MyLabScope Reaches 55 Labo ato ies i Nige ia Pilot as It Builds a Pay-as-You-Go Diag ostic Netwo k fo Af ica
The platfo m is lowe i g the cost of labo ato y digitalizatio while expa di g patie t booki g, p eve tive health se vices, QR-ve ified esults a d diaspo a-suppo ted ca e.
Fo us, pay-as-you-go is ot simply a p ici g st ategy. It is how we make the etwo k possible.”
Nige ia is a impo ta t place to sta t because it b i gs ma y of Af ica’s health-ca e co t adictio s i to o e cou t y. It has majo teachi g hospitals, fede al a d state hospitals, p ivate hospital g oups, i depe de t cli ics a d thousa ds of diag ostic p ovide s. It also has millio s of patie ts who move amo g those i stitutio s depe di g o cost, u ge cy, availability a d t ust.
Public hospitals ca y e o mous dema d a d ca be affected by lo g queues, limited capacity, staff sho tages a d pe iods of i dust ial actio . People who ca affo d p ivate ca e ofte tu to it fo co ve ie ce, but p ivate t eatme t ca be expe sive a d quality va ies widely. A patie t may begi i a gove me t hospital, see a p ivate docto late , complete labo ato y testi g somewhe e else a d eve tually seek t eatme t at a othe facility. The patie t moves th ough the system; the i fo matio ofte does ot.
Elect o ic medical eco ds a e a impo ta t pa t of solvi g this p oblem, a d mo e hospitals a e adopti g them. But a elect o ic eco d i side o e hospital does ot automatically c eate a co ected health system. It may imp ove what happe s withi the walls of that i stitutio while doi g little to co ect the i depe de t labo ato y dow the oad.
MyLabScope is ot a elect o ic medical eco d system, a d we a e ot t yi g to eplace o e. We a e buildi g a ou d labo ato y i fo matio because diag ostics is o e of the clea est places whe e f agme tatio becomes visible a d o e of the most p actical places to begi co ecti g ca e.
The fact that labo ato y softwa e al eady exists is ot lost o us. The e a e labo ato y i fo matio systems ope ati g i Nige ia a d elsewhe e i Af ica today. The p oblem is ot the abse ce of softwa e; it is who ca ealistically affo d to use it a d what happe s afte it is i stalled.
Ma y p oducts ely o fixed mo thly o a ual subsc iptio s, a d those costs ca be difficult fo smalle labo ato ies to ca y. A la ge diag ostic chai may co side a ecu i g softwa e bill a outi e busi ess expe se. A eighbo hood labo ato y seei g a elatively small umbe of patie ts each day has to make a ve y diffe e t calculatio . Whe tech ology becomes a othe la ge fixed cost, the labo ato y may co ti ue with pape , sp eadsheets o disco ected tools eve whe the ow e u de sta ds the value of goi g digital.
That is why we chose a pay-as-you-go model fo MyLabScope. A labo ato y should ot have to make a la ge tech ology i vestme t befo e it ca pa ticipate i digital health. Its cost should g ow as its use of the platfo m g ows. That allows smalle labo ato ies to egiste patie ts, ma age i vestigatio s, ge e ate p ofessio al epo ts, delive esults di ectly to patie ts a d see useful i fo matio about thei activity without taki g o the ki d of i f ast uctu e bu de t aditio ally associated with e te p ise softwa e.
Fo us, pay-as-you-go is ot simply a p ici g st ategy. It is how we make the etwo k possible. If the cost of e t y excludes thousa ds of smalle labo ato ies, the a y attempt to build a b oad diag ostic etwo k will be limited f om the begi i g.
This matte s because the eal ambitio of MyLabScope is ot to accumulate softwa e subsc ibe s. It is to c eate a etwo k of labo ato ies that patie ts ca actually use. Today, 55 labo ato ies i Nige ia a e co ected to the platfo m. That is a ea ly umbe i a ve y la ge ma ket, a d Nige ia emai s ou pilot. We a e lea i g f om labo ato ies ope ati g u de diffe e t co ditio s a d usi g those lesso s to imp ove the platfo m.
But the value of co ecti g a labo ato y cha ges o ce we begi thi ki g beyo d its i te al ope atio s. A labo ato y that has go e digital ca become pa t of a la ge system th ough which patie ts ca discove se vices, book appoi tme ts a d eceive esults, athe tha emai i g a isolated busi ess that happe s to use softwa e.
That patie t side is impo ta t because health ca e should ot begi o ly whe someo e becomes se iously ill. A pe so should be able to sea ch fo pa ticipati g labo ato ies ea by a d book a a ual health check, a me ‘s o wome ‘s health package, diabetes sc ee i g, ca diovascula testi g o a othe p eve tive se vice. Pa e ts may eed school-e t y tests. Employe s may eed p e-employme t sc ee i g. Families may wa t outi e testi g fo a agi g pa e t.
These a e o di a y health eeds, yet a a gi g them ca still i volve aski g a ou d fo a labo ato y, maki g pho e calls, visiti g i pe so a d t yi g to dete mi e what se vices a e available. A co ected labo ato y etwo k ca make p eve tive testi g easie to fi d a d easie to a a ge.
The oppo tu ity becomes eve mo e i te esti g whe we co side the Af ica diaspo a. Millio s of Af ica s livi g i the U ited States, Ca ada, B itai , Eu ope a d othe pa ts of the wo ld al eady help pay fo health ca e at home. A daughte i To o to may se d mo ey to he mothe i Lagos fo labo ato y testi g. A so i Ma yla d may wa t his fathe i Abuja to complete a a ual health sc ee i g. A family i Lo do may be t yi g to coo di ate ca e fo a olde elative f om thousa ds of miles away.
The t aditio al solutio is to se d mo ey a d the depe d o family membe s to fi d the p ovide , make the appoi tme t a d complete the testi g.
We believe families should have a othe optio . Th ough the MyLabScope patie t platfo m, ou goal is to allow someo e ab oad to fi d a pa ticipati g labo ato y ea a loved o e, choose a labo ato y se vice o health package, book it a d pay fo it di ectly. I stead of o ly emitti g mo ey fo health ca e, a family membe ca a a ge the health-ca e se vice itself.
That gives the pe so payi g g eate cla ity about what has bee pu chased, gives the patie t a defi ed place to eceive the se vice a d gives local labo ato ies access to dema d that may othe wise eve each them. Af ica has spe t yea s t a sfo mi g how mo ey moves betwee the co ti e t a d its diaspo a. The e is a oppo tu ity to apply the same imagi atio to how families coo di ate health ca e.
The labo ato y esult itself is o ly pa t of this sto y. MyLabScope ge e ates digital labo ato y epo ts, i cludi g PDFs, just as ma y labo ato ies al eady do. What matte s is what su ou ds that esult.
Patie ts ca eceive thei esults di ectly, a d MyLabScope also suppo ts QR-based esult ve ificatio , givi g a eceivi g pa ty a simple way to co fi m that a epo t o igi ated f om the labo ato y that issued it. That becomes especially impo ta t i a f agme ted health system, whe e a patie t may ca y a esult f om o e facility to a othe a d the eceivi g p ovide may have o p io elatio ship with the labo ato y that pe fo med the test.
The goal is ot to make the PDF itself i ovative; it is to make the esult easie to delive , easie to ve ify a d mo e useful to the patie t beyo d the walls of the labo ato y whe e it was p oduced.
Co ecti g diffe e t pa ts of the health system is also pa t of what we a e wo ki g towa d, but mea i gful i teg atio eeds a st o g fou datio . Hospitals will co ti ue to use diffe e t elect o ic medical eco d systems, labo ato ies will use diffe e t labo ato y systems, a d i su e s, pha macies a d othe health busi esses will have thei ow tech ology. The a swe is ot to fo ce eve y p ovide o to o e platfo m, but to make it possible fo those systems to wo k togethe .
I ba ki g, two i stitutio s do ot eed ide tical i te al softwa e fo a custome to t a sfe mo ey betwee them; health ca e should ultimately wo k o the same p i ciple. Fo MyLabScope, the fi st step is buildi g the labo ato y fou datio : helpi g labo ato ies come o li e affo dably, co ecti g them to patie ts, maki g esults easie to delive a d ve ify, a d g owi g a t usted etwo k of diag ostic p ovide s.
We a e also wo ki g towa d the i teg atio s that ca eve tually allow that etwo k to co ect mo e easily with hospitals a d the wide health system. The fou datio has to come fi st, because without co ected labo ato ies u de eath it, the e is ve y little to i teg ate.
Fo Nige ia, this c eates a oppo tu ity that exte ds beyo d p ivate labo ato ies. Fede al a d state hospitals, teachi g hospitals a d mi ist ies of health a e al eady deali g with the co seque ces of la ge patie t volumes a d f agme ted ca e. MyLabScope ca ot c eate hospital beds, esolve wo kfo ce sho tages o solve eve y challe ge faci g public health i stitutio s.
What we ca co t ibute is a p actical way to thi k about the diag ostic laye . If smalle i depe de t labo ato ies ca become digitally co ected at low cost, they do ot have to emai i visible to the wide health system. Ove time, gove me ts, hospitals a d i su e s ca explo e ways of wo ki g with these etwo ks athe tha t eati g eve y labo ato y as a sepa ate isla d.
The e is also a busi ess a gume t he e that dese ves atte tio . Af ica’s digital health ma ket will ot each its pote tial if tech ology compa ies build o ly fo the la gest hospitals a d wealthiest custome s. The e is a much la ge ma ket i helpi g smalle p ovide s pa ticipate eco omically.
A pay-as-you-go model lowe s the ba ie fo the labo ato y. A patie t ma ketplace ca help that labo ato y att act busi ess. P eve tive health packages c eate ew easo s fo patie ts to e gage befo e they become sick. Diaspo a booki gs c eate a ew oute fo health spe di g to each actual se vices.
As mo e labo ato ies joi , the etwo k becomes mo e useful to patie ts; as mo e patie ts use it, pa ticipatio becomes mo e valuable to labo ato ies. That is the ki d of cycle that ca tu a piece of softwa e i to i f ast uctu e.
Nige ia is whe e we a e p ovi g this model, but the u de lyi g co ditio s a e ot u ique to Nige ia. Ac oss Af ica, mode hospitals i majo cities exist alo gside small cli ics a d i depe de t labo ato ies with limited digital tools. Cou t ies diffe , egulatio s diffe a d health systems diffe , so expa sio ca ot simply mea copyi g a d pasti g o e Nige ia p oduct ac oss a co ti e t.
But the b oade questio s a e ema kably familia : How do we make digital health affo dable fo smalle p ovide s? How do we help patie ts fi d eliable diag ostic se vices? How do we make p eve tive testi g easie ? How do we co ect Af ica s ab oad mo e di ectly to ca e fo thei families? A d how do we make health i fo matio mo e useful whe patie ts i evitably move betwee p ovide s?
MyLabScope is still ea ly i a swe i g those questio s. Fifty-five co ected labo ato ies is a begi i g, ot a victo y lap. But it is e ough to show us that the e is dema d fo a diffe e t model a d e ough to begi i viti g othe s i to the co ve satio .
We wa t to wo k with labo ato ies that eed a affo dable path to becomi g digital, hospitals that wa t bette co ectio s with diag ostic p ovide s, health i su e s a d HMOs that wa t clea e labo ato y etwo ks, employe s that eed sc ee i g se vices, u ive sities a d developme t o ga izatio s wo ki g o health access, gove me ts thi ki g about how smalle p ovide s fit i to atio al digital health pla s, diaspo a o ga izatio s that wa t bette ways to suppo t families at home, a d i vesto s a d tech ology pa t e s who see the oppo tu ity i buildi g the co ective laye of Af ica health ca e.
Af ica’s ext health-ca e b eakth ough may ot come f om buildi g a othe e o mous hospital system o a othe expe sive piece of softwa e. It may come f om maki g the thousa ds of p ovide s al eady ca i g fo people easie to fi d, easie to use a d easie to co ect.
Fo MyLabScope, the labo ato y is whe e that wo k begi s. Nige ia is whe e we a e p ovi g it. The la ge oppo tu ity is to build a diag ostic etwo k capable of co ecti g patie ts, families a d health i stitutio s ac oss Af ica athe tha leavi g each of them to solve the same p oblem alo e.
Olayi ka Aye i is the fou de of MyLabScope, a pay-as-you-go labo ato y i fo matio a d diag ostic etwo k platfo m bei g piloted i Nige ia. MyLabScope is ope to collabo atio with labo ato ies, hospitals, gove me ts, i su e s, employe s, developme t o ga izatio s, diaspo a g oups, tech ology pa t e s a d i vesto s. Lea mo e at MyLabScope.com. Fo pa t e ship i qui ies:
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