LionPride, a South African venture capital fund manager, has launched a joint venture (JV) with ETS PLATFORM to bring a preventative care telemedicine platform to Africa.

Deven Govender, CEO of LionPride, said: “Our investment is restricted to the implementation. This will require modifications to the platform to suit South Africa.”

“There will also training of nurses and technicians for the pilot. We have allocated $1m for the pilot,” he told Africa Global Funds.

Telemedicine and Telehealth solutions are in vogue at present, given the Covid lock down and fears of visiting a hospital or doctor, many have resorted to this mode of medical access.

“Whilst many tele-medicines solutions are digitising the interaction between the doctor and patient, this solution goes way beyond that. It also monitors patients between visits as well as assists with medication management,” said Govender. He also pointed to the preventative objectives of the ETS and the Telenetdoctor platform, where chronic conditions are measured, monitored and managed. Govender said “at some point for towns and remote villages all over Africa, this will be like a medical Census.”

David Hold is the Founder of ETS and creator of the TelenetDoctor platform and has been involved in healthcare in Florida, USA for over two decades.

His vision of the TelenetDoctor platform has been 14 years in the making, with constant refinements and commitment to a comprehensive system focused on primary care.

“The TelenetDoctor solution is one that covers the proverbial last-mile, in that it addresses that traditionally neglected piece of the healthcare chain between the first-level health care facility (be that a health center, clinic or doctor’s office) and the patient’s home. Our solution will link the patient with their healthcare team wherever either party may be and whenever the need arises, with whatever platform they prefer – smartphone, tablet or laptop,” he said.

This agreement has the potential not only to make the partners bring quality health services to the home and the community, where research shows that 70-90% of all interventions are made, but also to realize the holy grail of digital health, the transformation of healthcare from a focus on providing health care services by healthcare professionals in formal healthcare facilities, to arming the citizen with information and knowledge so that they too can contribute to their health wherever they may be.

“We will deliver a digital health ecosystem that fully supports integrated people-centered health services, at all levels of the health care pyramid, from the home and communities, through health centers, clinics, hospitals to Academic medical centers.”

The JV will pilot in South Africa and will bring together the doctors’ networks, hospitals, nurses and trained technicians to create a demonstrable case for South Africa and Africa.

The project will be led by Dr Numaan Mohamood, who is a strategic advisor to LionPride.

Govender, CEO of LionPride, encouraged corporates to support this initiative as this will lay the ground-work for the NHI in the next 5-6 years.

Corporates who want to be part of the Pilot should contact LionPride.