The best chance for successful therapy, according to this World Health Organization (WHO) page on treating cancer, is to identify symptomatic individuals as soon as feasible.
Despite being a blueprint for cancer treatment, the article is applicable to any illness, fatal or not.
Healthcare is centered on diagnostics; without it, medical professionals cannot provide therapy.
However, routine checks are frequently neglected in developing nations like Africa, where infrastructure is weak and the doctor-to-patient ratio is a startling 1:5,000.
With its at-home lab testing platform, Healthtracka, a Lagos-based healthtech company, hopes to alter this narrative and drive home the maxim “prevention is better than treatment.” It has garnered $1.5 million in seed funding.
Before Healthtracka, Dare-Johnson spent a number of years working in the healthcare industry. She once oversaw the marketing initiatives at a diagnostic facility.
The top executive was motivated to address this issue, but not because she loved her job; rather, it was because she had first-hand knowledge of the problems that delayed, or inaccurate diagnostics can lead to.
“We reside in Africa, a region with inadequate healthcare facilities. Given that nobody will be able to help them, you might assume it would make individuals more aware of their health. That’s not the case, regrettably.”
Despite appearing to be in good physical shape, Dare-Johnson said that her father had long-standing diabetic and hypertension-related health problems that had gone unnoticed.
While millions of Africans are guilty of making personal health mistakes, other variables including long wait times and sluggish doctors visit when in a hospital also contribute to infrequent exams.
Techbuild’s Take
In May 2021, Ifeoluwa Dare-Johnson and Victor Amusan established the business. Additionally, the announcement follows its involvement in the Techstars Toronto accelerator program in October by five months.
Since the epidemic, telemedicine has been increasingly popular in Africa as it overcomes some issues preventing patients from getting regular exams.
The scope of telemedicine is limited, though. For instance, patients are frequently needed to attend hospitals for lab testing following doctor consultations, which accounts for up to 70% of all clinical decisions.
When patients are reluctant to attend a laboratory or hospital, there is also the convenience problem to consider.
These are some of the issues that Healthtraka are supposedly tackling, and the recent backing would go a long way to bolster the services of the business.
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