Afriqcare: digital health revolution in Guinea for easy access to care

In Guinea, the health sector is grappling with numerous challenges, which remain insufficiently addressed to date. However, thanks to Afriqcare, an innovative platform for managing consultations, making appointments online, helping to prescribe medications and teleconsultation intended for patients and health professionals in Guinea, a promising future is emerging for the medical field.

Unequal access to quality care

Guinea faces a lack of technological initiatives, making access to quality health care complex. While some countries have adopted advanced technologies to facilitate access to hospitals and healthcare, Guinea remains behind. Dr. Amara Diawara, founder of Afriqcare, shares his experience in France, where a secure medical record improved care coordination, inspiring him to create a similar solution in Guinea. “When I went to France for my master's degree in public health, I was consulted for a tumor in my right lung. But during my treatment in Parisian hospitals, I had a secure medical file. When I moved from one hospital to another, all the doctors had my information. So I said to myself why not do the same thing in Guinea to help citizens easily access healthcare.”explains Dr. Amara.

Optimization of medical time

In Guinea, access to a health professional is often difficult due to the opacity of the health system and the lack of information. Afriqcare aims to solve this problem by offering a tool that optimizes medical time, monitors consultations, and eliminates the loss of medical information through secure records. Patients can now access information about doctors, treatment costs and skills. Afriqcare facilitates coordination between health facilities in Guinea, allowing doctors to share patients' medical information. This reduces consultation costs and speeds up patient care.

Registration process and consultations

Registering with Afriqcare is simple and secure, requiring only an internet connection, email or phone number. The platform offers physical and virtual consultations, with artificial intelligence tools to improve diagnoses and help prescribe medications. Dr Diawara explains:“As soon as you arrive on the platform, www.afriqcare.com, you create your account. You make an appointment with a doctor, you can have two (2) types of consultation: physical or virtual. Physically, you go to the hospital, and virtually, you are consulted through a video consultation in the presence of a nurse. After the exam, all data from your consultation will be placed in your Afriqcare patient account. »

Home care  

Afriqcare offers home care mainly for the Guinean diaspora whose relatives reside in Guinea. Specialized nurses care for patients suffering from chronic illnesses and intensive care. Dr Diawara says:“We decide with the patient’s family what personalized care can be adapted. The nurse takes care of the patient by reporting the information to the attending physician. »

For users of this digital solution, it’s a breath of relief.“Afriqcare is a real solution, especially for users who have people from 3^thage at home. Having a nurse who takes care of them, as if they were their own parent, really reassures patients. In order for the initiators to succeed, they must take into account the social, economic and cultural context. Because in Guinea, people do not go to the hospital, because they say that the costs are very expensive and if they have a service that does not allow them to travel most often, they can only rejoice."explains Tidjani Diallo, user of Afriqcare services.

Expansion of services across the country

For the moment, Afriqcare's services are mainly concentrated in Conakry, but the company plans to extend them to other regions of Guinea by signing new contracts. The objective is to cover the entire Guinean territory, bringing a promising future to this ambitious project.

While waiting to reach a greater number of Guineans, Afriqcare is a practical solution for saving medical records, anticipating patients' future healthcare needs. This platform provides doctors with rapid access to patient history, thereby improving the quality of care. Dr Diawara concludes:"We had started to deploy our teams inside the country, but with the lack of financial resources, we were not able to keep up. But we intend to soon materialize this ambition when we sign our contracts with a few partners."

Currently, a total of 1000 patients benefit from care using the Afriqcare platform, 400 health professionals and 500 health establishments are interconnected thanks to this digital service.

Mansa Moussa Mara and Hawa Dine Diallo