Devdex, a software company in Ghana, has rolled out what is considered Africa’s first health tech platform built on blockchain to provide electronic medical records (EMR) solutions for medical facilities.
Called Yarysa, it was founded in 2019 by Nana Osafo-Bosompem, Dr. Appiah-Sakyi, and Caleb Hoffmann but fully functioned in 2020. The Yarysa platform acts as a management system for hospitals by providing patients with transparent and data-driven results.
Initially, Devdex focused on building software solutions for customers but branched into the health sector after it identified gaps within the sector with the help of a doctor. Nana identified that doctors were still used to the traditional paperwork which often led to the loss of data or information. He also noted the rigmarole process of consulting with a doctor. This was enough motivation to launch the platform.
Now, patients can consult with their physicians via video. Doctors can be efficient and more focused on the practice than the administrative work. Importantly, all patients’ records, diagnoses, inventories, consultations, prescriptions are digitized for easy access. Furthermore, medical facilities can have access to loans and credit facilities to grow and scale their business.
“We considered blockchain for this project because this kind of technology has proven it can be trusted. Our system can be used across various hospitals and it is prudent we use a medium that can improve traceability and transparency. Blockchain is helping secure transactions and speeding up data transfer processing.”
“Notably, our system is affordable and customized to suit a particular hospital. Every facility comes with its structure and mode of operation so, we have done our best to incorporate that kind of flexibility into our system to suit any hospital.”
“We want to be branded as a local product and it is satisfying to see that several facilities are using our platform on a trial basis. However, we have successfully secured a key customer, Britannia Medical Centre who is extensively using our platform.”
“Hopefully, we will be a household name in Benin, Liberia, Botswana, and Sierra Leone as we consider scaling our services outside Ghana,” Nana commented.
Source: Digital Times Africa
