Denis Opudo
Vula Mobile, a South African e-health platform that was launched connects patients and health specialists. It also allows case-by-case study for its primary health workers on how to tackle various conditions. The specialists learn from specialists from some institutions in South Africa.
Initially, the platform allowed its users to conduct basic eye tests, capture photographs and provide brief medical history before getting in touch with a specialist. Every quarter of the year, the startup checks the impact it has in South Africa. The startup realized a 250% increment in the number of patients they helped in 2017 compared to 2016. In 2016, the startup helped 2,397 patients while in 2017 the number hit 5,888. The startup also noted that its registered health workers increased from 1,775 in 2016 to 3,600 in 2017.
The latest findings from Stellenbosch Orthopaedic while investigating the extent of the impact of Vula showed that only a third of referrals received doctor referral advice. Therefore, since they received advice on how to manage emergency at a nearby health facility, they did not require transportation
Moreover, the platform interface allows users to seek advice before deciding on the relevant course to undergo. For the past 18 months, the startup has also expanded its operations in different health sectors. Moreover, the startup recognizes the eye as a “huge potential” in the e-health market.
The startup intends to help 7,500 patients in the first quarter of 2018. The startup management said that the use of Vula mobile in various parts of South Africa makes it an experiential training tool. The management also said that their services go beyond touching the lives of patients.
Some medical institutions in South Africa use Vula services for training and monitoring clinical associate and medical students. These institutions include University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Family Medicine and the University of Pretoria. Moreover, hospitals in East London, Port Elizabeth, Kimberley, Bloemfontein, Pietermaritzburg, and Johannesburg use Vula Mobile services for orthopaedic referrals.
