Hope Clinics

The problem we are working to solve is the lack of access to early cancer detection and diagnosis for children living in low-resource areas in Colombia. This problem is significant, as cancer is a leading cause of death in children globally, with an estimated 400,000 new cases each year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). In Colombia, cancer is the second leading cause of death among children, with over 1,500 new cases reported each year, according to the Colombian National Cancer Institute.

The childhood cancer incidence rate in Cordoba (Colombia) is 18.4 per 100,000, which is also higher than the 11.69 national rate. Cordoba, a region in Colombia, has high-risk sociodemographic characteristics in the pediatric population, with a birth rate of 14.4 per 100,000 inhabitants, 10% higher than the national average. This problem is particularly severe in rural areas and low socioeconomic groups, where access to essential medical services is limited. In Cordoba, IMAT Oncomedica Auna a Quaternary Care Center has a pediatric cancer clinic that has made 350 pediatric cancer diagnoses in the last five years, with a year-to-year increase of 70% in rural areas and low socioeconomic groups. Unfortunately, 60% of these cases are late diagnoses with advanced stages of the illness.

These statistics are similar to many rural areas in Latin America, where children face limited access to specialized healthcare providers, reduced specialized care and expertise, and limited healthcare infrastructure in remote areas. Families and healthcare providers also lack awareness about the signs and symptoms of childhood cancer, which can lead to delayed diagnosis and poorer outcomes. Our solution aims to address these factors by developing a cost-effective and easy-to-use AI platform that can help healthcare providers in low-resource areas identify and diagnose childhood cancer at an early stage, ultimately improving outcomes for affected children.

Here's how it works:

A child visits a PCP for a routine check-up or due to concerning symptoms. The PCP uses the Hope Clinics platform to input information about the child's symptoms and medical history. The platform will then use AI and ML algorithms to analyze the data and provide a risk assessment for cancer. If the child is classified as high risk for cancer, the platform will provide recommendations for further evaluation by a pediatric oncologist. The PCP will then work with the family to schedule an appointment with a pediatric oncologist at a tertiary medical center for further assessment and diagnosis.

The algorithms are trained on a large dataset of cancer cases and use statistical models to identify patterns and make predictions about the likelihood of cancer, applying the integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI), a strategy formulated by the World Health Organization (WHO) protocol to determine the likelihood that the patient has cancer. The platform also includes educational resources for PCPs and families, providing cancer prevention and treatment information. This can include guidance on healthy lifestyle choices, warning signs to look out for, and treatment options.

One of the key benefits of the Hope Clinics platform is that it allows PCPs to make more informed decisions about referring children to pediatric oncologists for further evaluation. This can help in catching cancer at an earlier stage and improve outcomes for children. Additionally, because the platform is accessible through a smartphone or computer, it can be used in remote and underserved areas of Colombia, where access to healthcare may be limited.

The Hope Clinics platform is designed to serve children and adolescents living in low-resource areas who are at risk of developing cancer. These children are often underserved due to a lack of access to essential medical services, including cancer screening and early detection, as well as a shortage of specialized healthcare providers and limited healthcare infrastructure in remote areas. 

By improving early detection rates, the Hope Clinics platform can help to ensure that children receive the care they need to fight cancer and achieve better outcomes. The target population for our solution includes children who have visited their PCP and have been classified as at-risk for developing cancer. These children will then be referred to a specialized care facility to undergo further assessment and potential treatment.

The Hope Clinics platform will impact the lives of these children in several ways. Firstly, by providing a tool for PCPs to assess a child's risk of developing cancer, the platform can help to ensure that children are referred to specialized care facilities in a timely manner, improving their chances of survival. Early detection and timely treatment are critical factors in improving outcomes for children with cancer, and the Hope Clinics platform aims to support this process.

Secondly, the Hope Clinics platform will provide educational resources to healthcare providers and families, which can help increase awareness and improve early detection rates. By providing information about the signs and symptoms of childhood cancer, the platform can help to ensure that children are diagnosed as early as possible, giving them the best chance of survival.

Finally, the Hope Clinics platform can help bridge the gap between primary and specialized care, ensuring that children in low-resource areas can access the same quality of care as those in more developed areas. By providing a digital tool for PCPs to assess a child's risk of developing cancer, the platform can help to ensure that every child has the best chance of surviving and thriving, regardless of where they live.

Our team is uniquely positioned to deliver this solution because of our extensive fieldwork experience and our commitment to engaging with the communities we serve. Our team is led by a Pediatric Oncologist who has worked in healthcare for over a decade and has experience working with rural communities and underserved populations in Latin America. In addition to our team lead, we have nurses and social workers from different Latin American backgrounds, bringing diverse perspectives and experiences to our work. We should also acknowledge our strategic alliances with leading regional foundations for fieldwork at the rural level.

Over the past year, we have completed extensive fieldwork in the region of Córdoba in Colombia, where we enabled homogenized growth and development clinics and vaccination sites in 17 primary healthcare centers, covering 70% of the population in the department. This experience has given us a deep understanding of the needs and challenges facing the communities we serve, as well as valuable insights into how to effectively engage with these communities and deliver healthcare services in a culturally sensitive and responsive way.

We recognize the importance of centering the community in designing and implementing our solution. As such, we have been actively engaged with community members and leaders throughout the development process, seeking their input and feedback on our approach and ensuring that their ideas and agendas are meaningfully incorporated into our work. We have also been working closely with local governments and healthcare providers to ensure that our solution is integrated into existing healthcare systems and can be sustained long-term.

In addition to our extensive fieldwork experience and community engagement, our innovation team includes members with experience developing and deploying digital health solutions and working with AI. We recognize the potential of technology to improve healthcare delivery and are committed to incorporating these tools into our work. Our team includes engineers and data experts with expertise in developing AI-powered diagnostic tools and telemedicine platforms. By leveraging technology, we hope to increase access to early cancer detection and diagnosis, particularly in rural areas with limited specialized healthcare providers and infrastructure.

Hope Clinics is a healthcare organization that operates 52 sites in Monteria and 10 in different municipalities of Cordoba-Colombia where the cancer incidence is about 18.4 per 100000 children and serving a total of approximately 350,000 children and adolescents in these areas. The organization is committed to providing high-quality healthcare services to these populations and has made significant strides in improving the health outcomes of the communities it serves.

In particular, Hope Clinics has been instrumental in the early diagnosis and treatment of cancer among children in these areas. To date, the organization's efforts have led to the early diagnosis of cancer in 371 children, helping to improve their chances of survival and recovery. This work is a testament to the dedication and commitment of Hope Clinics and its staff, as well as the importance of early detection and treatment in improving health outcomes.

We are applying to Solve because our project aligns well with Solve's mission of addressing global challenges through innovation and collaboration. We would benefit from Solve's network of partners and resources and the mentorship and guidance that Solve's staff and community provide.

Culturally, we recognize the importance of understanding the unique needs and perspectives of the communities we serve, particularly in rural areas where access to healthcare and technological solutions may be limited. We hope that Solve can connect us with local partners and community members who can provide us with insights and guidance on how to tailor our solution to meet the needs of these communities in a culturally sensitive and appropriate way.

Another barriers we face is the need for technical expertise and resources to develop our cancer classifier solution further. We believe that Solve can help us connect with experts in machine learning and data analysis, and provide us with access to cutting-edge technologies and tools that will enable us to improve our solution and bring it to scale.

Finally, Solve can help us overcome market barriers by connecting us with potential partners interested in supporting innovative solutions in the healthcare sector. We are excited to explore opportunities to collaborate with other Solver teams and partners through Solve's platform and to leverage our collective strengths to bring about positive change in the world.

Our solution is innovative in several ways. First, it leverages the power of AI, machine learning, and digital health to quickly and accurately diagnose pediatric cancer, even in resource-constrained settings where access to specialized medical professionals and equipment is limited, but the key to cancer diagnosis and referral to specialized treatment. Using a cloud-based platform, our solution can process and analyze large amounts of patient data in real time, allowing for faster and more accurate diagnoses. This is a significant improvement over the current diagnostic process, which relies heavily on the expertise of individual doctors and often requires lengthy and expensive testing. 

Second, our solution is designed to be highly scalable, potentially impacting many people in a short time. By providing access to advanced diagnostic tools and resources in regions where they may not currently exist, we can help to level the playing field and improve healthcare outcomes for underserved populations.

Finally, our solution is unique because it is designed to work within the existing healthcare infrastructure in low-resource settings. Using the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) guidelines developed by the WHO, we can help ensure that our solution is well-integrated into existing healthcare systems and processes and aligns with established best practices for pediatric cancer diagnosis and treatment. Overall, our solution can catalyze positive change in the healthcare industry by demonstrating the value and potential of AI and machine learning in improving patient outcomes, even in resource-constrained settings. As more healthcare organizations and providers adopt these technologies, we will see a broader shift towards more personalized, data-driven approaches to diagnosis and treatment, which could ultimately lead to improved outcomes for patients across a range of medical conditions.

Our impact goals for Hope Clinics are focused on improving access to early cancer detection and reducing the morbidity and mortality associated with pediatric cancer in fragile contexts. Our goals for the next year and the next five years are as follows:

Following year impact goals:

1. To deploy the Hope Clinics platform in our primary care clinic in Cordoba (Colombia), reaching 500 patients and evaluating its effectiveness in improving cancer detection in children.

2. To achieve a 95% accuracy rate in automated triage and prioritization of patients.

3. To provide training and educational resources to healthcare workers in these clinics, empowering them to use the platform effectively and to make informed decisions about when to refer children to pediatric oncologists.

4. To establish partnerships with at least two health insurance companies, local organizations, and NGOs to help identify children at risk of cancer and increase awareness of Hope Clinics in these communities.

Next five years' impact goals:

1. To expand the Hope Clinics platform to cover a larger geographic area, including additional underserved regions of Colombia and other countries where Auna is present such as Peru and Mexico, increasing the number of healthcare facilities using our platform to 20. 

2. To increase the accuracy of our risk assessment models by continually training and updating our algorithms with new data from clinical trials and medical research.

3. To develop a sustainable business model for Hope Clinics, ensuring that it can continue to provide affordable and accessible cancer risk assessments and education to healthcare providers and families in fragile contexts.

To achieve our impact goals, we will take the following steps:

1. Continuously improve the Hope Clinics platform through regular user testing and feedback and by incorporating new features and functions to meet the needs of healthcare providers and families.

2. Develop partnerships with local healthcare organizations and NGOs to increase the reach and impact of Hope Clinics.

3. Provide training and educational resources to healthcare workers and families to increase their awareness and understanding of childhood cancer, its risk factors, and how to identify warning signs.

4. Collaborate with academic institutions and medical researchers to collect data regarding the evolution and socio-demographic evaluation of the disease, as well as improve the accuracy of our risk assessment models.

5. Establish a sustainable business model for Hope Clinics, which includes partnerships with healthcare providers and insurers and potentially philanthropic support.

Through these steps, we believe we can significantly impact childhood cancer in fragile contexts, improving access to early detection and treatment, reducing morbidity and mortality rates, and ultimately improving outcomes for children and families. Our solution can potentially transform the lives of millions of children and families currently underserved and lacking access to life-saving cancer care.

We are measuring our progress toward our impact goals through qualitative and quantitative data collection methods. We plan to use the following indicators to measure our progress: 

• Number of patients receiving timely and appropriate diagnosis and treatment for childhood cancer and other high-incidence diseases such as malnutrition, hemoglobinopathies, Infectious diseases, and other orphan and catastrophic diseases, including autoimmune, metabolic, and storage diseases. 

• Number of patients who receive a timely diagnosis and treatment through our platform: We will also collect feedback from patients and their families to measure their satisfaction with their quality of care. 

• Reduction in treatment delay: We will monitor the time patients receive treatment after being diagnosed with childhood cancer. Our goal is to reduce treatment delay to less than one month from diagnosis. 

• Increased number of pediatric oncology appointments: Our platform will track the appointments made and completed. Our goal is to increase the number of appointments made and completed by at least 50% in the next year. 

• Improved patient outcomes: We will track patient outcomes such as survival rates, quality of life, and incidence of adverse effects. Our goal is to improve patient outcomes by at least 20% in the next five years. 

• User satisfaction: We will collect feedback from patients, healthcare providers, and other stakeholders to measure their satisfaction with our platform. We will use this feedback to improve our platform and services continuously. 

We plan to collect data on these indicators through our platform, surveys, and interviews with patients, healthcare providers, and other stakeholders. 

We will also use data from national cancer registries and other sources to track patient outcomes and other indicators. Furthermore, we believe that by monitoring these indicators, we will be able to measure our progress toward our impact goals and continuously improve our platform and services to serve better the needs of patients with childhood cancer and their families.

Activities: Our solution involves developing and implementing a digital platform that streamlines identifying and referring pediatric cancer patients from primary care physicians to tertiary care centers, providing real-time access to laboratory results, and facilitating communication between healthcare providers.

Outputs: Through our solution, we expect to produce the following outputs:

• A functional digital platform that is accessible to healthcare providers in Colombia

• Increased referrals of pediatric cancer patients to tertiary care centers

• Improved communication between healthcare providers

• More timely access to laboratory results for healthcare providers

Outcomes: We anticipate the following outcomes as a result of our solution:

• Earlier detection of pediatric cancer cases

• Improved classification and management of pediatric cancer cases

• Increased adherence to treatment guidelines and protocols

• Improved patient outcomes and survival rates

• Reduced costs associated with delayed or incorrect diagnoses and treatments

Our theory of change is based on the premise that streamlining the process of identifying and referring pediatric cancer patients will lead to earlier detection and more accurate classification of cases, facilitating timely and appropriate treatment. By providing real-time access to laboratory results and facilitating communication between healthcare providers, our solution aims to improve the quality of care and adherence to treatment guidelines and protocols, ultimately resulting in improved patient outcomes and survival rates. We also expect our solution to reduce the costs associated with delayed or incorrect diagnoses and treatments.

To support the existence and strength of these links, we will regularly monitor and evaluate our solution's impact on the target population and gather feedback and input from healthcare providers and patients. This will involve tracking the number of referrals made through the platform, monitoring changes in time-to-diagnosis and time-to-treatment, assessing adherence to treatment guidelines and protocols, and tracking patient outcomes such as survival rates. Additionally, we will conduct qualitative research to gather feedback from healthcare providers and patients on the usability and effectiveness of the platform and use this feedback to make ongoing improvements to the solution.

Various technologies, including mobile apps, cloud computing and monitoring devices, support our solution. Patients and healthcare providers use the mobile application as their primary interface, allowing them to access and input information about the patient's condition easily. The application also provides healthcare providers real-time updates and alerts to ensure timely and effective treatment.

Cloud computing stores and processes large amounts of data generated by the application, allowing for the exchange of information between patients, healthcare providers, and medical facilities to be seamless and secure. This technology also allows us to use advanced analytics and machine learning algorithms to identify patterns and insights in data, allowing us to create more targeted and personalized patient treatment plans. Furthermore, our solution incorporates telemedicine technology, which enables healthcare providers to assess patients remotely.

The Hope Clinics project is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusivity in our work. Diversity in our team is critical to understanding the diverse needs of the communities we serve. A female pediatric Oncologist leads the scientific team and includes interdisciplinary professionals, including nurses and social workers, from different regions of Colombia and other countries in Latin America.

As we continue to grow and expand our team, we are committed to ensuring and prioritizing diversity, equity, and inclusion. Our goal is to build a team that reflects the diversity of the communities we serve, including individuals from underrepresented backgrounds.

To achieve this goal, we are taking several actions. Firstly, we have implemented an inclusive recruitment process that prioritizes diversity and inclusivity. We are actively seeking candidates from diverse backgrounds and underrepresented communities. We are also partnering with organizations focusing on healthcare sector diversity to help us identify potential candidates.

Secondly, we are committed to providing ongoing training and development opportunities for our team to help them better understand and address diversity, equity, and inclusion issues. Continuing education and training are crucial to creating a more inclusive and welcoming environment for our team members.

Finally, we are committed to working with our partner organizations and communities to ensure that our work is sensitive to the unique needs of different communities. True inclusivity means listening to and working closely with the communities we serve to understand their needs and perspectives.

Our business model for Hope Clinics is designed to balance our mission of providing high-quality cancer risk assessment and education to underserved populations. We must generate revenue to sustain our operations and continue improving our platform.

Our key customers are primary care providers and families in fragile contexts who are in need of accessible and affordable cancer risk assessment and education services. We provide these customers with access to our AI-powered platform, which allows them to input information about a child's symptoms and medical history and receive a risk assessment for cancer. If the child is classified as high risk for cancer, the platform recommends further evaluation by a pediatric oncologist.

In addition to risk assessment, our platform also includes educational resources for PCPs and families, providing cancer prevention and treatment information. This can include guidance on healthy lifestyle choices, warning signs to look out for, and treatment options. These resources are designed to empower our customers to make informed decisions about cancer prevention and care.

We plan to adopt a freemium model for our platform to generate revenue. Basic access to the platform, including risk assessment and educational resources, will be free for all users. However, advanced features, such as access to expert consultations and personalized treatment plans, will be available for a fee. This allows us to generate revenue while ensuring that our core services remain accessible to those who most need them.

We also plan to partner with healthcare providers, NGOs, and other organizations in the healthcare space to increase our reach and impact. Through these partnerships, we will be able to expand our customer base and provide our services to more people in need. In addition, we may explore opportunities for grants and other forms of funding to support our operations and further improve our platform.

Regarding sustainability, we plan to keep our costs low by using open-source software and cloud-based hosting services. We also plan to leverage the expertise of volunteers and interns to help develop and maintain our platform.

Our plan for becoming financially sustainable revolves around a combination of revenue streams that will enable us to cover our expenses and continue providing services to underserved populations. These revenue streams include:

1. Grants and Donations: We plan to seek out grants and donations from foundations, governments, and private donors interested in improving access to healthcare and reducing cancer-related mortality rates in underserved communities. We will leverage our partnerships with organizations that work in similar fields to increase our chances of securing funding.

2. Service Contracts: We will also explore the option of providing Hope Clinics as a service to governments, healthcare providers, and other organizations working in the healthcare space. We believe that there is a strong demand for affordable and effective cancer screening tools, particularly in regions where healthcare is limited.

3. Selling Educational Resources: We plan to generate revenue by selling educational resources to PCPs, families, and other interested parties. These resources will include cancer prevention and treatment information, guidance on healthy lifestyle choices, and warning signs to look out for. We will also offer training programs for PCPs interested in using Hope Clinics in their practices.

4. Licensing the Technology: We may explore the option of licensing our technology to other organizations that work in the healthcare space. This could include licensing our algorithms to other cancer screening tools or organizations that work in the broader health tech field.

5. Partnerships with Pharmaceutical Companies: We will explore partnerships with pharmaceutical companies interested in improving cancer outcomes in underserved communities. These partnerships could help us generate revenue while increasing our impact.

We plan to rely heavily on grants and donations to cover our expenses in the short term. As we grow and expand our services, we will explore the other revenue streams outlined above to ensure long-term sustainability.

Hope Clinics has already taken steps toward achieving financial sustainability. One major contributor to our financial sustainability has been the support of Auna, a private healthcare company, who has backed our operation by providing resources for marketing and outreach. Auna is interested in Hope Clinics because we can bring more patients to their clinics, which helps to increase revenue for their organization. Moreover, Auna is present in diverse socio-demographic regions to provide universal care; Cordoba’s only childhood cancer center, run by Auna, offers comprehensive care to 100% of this affected population. 

Regarding revenue generation, Hope Clinics plans to offer our platform on a subscription basis to healthcare providers, hospitals, and clinics. We are exploring opportunities with several healthcare providers to use the platform, and we plan to continue to market our platform to additional providers.

We are actively pursuing multiple revenue streams and have already received support from key partners and funders. With continued growth and development, we are confident that Hope Clinics can achieve long-term financial sustainability while also having a transformative impact on the lives of children with cancer in Colombia and beyond.