Afya Link

Data Health interoperability is a problem that remains open until now. The main question is how to provide open access to sensible data (health data), preserving personal data privacy, anonymity, and avoiding data misusage.

In a typical health care environment, a common scenario could be that a patient (A) needs some medical data while having a medical appointment at institution (B), but the data was created during a previous appointment between (A) and (C), and the data is kept by professional/institution (C). In such a scenario it is difficult for patients to keep a better control of their own data and health professionals and institutions, such as hospitals, have access to patients data owned by others institutions.

Commonly, healthcare data is stored in a centralised system known as Electronic Health Record (EHR) system, which is often customised as per the healthcare providers requirements. This results in a fragmented approach to data storage, preventing ease of information sharing between systems, otherwise known as 'interoperability'. Instead, information ends up in silos that act as bottlenecks in the sharing of data, causing frustration among institutions, regulators, researchers and patients. This lack of standardisation and centralised storage approach results in two fundamental flaws, privacy and security.

Afya-Link is an Electronic Health Records (EHR) system based on a decentralised architecture that provides an efficient means of bridging the gap between health institutions in both private and public sectors while enabling large-scale accessibility, keeping data privacy, reducing curating and mediating costs, as well as providing trust-less trust amongst health institutions/health professionals and between patients and health institutions/health professionals.

 The software connects health institutions in a district, region and country level. Each institution updates record of test results, diagnosis and prescriptions for each patient that visits. Patients’ data are accessed by all institutions within the network while ensuring transparency and accountability at each step of the process. Smart contracts are used enable this process to run smoothly and the patient has total control and ownership of their data whereby no institution/ health professional is able to access patients’ data without their permission.

In a scenario, if the medical condition presented by the patient prevents them from being capable of granting permission to their records (e.g., because the patient is unconscious), we consider a “break the glass” mechanism, where a health professional is granted permission to access their records, given explicit account of the patient’s condition and presentation of required credentials of the professional, as well as publicly available information stating that the patient has explicitly declared that they would agree with this permission under clearly specified conditions.

Afya-Link is a decentralised system build in python. We provide APIs that return JSON data and hence it can integrate with different platforms both mobile and web different in different languages.

We are developing packages for iOS (Swift), android (Kotlin) and Flutter(dart) for the ever-growing mobile development community.

 Machine learning is employed to process the health data and provide better analysis of collected data. We are also working on developing TensorFlow models that would be used for dataflow and differentiable programming across a range of tasks.

Afya-Link has identified three distinct market segments that will be interested in the software product. These segments are the most likely consumers and contributors of the software. The segments are as follows:

1.     Health Institutions - Both public and private hospital are potential customers of the software because patient often visit different hospitals in different circumstances and time, also in case of referral there is need of communication and data exchange amongst institutions.

2.     Government - For the government to ensure sustainable development of its people, they ought to know the health conditions of its citizen in order for them to properly plan and make decision that will have a positive impact to the society. Statistical data will help the government consider the regional control of infectious diseases such

as measles, tuberculosis and cholera. It is important to track the incidence and prevalence of cases at the individual, or region level and prevent further spread of the diseases.

3.     Software Developers Afya-Link is an open-source software that provides and allows developers to utilize and build products that are useful to the community. For-example a develop could build a mobile app to remind a patient of their doctor-appointments, health eating, exercising, health track etc. Afya-Link provides safe and secure APIs to patients’ data and information that will improve and personalize such apps, though a patient will have to grant access to such information.

4.     Researchers - Medical students, independent researchers and institutions are in need of reliable and accurate medical data and processing information that would help them carryout their research with accuracy. Afya-Link understands the important of research in improving the healthcare field, with this in mind we provide such statistical data to researchers while maintaining privacy and integrity of patients.

As much as we aim for Afya-Link to operate in the whole of Africa, our primary area of focus is Tanzania.

We are location at arguably the most vibrant city of the country and we believe its best location to launch our pilot software due various factors and conditions such as availability of health institution that already have the infrastructure to support this platform.

  Also, technology is picking up so fast in Dar Es Salaam and it’s a home of headquarters of various institutions both in medical and non-medical as well as technology companies.

Our co-founder team has well qualified software engineers and developers with a combined experience of 40 years in software development. Dennis Mwighusa, our CEO has a 15 years’ experience in software development with a degree in Computer Science and Engineering and a Postgraduate Education obtained from foreign countries, He has also been involved and lead several software projects and he currently actively pursuing AI, Data Science and Machine Learning. Elita Moye, our head of technology has a BSc. in Computer Engineering & IT and currently pursuing MBA in IT management and a verse of software developed under her watch. Jonathan Masanja, is a web developer and software engineer with 8 years’ experience. Henry Lyamuya is a system designer and web developer for 8 years. Our team is also made up of young, bright and vibrant minds of computer science students from local and foreign universities who greatly increase innovation within the group.

 We also are strong believers of open source because to build a fully decentralised system requires trust on several components, such as third- party institutions, agents and the information network itself. With this we argue that openness can be fundamental to reach the desired level of trust in the system. We encourage open innovation implying creation and involvement of a community of developers and users to solve social problems.

Apart from this solution we have built we have also participated in development of various solutions both between the government agencies and private sectors which are already in use and have impacted the community. Our developed solutions are cross-cutting serving different environments such as health, finance, agriculture, climate change etc.

We have so far made the following progresses to make sure that our developed solution goes into the market:

1. We have made all necessary revisions for regulatory & privacy compliance. We have also introduced to 5 hospitals for implementation. Float Alpha model for virtual doctor consultation & referrals.

2. We have created a Beta version of the data systemisation app and hoping to float into two pilot hospitals to implementation and testing. We have also developed an Alpha model for virtual doctor consultations and referrals.

3. We have also addressed any scalability concerns before introducing data systemisation to more hospitals. Launched Beta virtual doctor consultation and referrals.

So far the product is already in place waiting to be piloted and brought to the market.

So far we have not started using the solution as we are still waiting for the pilot of the solution.

We believe that in order for our solution to create impact to the community that we are aiming to serve then we need access to funding in any form. This is to help support as finalise with the remaining stages before it becomes operational. We are also welcoming investors who might be interested to join with us so as to help solve the community challenges in healthcare domain.

Guidance and Mentorship is also of a paramount importance, hence through this initiative we are also hoping that once qualified we shall be connected with potential mentors who will guide us professionally so as to make sure we have a product which is a top notch and will serve the purpose in which it is aimed for.

Through this initiative we are also sure that it will be a source for us to connect with a very powerful network of impact-minded leaders across industries and sectors, with dedication to make sure that we are finally achieving the purpose.

Through this initiative which is a renowned world class, we expect to receive different advices based on the requirements at that particular time but also this will be a source of us getting connected to different experts whereby we can also be able to share our experiences. This platform is also a source of us gaining more popularity and specifically our product which at the end will attract more users even beyond the country. 

There are several software’s on the market that provide electronic health records management but they cover individual hospitals i.e., centralised systems. These systems provide solutions that eliminate paper work and improve record keeping for a particular hospital.

Health institutions are able to keep records of their patients’ data but this architecture does not provide room for collaboration between institutions and also a patient has no control of their data in anyway whatsoever. Also, when researchers want to use data stored in such system, there is always a difficulty because the data is raw (has not been processed into information), so researchers have to bear the burden of sorting, processing and preparing the raw data to suit their researches.

Our aim is to connect all health institutions (Hospitals) and share their Electronic Health Records amongst themselves and other intended parties.

Taking into consideration that some hospitals have centralised system in place, our aim is not to replace them in the market but rather integrate them into this decentralised network.

To achieve this, we are providing Application Programming Interfaces commonly knowns as (APIs) so that hospitals using such softwares are able to connect and share data within the system without the need of replacing their software with new ones. These APIs ensure that data coming from various sources is consistent and satisfy a required standard.

 For institutions (Hospitals) that do not have a system in place, we provide a customisable user-friendly system that they can sign-up and use for free.

 Afya-Link also gives a patient total control and accessibility of their own health information at an instant. The patient may decide whether to allow their data to be used in other medical fields such as researches.

 Since the software is open source, the system aims at having a strong growing community of contributors mainly software developers and researchers who will build a variety of solutions which will help improve the health care field enormously.

Since healthy people are more productive, and healthy infants and children can develop better and become productive adults. we want to work closely with the government to improve the health of its people.

First and foremost, we want to have government institutions that are directly involved in health should as the ministry of health onboard. Also, we want to partner with both private and public hospitals. Health insurance companies are potential partners and would be virtual in implementation of smart contracts.

We plan to have bootcamps and hackathon to allow the development community to develop as many products as possible that will be integrated with this platform.

We are aiming to invest in signage, physical and digital advertising, email newsletters, search engine optimisation, social media outreach, TV and radio commercials.

We shall also work to build a strong community for developers and researchers, the strength of the community will create trust and provide a platform for growth.

We based our product pricing on a close study of all of our competitors in the market. Our software will be free for signups and use to health institutions. Affordable prices are designed for processed statistical data and charged per queries.

Since our platform is concerned with connecting all healthcare facilities so as to offer the best services, but also to connect key government players who make decisions, connecting healthcare professionals from different angles, researchers having access to various informations so as to conduct their researchers but also software developers to be able to utilise and build products that are useful to the community then at the end our progress is/will be measured by having met the SDG Goal Number 3 of which:

1. Under UN SDG 3.8 which is achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all. Some of these objectives will be met upon implementation of our platform. Under SDG 3.8.1 Coverage of essential health services: this will be met by decentralising the healthcare institutions. 

2. Under SDG 3.b which states about supporting the research and development, this aligns with our solution to be offered services.

In order for our solution to create more impact to the problem we are addressing there are some of the issues that needs to be met. 

We shall provide training and create awareness of the product for all stakeholders involved in the entire ecosystem. Every one will be informed on the best way can benefit from having access to the platform. This will be done by using Group facilitators who have a good understanding of the platform in place. The stakeholders to be involved in the training workshops include healthcare professionals, policy makers i.e., government officials, researchers, software developers etc.

Generating outcome standards requires patient data. The use of Afya-Link platform will generate raw patient data at unprecedented rates. The establishment of outcome standards will be needed to speed up measurement, which will allow institutions to collect and share data on outcomes more efficiently, and allow comparisons that will accelerate healthcare improvement.

These outcome data can become even more impactful when applied to a theory of change framework.

Measuring, reporting, and comparing health outcomes is a strategic approach that can drive better health outcomes for patients and populations. This approach can also drive improvement in care delivered by health teams. Improved outcomes and improved quality of care can be very motivating for teams. This also connects the interventions that improve health to a broader framework.

At the end we are expecting an improved healthcare domain and better relationship between different sectors in the ecosystem.

Afya-Link is a decentralised system built in python. We provide APIs that return JSON data and hence it can integrate with different platforms both mobile and web different in different languages.

We have developed packages for iOS (Swift), android (Kotlin) and Flutter(dart) for the ever-growing mobile development community.

Machine learning is employed to process the health data and provide better analysis of collected data. We have also workeng on developing TensorFlow models that would be used for dataflow and differentiable programming across a range of tasks.

In addressing gender-equality and other kinds of inclusion and diversity dimensions, Our organisation with the acronym ReSITAI has always incorporated engendered data and considers inclusivity in information captured and data collected for developing the solutions. This kind of method allows bringing out of information and data that would have otherwise been uncaptured.

This project has observed and will continue observe inclusivity in its activities and analysis of issues within the project. Any kind of exclusion based on physical aptitude, age, religion and gender will not be tolerated. Additionally, the very composition of the team is based on inclusivity in terms of gender, multidisciplinary backgrounds and age. 

Tell our brand’s unique, personal story. While we need to explain exactly what our product offers, we won’t forget to personalise our marketing efforts. Telling the story of how our product will change the healthcare domain and performance for the better. Also, weigh in on broader conversations in our industry to establish ourselves as thoughtful leaders.

Understanding who is interested with our product. When it comes to Afya-Link (our product), the user journey isn’t always obvious because the user isn’t necessarily the one making using decisions. A  strategy for our organisation might target users. We need to develop thorough, accurate user personas that guide our web design and digital marketing process to ensure we’re reaching the people who actually make platform use decisions.

Invest in social media for the long run. It’s easy to build a Facebook page, Instagram, Twitter etc, but it’s harder to master the platform. We need to commit to investing time and money in our social strategy. While many organisations and companies quickly dole out social media responsibilities to part-time interns, we need to use an experienced, talented communicator that can effectively represent our brand.

Employing a steady, consistent SEO strategy. Like social media, SEO is not necessarily a quick and easy endevor. A robust online presence comes gradually. We don’t have to abandon our SEO efforts if we don’t see immediate effects. To get real results, we need consistent keyword research and shareable content that will cement our website as an information hub and boost rankings on search engines.

Apart from above but we will also need to market our product by participating in trade fairs, TV talk shows and appearances, radio talk shows focus meetings, strategic presentations, etc. This will create a network that will last for years.

Our product is aimed to be robust and efficient, the product will have added features that solve the problems that currently are being faced with the existing platforms. Testimonials will have to be aired for those who will already have experience with our product for others to make decisions. Since the product will be free and or cheap compared to the ones in the market, this will increase or attracts the number of customers hence increase the sales and in turn maximise the profit. 

We shall fix a price of our product at a reasonable and manageable cost that will beat any other available product in the market. The greatest advantage of our product is also based on the features that you can not find in any other available product in the country. 

Our software will also be free for signups and use to health institutions. Affordable prices will be designed for processed statistical data and charged per queries, this is mostly expected to be used by research and development activities. 

We expect to raise funds as well from different key players in the industry, this is through the government bodies such as Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology - COSTECH, Information and Communication Technology Commission - ICTC, Health related Institutions, Insurance Companies etc. Through fund raising we will also establish a good network with international organisations which do offer funds to implement such kind of projects.

We are also open for any investor who might be interested to join with our team. This will also be a one way of raising funds.

We have so far through our team members managed to secure funds from different organisations such as Financial Sector Deepening, Tony Elumelu Foundation to implement some of our solutions. With this ground then we are sure of continuing establishing some good network so as to keep raising more funds. To date our team members have managed to collect a sum of more than $100,000 to run other projects apart from this. 

We have experience too in organising fund raising events of which we have done some.