MedVendorHub (Visit website)
Location: Nigeria
Looking at the quality of health care provided in Africa, you will realize how poor it is. Imagine a doctor telling a fellow doctor they aren’t supposed to use particular equipment for a patient’s surgery. Has the equipment expired? These are questions running through my head yearning for answers. Or should we talk about the incompetent personnel who diagnose patients with the wrong ailments? How about those who do not know the right prescriptions to give? It’s a serious menace that needs to be tackled urgently. Public Health Facilities are meant to meet the needs of citizens, most of them are in a poor state. Isn’t it a thing to worry about? Before we unveil the solution to these issues, let’s talk more about the situation of healthcare in Africa – Nigeria, especially.
Over the years, Healthcare Systems in Africa have suffered from man-induced issues which cut across institutional, human resources, financial, technical and political developments. As a result of this, the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2007 proposed a framework that describes healthcare systems in terms of six core components. These include; i) service delivery; ii) healthcare workforce; iii) healthcare information systems; iv) medicines and technologies; v) financing; and vi) leadership/governance.
As a result of the poor healthcare system, over 5000 people leave Nigeria every month for different forms of treatment abroad. Nigeria looses 1.2 billion US dollars to medical tourism yearly. The money lost is enough to eradicate poverty and make Nigeria a better place.
Solving these issues one or two at a time would have a positive impact on the healthcare system. MedVendorHub is about to perform the magic. We gladly introduce to you the solution to improving health service delivery, medicines and technologies, MedVendorHub.
Now, MedVendorHub
MedVendorHub is an online innovative health marketplace for patients and healthcare providers. It’s not surprising to see Alim Bidmus, a digital health technology enthusiast and data scientist co-found the company with Jelilah Bidmus, an experienced Product Manager and Akinwale Daniels, an experienced DevOps and UI/UX Developer.
Having worked for a couple of years in the healthcare industry. Alim realized some loopholes in the healthcare system. To mention a few of them; out of stock medication, healthcare inaccessibility, the ratio of doctors to patients, long hours of getting blood from the blood bank, inadequate hospital consumables – syringes, gloves, tourniquet, infusion giving sets etc.
These issues had contributed to the percentage of mortality rate in Nigeria. Do you know the present figure? Find out here. With a keen interest in providing patients and healthcare providers with the best resources needed for an improved health system, a platform was created.
You need not undergo the stress of standing in a long queue under the scorching sun before you can have access to proper healthcare. As a patient, this platform offers you the opportunity to order medical services such as Medical Prescription, Basic Medical Laboratory Investigations – Pre-Employment medicals, COVID 19 Test, right from the comfort of your home. MedVendorHub is aware of the popular saying, what is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. Who is the goose and who is the gander? I’ve mentioned the goose earlier, let’s talk about the gander.
Healthcare Providers are also beneficiaries of this solution. The platform enables them to order drugs, medical consumables and blood using an automated system connected to the available stock of the hospital.
How do you access MedVendorHub?
As a web-based platform, you can access it easily from a mobile or desktop device. Once on the homepage, you’re greeted by a pleasing and intuitive interface. Easy navigation helps you to reach your destinations fast.
There are two kinds of users who can register on MedVendorHub – Patients and the Healthcare Provider and they both have different interfaces. Whichever of these categories you fall into, you will enjoy the platform.
Patient Interface
A first-time requirement is to sign up. You get to input your name, email address, location, display name. You will receive a confirmation email after signing up. Voila, your profile is up. You can update your personal details, receive messages, invoice, view appointments, save items, all in one platform. As a patient, the platform offers you the opportunity to book appointments with your favourite health practitioners across the world. You can also reach pharmacies near your location, access health forums and health-related articles.
Healthcare Provider Interface
Here, you have an option to add your specialities and services. You’re able to add appointment duration, spaces, intervals and consultation fees. The platform also gives you the right to keep track of your appointment list and upgrade your packages.
When the company founder was first getting operations off the ground, a pre-seed fund of $55k was received from Crunchbase. This brings us to the issue health startups face in Africa.
We don’t valueHealthTech Startups and the government does not finance the sector enough. This makes private investors not put their money as in most cases doubt how viable or scalable health tech products are. We implore major stakeholders to tap into the glory MedVendorHub has brought forth. To save time and cost, choose this product. We urge investors to support the cause of creating an enabling environment for the healthcare system.
Closing Words
Currently, MedVendorHub is only available to users who are on a healthcare plan with registered hospitals in Lagos. It is important to note that few of the citizens are health insured, which puts a lot at a disadvantage to this product.
We look forward to making the product accessible to citizens across Nigeria and Africa at large.
