By Our Correspondent
Save A Life Mission Hospital has launched “MyHomeClinic”, a digital healthcare platform designed to reduce medical tourism and expand access to quality medical services for Nigerians and other Africans.
The Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Dr. Richard Okoye, unveiled the application to journalists in Port Harcourt on Friday.
Okoye said the platform was developed to address the impact of brain drain and the widening doctor-to-patient gap in the country’s health sector.
Okoye who posited that Nigeria’s healthcare system is being under severe pressure, cited the country’s low life expectancy and a doctor-to-patient ratio of about 1 to 6,000. He described the situation as a “healthcare tsunami” that requires urgent, technology-driven solutions.
“We are the only hospital doing kidney transplants in the whole of West Africa. What we have achieved today, with Save A Life Mission Hospital being the first fully digitalised hospital in Africa, will help bridge the gap created by the ‘Japa Syndrome’ in Nigeria,” Okoye said.
He said the hospital’s operational philosophy is to reverse medical tourism by providing world-class healthcare services locally. “Our vision is to make Nigeria a global healthcare destination through the provision of world-class healthcare services powered by superior medical technology. We are committed to bringing healthcare of international standards within the reach of every individual in Africa, with expertise and hospitality in an atmosphere of healing,” he stated.
Okoye explained that the hospital began its digital health journey in 2016 with a global television health programme, before building what he described as Africa’s first fully digitalised hospital.
According to him, the “MyHomeClinic” allows users to conduct preliminary health assessments from home and connect with qualified doctors for professional advice.
The app, he said also enables real-time monitoring of vital signs such as blood pressure and blood sugar, with instant alerts sent to medical personnel in Nigeria and abroad when readings reach critical levels.
To drive adoption, Okoye said the application has been developed in English, Nigerian Pidgin, Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba and other indigenous languages, adding that the hospital has mobilised a network of doctors to respond to health concerns submitted through the platform, as part of efforts to mitigate the shortage of healthcare workers.
He cited a recent community outreach where several pregnant women were found to have high blood pressure. To reduce maternal and infant mortality, he said, the women were given monitoring devices to check their blood pressure and blood sugar from home, thereby helping to prevent complications such as convulsions and cerebral palsy.
Okoye also disclosed that the hospital has developed Nigeria’s first electric ambulance to improve emergency response time. He said the facility has further invested in advanced medical technologies, including robotic equipment for kidney management, to reduce the need for Nigerians to travel abroad for specialised treatment.
“MyHomeClinic has the potential to transform healthcare delivery by making medical consultation available even in communities where there are no doctors. Wider adoption of the application will contribute significantly to improving Nigeria’s life expectancy while reducing the impact of brain drain on the sector,” he said.
The CMD stressed that a healthy population is critical for economic growth, noting that poor health directly affects productivity and national development.
He urged Nigerians to embrace digital healthcare by downloading the ‘MyHomeClinic’ application and seeking medical attention early.
“Seek help early. Technology has created an opportunity to save lives, and if we take advantage of it, healthcare can reach the last person in every community,” he advised.
