Digital health tech start-up, Quro Medical's innovative offerings is an answer to relieving an overburdened healthcare system and addressing the issue of costly medical care. Quro Medical's technology allows for patients to receive hospital-level care with the oversight and support of their own doctor, supported by the Quro Medical team, right at home.
The Quro Medical solution includes state of the art technology, an ever growing community of more than 350 signed up doctors as well as a team of medical professionals and nurses, that all come together to service patients right at home. Patients won't have to be booked into the hospital for costly observation and monitoring any longer. It can now all be done at home, without worry.
The solution has already garnered $1.1m in funding and is supported by most of the local medical aid schemes and medical insurance market.
The fact that such a large percentage of healthcare funders are willing to accept and reimburse for the Quro Medical service offering speaks volumes in terms of the level and quality of medical and clinical care the company provides patients.
“We fully support Quro Medical's hospital-at-home solution and trust the efficacy of their technology and service, as well as the growing medical professionals’ backing of the solution. The overall clinical care the company provides is of world-class standard and is closely aligned with our strategy of elevating the patient’s home as a safe and effective setting for healthcare delivery,” says Dr Abongile Qamata, Head: Alternatives to hospitalisation at Medscheme.
Access to quality healthcare is an ongoing challenge owing to rising costs and limited capacity and resources on a backdrop of a growing burden of disease and an ailing healthcare system. The company is therefore reaching out to all doctors and medical professionals to join their community to further strengthen its capacity and increase its reach to the entire South African and greater African population.
“The Quro service was absolutely brilliant, I really never expected such good service. I used the hospital-at-home where they came and visited me, did blood work from home, and even the physio came to me. Everything was just amazing – I don’t think I would have gotten the help I got in a different setting. It was a luxury to be treated at home and I think I recovered faster by being at home. I would recommend this route to anyone, I really received so much love and care,” says Johanna Delalande, an 81-year-old patient from Turffontein that received Quro Medical care.
Joost Pielage, Quro Medical CTO describes the Quro Medical platform as a truly South African developed telehealth solution that incorporates a number of wireless medical-grade devices that collects health data minute-by-minute, and link to its clinical command centre, where they monitor and analyse clinical data in real-time.
A patient’s doctor also has access to this monitoring platform so that they can easily manage the treatment plan for their patients. The platform allows clinicians to make data-driven decisions immediately in order to offer the best and most appropriate medical care that is needed for each specific patient.
“I would really recommend the Quro hospital-at-home service to someone. The best thing was the sensor that let them monitor my condition every second, every minute, every hour to see what was happening. They were able to see that I was losing oxygen and struggling and organised for my wife and a nurse to help get me to a hospital. They were always checking up on me and giving me the right injections and medications so it was very helpful. I felt that the staff gave me their best at all times,” says Phakamani Jali (37) from Fourways, Johannesburg.
According to Carolyn Chinsinga, Medical Director for Clinical Operations at Quro Medical, their technology allows for patients to be treated in the comfort of their own homes for 50% less than in the traditional hospital setting. “As a result of our combined factors, patients get better faster with an average admission rate of 5 days,” Chinsinga notes.
The easy-to-use devices currently include a chest patch that enables continuous vital sign monitoring, and additional hardware for real-time, intermittent monitoring of patients’ oxygen and sugar levels. The chest patch is a discreet, multiparameter biosensor that monitors a patient's heart rate, ECG, respiratory rate and core body temperature - ordinarily monitored in the hospital. It also measures patient movements, like steps taken, body position and fall detection. “When there is a sudden change in health data (e.g., heart rate or temperature) or a change in body position (e.g., like when a patient has fallen) is picked up by the patch, the system alerts us and the command centre immediately informs the in-care clinical team to follow up on the patient – all in real-time, 24/7,” Pielage explains.
Patients' medical information is kept secure at all times, with the system encrypting all the data. Patients, therefore, need not worry that their data will become public knowledge.
“The idea for the Quro Medical solution was inspired by experiences of healthcare systems globally who despite being better resourced, were facing similar challenges to South Africa. Hospitals the world over are buckling under pressure and lack the space to accommodate the growing number of people in need of hospital care and are increasingly unaffordable…building more hospitals is clearly not the solution ” says Dr Vuyane Mhlomi, Co-founder and CEO of Quro Medical.
The Quro Medical hospital-at-home offering is an excellent value-based care solution. It not only eases the burden on healthcare facilities and their clinical teams but also eases the minds of patients. “We are 100% certain that our responsive solution provides excellent value and addresses the major concern many have about the cost, quality of care and funding of medical care today,” Pielage concludes.
Interested doctors should visit this website page
