accessing healthcare. These rights however are threatened by the hurdles you have to cross, to access that health care, within such an environment of inequality. Administrative barriers to inequality are an infringement to human rights that often go unnoticed in developing countries.

There are existing frameworks and a push by various public sector entities to accelerate, within the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) context, the digitisation of health records, towards what's termed Electronic Medical Records (EMRs). However, given the many silos, such efforts are in want of a decentralised approach, to lower the walls across these silos, without any compromise to your patient privacy. 

On a macro level, across the South African public healthcare sector: there are 40 individual health information systems (digital records measures) scattered across 9 provinces. 

These 40 information silos, exacerbate an already worsened silos-situation that already exists within the walls of the primary health care into a conundrum of even more disappearing records, incomplete or missing files.

The iMpilo blockchain solution: in a nutshell

iMpilo Blockchain is a  patient-centric data exchange blockchain marketplace: that enables healthcare institutions to create, transfer & use patients records, in real time.

How it works:

1) Universal Patient Identification: iMpilo blockchain, assigns a unique and universal digital Identification of the patient, linked to specific medical (identified), as created, stored or exchanging hands across medical systems.

2) A secure digital data exchange platform: iMpilo blockchain is a decentralised source of information. A permissioned marketplace that allows the members of the blockchain to create, access, transfer and utilise immutable patient records in real-time.

3) A convenient enabler of telemedicine consultations: iMpilo blockchain platform provides a collaborative approach & much needed data tool to doctors & professionals to access medical history, consult, advise and give prescriptions, based on accurate patient records, painting a holistic picture of the patient’s health.

4) Dispute resolution & investigation efficient tool: enabling Investigators, regulatory agencies, private or public healthcare institutions and litigation bodies to work more efficiently and effectively, through a permissioned 'one stop' access to immutable records to streamline their case resolutions.

Blockchain: in a nutshell

The Blockchain Technology offers a record keeping ledger method which is both decentralised (giving all participants a line of sight and shared control with joint-responsibilities over that same ledger) and distributed (shared across all participants). 

The ledger's primary function entails the recording of entries or transactions, and capturing of data across many computers in such a way that the records cannot be altered or manipulated, hence the reference to Blockchain providing immutability. 

Due to the records immersed nature of the healthcare environment, blockchain is highly relevant for use in delivering a patients-centric records focused healthcare service, putting records in the hands of those patients, and the service providers rightfully requiring them.

Blockchain has many applications and can be used for any exchange, agreements/contracts, tracking and, of course, payment. Since every transaction is recorded on a block and across multiple copies of the ledger that are distributed over many nodes (computers), it is highly transparent.

The case for blockchain

As far back as 2016 a Deloitte paper singled out from more than 70 submissions made a strong case for the Use of Blockchain in Health IT and Health-Related Research [and service delivery], confirmed Blockchain as the new model for Health Information Exchanges. 

Further confirming that a blockchain powered health information exchange could unlock the true value of interoperability. Blockchain-based systems have the potential to reduce or eliminate the friction and costs of current intermediaries. 

Our entry into the Blockchain sector, back in 2016, 3 years after that paper's release, when we partnered with IBM to produce our first ever blockchain use case, in the beauty sector, with particular reference to low and middle income settings and poor communities, further confirmed the relevance of blockchain, for use across various sectors. 

The learning from this experience will be used to develop and support a solution in the primary health sector.

The iMpilo Blockchain solution, focuses on 5 target segments:

1. Patients (both high and low income segments)

2. Medical Professionals & Healthcare institutions (public & private)

3. Medical Insurance companies & Government Institutions

4. Pharmaceutical companies, Research Institutes & Industry bodies

5. Law Enforcement Agencies & Litigation bodies (as regulated)

1. Patients: 

Firstly: Low income patients 

71% of South African citizens who cannot afford private health care. A sizeable patient pool making up the of 38 million addressable low income segment will finally have an option that enables them to have

1.  Real-time  access to their electronic health records (EHRs),

1.  Access & utilisation of their own medical records,

2.  Administrative access to health, justice and recourse when/if things go wrong during their time at public sector facilities and

1.  An opportunity to be subsidised by the wealthy members of society (in their plight for better service deliver, justice & equality) whilst also

1.  Equipping themselves with litigation recourse (swift access to records, and an end-to-end imagery of every step followed during their receipt of healthcare services, should they need to, for pursuit or settlements of malpractice cases,

2. ) improved public healthcare service delivery.

Secondly: The Medically insured patients 

The 20 to 27% South African citizens who can afford and own medical insurance policies. A small but well resourced pool made up of the insured (mid to high income earners) segment will have the convenient facility that enables them 

B) Medical Professionals & Medical Institutions

It reduces the risk of medical records mismatching, information blocking and reduce the risk of medical malpractice or misdiagnosis further to enabling collaborative environment for the 27, 432 doctors & professionals to access medical history, consult, advise and give prescriptions, based on accurate patient records, painting a holistic picture of the patient’s health. 

An added advantage to this segment of medical professionals and medical institutions, which arise from the accuracy of the medical records and detailing of the processes and procedures involved, so as to cushion themselves against false claims. 

Within this context: think of the iMpilo blockchain solution as the "dashcam" equivalent for motorists on the road, but this time, a "dashcam" type tool, detailing events of the procedures & processes within doctor's rooms, theatre, and other touch points in between. 

Peace of mind for these professionals is much needed, given that  at times dread performing or delivering certain services, for fear of litigation.

C) Medical insurance & Governments: 

The 180 medical insurers in South Africa will no longer need middle-men type data brokers to receive key information and industry insights after the fact, they will instead be granted a line of sight (through permissioned access) to prompt highly valuable data. Which will safeguard them against fraudulent medical claims. 

What further displays the urgency and need by these 180 South African medical insurers, is the fact that they jointly lose ZAR 22 billion a year to fraud, waste and abuse, every year. A line of sight into never seen before data sets, in real time, will empower them to validate health information directly from patients or the blockchain platform itself. Resulting in enabling them to access their accurate and up to date record in a more cost effective and in real-time manner.

A default benefit to this dynamic will also result in the lessening of the tensions between Medical Insurers and medical professionals, who at times engage in cat and mouse clashes, "your word vs my word" type of clashes, instead of devoting their energies & time to addressing patient needs.

Further worsening these tensions, are racial profiling allegations levelled against Medical Insurers by mainly South African Black, Indian and Coloured medical professionals, who feel that forensic investigators dispatched by Medical Insurers, only target them, via unfair racial profiling, to recover funds illegally from them, for alleged fraud, not perpetuated by them. Only because they are not White. 

An unnecessary situation, given the capabilities of blockchain to referee these dynamics in a country that is already marred by racially skewed economic inequality, with accurate records of what really happened.

For government institutions responsible to manage an already inadequate public healthcare budget or ZAR 249 billion a year, to a large patient pool of 38 million, a line of sight into what really goes on in the hospital and clinic facilities is an overdue function and much needed tool in their hands.

They currently enjoy an alternative line of sight into the happenings in these facilities. Unfortunately, such records can be amended, falsified, or go missing altogether. 

This will not be the case on the blockchain.  Without fear or favour, the blockchain will retain the exact records detailing processes, medicines administered, diagnosis protocols, etc, without the possibility of such records being amended or stolen, for self-serving purposes by rogue healthcare practitioners or administration staff.

No longer will the government, at full roll out, navigate the cringe-worthy efforts to extract "the truth" of what really occurred, by scanning 40 different information systems, only one ledger. 

D) Pharmaceutical and Research Companies

The 122 South African Pharmaceutical companies, require a thumb held firmly onto the pulse of the healthcare sector, to support achievement of their ongoing Research & Development (R&D), fulfil compliance and roll out efficiencies across their value chains. 

As an industry, the Pharmaceutical sector is home to these 122 companies that rely on empirical data in order to identify patterns, test theories and understand the efficacy of treatments.

Data analytics in this regard is emerging as among the key drivers of their innovation curves, on the demand side (for quality data boasting a superior accuracy).

Our iMplio Blockchain platform, will avail unparalleled insights to these companies and industry bodies, to inform realisation of these priorities, through regulated methodologies, in the best interest of patients & stakeholders. 

This is a resource generation strategy that supports sustainability of the solution. No longer would these entities be limited to sourcing data sets from hospitals or clinics whose silos dilute the credibility of large data sets across their operations. Through our platform they can access a database of patients who have opted in to being contacted by researchers, or opted for their data to be used to advance research, including anonymising portions of those data sets, where necessary.

E) Law Enforcement Agencies & Litigation bodies:

They are tasked with implementing justice for the poor and wealthy alike, require access to accurate, immutable records, in a swifter manner to carry out their duties, investigation and conclusion of cases across the spectrum. 

The reality on the ground is such that the real cases of injustice are at times buried deep across a pile of falsified claims by rogue patients, whilst in the same token, rogue medical practitioners (the bad apples in the basket) go to incredible lengths to cover up their digital dust or any paper trail post any wrongdoing, and thus obstructing justice, especially for the poor, who cannot afford quality lawyers and specialist witnesses.

The Co-Founders of Coronet Blockchain: 

Created a thriving blockchain in the supply chain with the first use case being in the beauty industry. Successfully raised funding from an international tech giant during Covid.

Secured over 3000 paying clients and supply chain participants on our waiting list for the 1st use case before our Minimum Viable Product was finished. The technical team had just finished design thinking, prior to transitioning towards creating the technical and business scope when we commenced the first sign ups for the solution. A testament to our agile business development.

Our start-up story and impact was covered by over 100 media platforms in 2021, coinciding with our social media milestone of having reached an audience impressions coverage of over 5.5 million, that same year.

Pretty our Co-Founder & COO was recognised as a leading blockchain female voice in South Africa by the South Africa Blockchain Alliance and recently been given a Global Women in Leadership Awards for technology for social good by Global Council for The Promotion of International Trade. 

She is a strong advocate for Sustainable Development Goal's attainment via tech. Representing women in technology, across various global bodies, including within the Women In Tech global movement, as she communicates to a follower base of 29 500. Her audience comprises industry leaders from:

• Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd

• EY

• PwC Nigeria

• Reliance Infosystems

• Dangote Industries Limited

• ARYZE

• Citi

• Discovery Limited

• TotalEnergies

• Absa Group

• First Bank of Nigeria Ltd.

Shadrack our Co-Founder & CEO was flown into East Africa on a delegation assignment, to address the Ethiopian Prime Minister and his Executive, the Africa Development Bank leadership and West Africa Political leadership on blockchain's relevance to repairing East Africa's high value supply chains. 

He is among the leading known authorities on blockchain in Africa, during that particular delegation and subsequent write-ups he unpacked blockchain's relevance to the East Africa coffee sector (riddled with inequalities), Ethiopia's meat + dairy + leather supply chain as Africa's cattle capital (home to 60 million cattle) and West Africa's cocoa sector (home to 80% of the world's total annual raw cocoa output)

Boasting a follower base of 40 000 C-suite executives, Listed company CEOs, Tech experts & entrepreneur, etc his thought leadership is frequently sought after by industry leaders from these entities: 

• Deloitte

• Access Bank Plc

• EY

• Standard Chartered Bank

• First Bank of Nigeria Ltd.

• IBM

• Stanbic IBTC

• Standard Bank Group

• Union Bank of Nigeria

The Wits Health HUBB: iMpilo blockchain's delivery partner

WHH was founded in 2020 by the University of the Witwatersrand researchers Dr Del Naidoo, Dr Lisa Ware and Mr Lethu Kapueja. Their passion for youth health and in particular their experience in working with youth in the Soweto township on various community health research projects drew their attention to the reality that health and poverty are inseparable. 

WHH is a healthcare focused social development implementation vehicle and a further extension of the long-standing legacy of globally acclaimed research efforts conducted with young people and families in Soweto over the last 30 years through the MRC/Wits Developmental Pathways to Health Research Unit (DPHRU) showed that young people typically do not engage with health as economic challenges are more pressing.

The iMpilo blockchain: Coronet Blockchain//Wits Health Hub partnership

With Coronet Blockchain as the Lead, whilst WHH as the implementation partner leverages its research muscle memories within the resolving of the healthcare needs of marginalised communities, the partnership is aptly timed to configure and implement an overdue solution to redress identified gaps.

Please see the WHH Support letter here:

https://www.coronetblockchain....

From the time we commenced our blockchain journey, using tech for social good, as far back as 2019, we have always appreciated the tangible value of belonging to ecosystems of:

1) Like-minded leaders

2) Well resourced leaders

3) Impact focused leaders

4) Those creating & leveraging influence

As seen by our journey with IBM and Bridges for Enterprises (Cambridge initiative). At this point, our journey with MIT Solve will:

5) Give us continuation of all above (as per our community aligned values)

6) Grant us a doorway into healthcare: something we are particularly passionate about (after losing a family member to medical malpractice)

7) Give us access to the financial support and resources we need to make a difference.

8) Place us at the epicentre of mentorship inputs, for us not to make the healthcare journey via blockchain, alone, but hand held through milestones.

iMpilo blockchain's capabilities, grant the healthcare institutions, service providers and patients under their care:

The ability to leapfrog existing industry gaps (the problems of information silos) thanks to blockchain's decentralisation and distributed ledger technology advantages.

Enabling these healthcare ecosystems to achieve a leapfrog effect, so that they catch up with the banking system where clients have real-time access to their records, with a growing adoption of blockchain technology (in fintech), now coming to health-tech (for social good).

In the first year, our focus on creating and implementing the solution's Proof of Concept (POC), our priority is on:

• Technical build of the Blockchain solution & pilot it within this ecosystem
• Selecting up to 3 Primary Health facilities (Clinics)
• Selecting the focus group of 50 participating patients
• Once tested and tried, then gear it to scale as per growth strategy

During this short-term window (first year), only the 1) participating patients (low income), public sector 2) primary healthcare facilities selected and the selected public sector based 3) medical professionals, will be on the platform, in its pre-scale format. Enabling us to deliver a trusted, tested and proven solution, as tailored to this focus group, with scale-up (capacity) built into it, from the onset.

In the next 5 years our target is to reach 1 million patients as users of our platform, reach 10,000 Doctors, general practitioners & specialists and onboard at least 2 medical institutions per province a total of 18 medical centres. Including creating 1000 jobs. 

Our Solution meets 29% of the sustainable development goals addressing critical needs such as:

• Real-time access to medical records and history ensures healthy lives and promotes well-being for patients using our app.
• Accurate and verified records will reduce maternal mortality ratio, deaths of newborns and children.
• Access to ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services, through our Tele-medical consultation and prescription script issuing feature i.e. for family planning, information and education.
• Out Big data analytics capability will aid  the research and development of vaccines and medicines for the communicable and non-communicable diseases that primarily affect developing countries, provide access to affordable essential medicines and vaccines.
• Out Big data analytics capability strengthens capacity of all developing countries, in particular developing countries, for early warning, risk reduction and management of national and global health risks.
• Our track and trace of pharmaceutical products within our platform will ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns of pharmaceutical products within our ecosystem.
• Ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome, including by eliminating discriminatory laws, policies and practices and promoting appropriate legislation, policies and action in this regard.
• Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all.
• Our solution creates a see-through effect ensuring substantially reduce corruption and bribery in all their forms.
• Our solution brings about an effective, accountable and transparent medical system from institutions at all levels.

Please click on this link below, to access the iMpilo blockchain's Theory of Change Model:

https://www.coronetblockchain....

The Blockchain Technology offers a record keeping ledger method which is both decentralised (giving all participants a line of sight and shared control with joint-responsibilities over that same ledger) and distributed (shared across all participants).

The ledger's primary function entails the recording of entries or transactions, and capturing of data across many computers in such a way that the records cannot be altered or manipulated, hence the reference to Blockchain providing immutability. 

Due to the records immersed nature of the healthcare environment, blockchain is highly relevant for use in delivering a patients-centric records focused healthcare service, putting records in the hands of those patients, and the service providers rightfully requiring them.

Blockchain has many applications and can be used for any exchange, agreements/contracts, tracking and, of course, payment. Since every transaction is recorded on a block and across multiple copies of the ledger that are distributed over many nodes (computers), it is highly transparent.

The Co-Founding team already comprises of: 

A black female, previously marginalised and now an award winning  voice and advocate for women inclusion in technology, finance and supply chains. This is not just a strategy for us, it is our core value.

A black male, previously disadvantaged and a voice for transformation of African communities.

In our previous experience when we put out opportunities in our company and industry most response came from male in 1st world countries, even with that because we believe in diversity we had to look harder especially through industry association such as Women in Tech which has recently launched a technical skill database of experienced developers with traceable references and portfolios. 

Our diversity strategy goes beyond what is convenient, towards practical implementation modes. We cannot speak about inclusion globally whilst we are not achieving this in our own company. We always diversify our team.

Case in point: we have a social impact initiative, we launched last week, to help African start-ups, with once off mentorship on how they must learn to leverage media opportunities, for their brands.

We looked across our network of 70 000 leaders within our reach, globally. Within 3 days we have already on-boarded more than 10 voluntary mentors, made up seasoned business leaders, willing to go the distance with us.

Comprising leaders from 8 countries, gender, age and race diversity.

• Provide the platform as a service to Medical Professionals [Subscription Model]
• Provide the platform as a service to Medical institutions [SaaS]
• Provide a Medical services on-demand to Patients [OnDemand]
• Provide tailored Data Analytics for R&D to Pharmaceutical and reach organisations [Consulting]

The institutions using our services, both public and private sector entities, will pay for the services, brought to them through our platform, via platform as a service approach.

Our sustainability or revenue plan is to:

• Charge Medical Professionals  a monthly Subscription fee.
• Patients will enjoy a freemium, meaning they will have access to their records for free however they will be charged minimally to download reports.
• Charge a platform as a Software as a Service [SaaS] fee to Medical institutions.
• Collect a percentage from all paid for health services transactions on our platform occurring between Doctors and patients, depending on our data.
• Charge R&D companies for Data Analytics insights i.e. Pharmaceutical firms, research entities etc
• Charge Investigative Agencies & Law Enforcement fees for using the platform.

Given our decade plus long standing management consulting experience:

Bringing new ventures to market and scaling existing ventures, sustainability through specific revenue pipelines is at the epicentre of our business model.

Whilst being impact minded, we are revenue and resource focused, thanks to our sound leadership know-how. 

Case in point: we raised two funding tranches from IBM during COVID lockdowns, whilst configuring the technical solution, we on-boarded 3000 paying clients.