Rocket Health
New
A 24/7 telemedicine service that offers convenient access to quality family planning, sexual reproductive health [KP1] and other health services in Uganda.
As low- and middle-income countries transition from paper to digital systems, family planning programs can benefit from unprecedented opportunities to improve services. Investments in digital health tools have expanded exponentially, but information on what works—and what does not— remains limited and scattered. As investments have increased, digital applications and data fragmentation have proliferated, but stakeholders are moving towards more coordinated efforts to scale digital health solutions, support countries’ digital health infrastructure, and share evidence-based learnings.
This Digital Health Compendium enables users to explore case studies across a range of digital health technologies used to enhance family planning programs mainly in sub-Saharan Africa, but also in other regions of the world. Digital health applications in family planning programs can be broadly classified as those affecting demand generation, service delivery, supply chain management, and the policy and enabling environment. In many low- and middle-income countries, digital health innovations were adopted earlier in other health sectors, including HIV/AIDS, maternal and child health, and noncommunicable disease prevention and response. As a result, much of the impact evidence is likewise restricted to those sectors. To advance greater adoption of digital technology in family planning programs, more data and information on the challenges, opportunities, scalability, and results are needed. This compendium aims to consolidate emerging information and data on applications of digital technology in family planning programs to inform adoption and scale-up of successful approaches.
All of the case studies were submitted by the implementing organizations and include a description of the digital health intervention, program context, and, if available, important findings and lessons learned through rigorous evaluations or program data. The compendium facilitates a quick search for case studies based on the target user for digital health intervention, building block for the digital health enabling environment, family planning program classification, and country location. The case studies give policy and program decisionmakers insights on real-world applications of digital health, promising practices, challenges, and other lessons that can be applied to current and future programs.
New
A 24/7 telemedicine service that offers convenient access to quality family planning, sexual reproductive health [KP1] and other health services in Uganda.
Dr. Davis Musinguzi
Managing Director
Email
The Medical Concierge Group
Ongoing
The Medical Concierge Group.
PRIVATE FOR PROFIT ORGANIZATION
Uganda
Client
Services and Applications
Client to Provider Communication, Targeted Client Communication, Demand Generation
Uganda has a predominantly young population with over 60 percent of the 47 million people aged below 30 years yet with one of the region’s highest fertility rates (5 live births per woman). [1] These population dynamics occur in relatively high poverty rates, low literacy levels, and cultural barrier settings that perpetuate the cycle.
Adolescent girls and Young Women (AGYW) are disproportionately affected due to the lack of access to credible Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) information and services for proper decision-making. [2]
The traditional health care system is not designed to be youth-friendly, does not allow for adequate privacy, and is associated with long waiting times in queues (no less than four hours). As a result, the AGYW opt for self-medication, rely on peer advice for SRH information, and only visit a hospital in severe or persistent health conditions.
As a result, cases of misdiagnosis, inaccurate SRH information use, high expenditure on unexpected health concerns, and adverse SRH complications (e.g., unplanned pregnancies, unsafe abortions, STIs, etc.) are common occurrences.
Rocket Health operates a 24/7 telemedicine service that offers convenient access to quality SRH services. [3] This service is offered through an in-house 24/7 medical call center staffed with doctors, counselors, and pharmacists that offer remote resolutions of clients’ inquiries via voice (Hotline) and text (SMS, WhatsApp) platforms. This also houses the on-demand medicine delivery and laboratory sample pick-up services for a client’s convenience. We leverage both traditional advertising (billboards, radio) and social media (Facebook, Twitter) to publicize the SRH services offered and to reach the target audiences.
In addition, Rocket Health operates an online medical e-Shop (www.rockethealth.shop) which offers a self-service option for any SRH services. Data collected and recorded in the electronic health records include demographic details (age, sex, location) and SRH services procured, including emergency contraception, family planning services, HIV self-testing, and sexually transmitted disease screening. This virtual setting offers a more convenient, private, and less stigmatizing space where users can order and receive their SRH services. Follow-up calls and automated SMS reminders are used to collect information on health outcomes and the impact of the health services offered.
In addition, ensuring access to accurate health information, Rocket Health develops and disseminates mobile health content on varying SRH topics to support correct and early decision making. This mobile health content is translated into local languages.
Rocket Health is funded through a hybrid of mechanisms where partnerships with private health insurance companies create a market for our SRH services and products among clients with health insurance premiums. Also, direct one-off purchases are accommodated.
A retrospective review and analysis of documented electronic medical records from The Medical Concierge Group (TMCG), the digital health company offering Rocket Health SRH services for the quarter of January to March 2021, was done. A total of 759 SRH service-related teleconsultations were handled across the digital platforms (voice & text).
Integrating telemedicine in the last-mile delivery of sexual and reproductive health services allows for the utilization of services that are labeled as stigmatizing. Rocket Health has built partnerships including private health insurance companies like UAP-Old Mutual, Liberty, Prudential, ICEA, and also cooperate company partnerships for example with MTN where we run the MTN-pulse campaigns that target youths. The need for custom digital innovations to suit local needs is important for eventual adoption and use within target audiences.