The Kenyan medical company AfyaRekod has opened access to an automated universal system based on the blockchain for patients of medical institutions.
AfyaRekod partners with the Kenyan Association of Sisterhoods, the Healthy Mind Foundation of Nigeria, AURA of South Africa, GE Healthcare, Telkom, AI Center of Excellence, Adanian Labs technology company and Lishe Living nutrition company, as well as the Africa Blockchain Center. The AfyaRekod platform was created as part of the NVIDIA AI program, which already involves more than 150,000 Kenyan citizens and more than 50 hospitals in Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia. AfyaRekod can be accessed through the Android and iOS app, as well as through the web portal.
AfyaRekod CEO John Kamara said that his company was originally created in 2019 as a startup called Adanian Lab. He previously received funding from Mac Venture Capital and Next Chymia. The decision to create a platform using blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI) was made after his friend died in front of Kamara. The cause of death was the wrong intervention of doctors due to lack of medical data. Kamara then decided to create a platform that would allow health data to be tracked, and access to this data could be obtained anywhere and at any time, in order to avoid such tragedies.
The data stored on the blockchain includes a patient’s chronic disease records, medical history, prescribed medications, and procedures. This should help physicians determine the most appropriate course of treatment, as misdiagnosis is highly likely due to inaccurate data, which can lead to complications.
Camara recalled the results of a study conducted back in 2015, according to which, even in the United States, a country with well-developed healthcare, about 12 million cases of misdiagnosis are recorded annually. The problem can be solved if the accuracy and availability of medical records in real time is ensured, which will also allow timely detection of diseases in the early stages, the head of AfyaRekod believes.
“Our blockchain-based solution makes medical records mobile and saves lives. The decision has become especially relevant during the pandemic. Patients can log in too, see information from each healthcare provider, and see prescriptions. People are also getting reminders and notifications about upcoming doctor visits,” Kamara added.
A few years ago, the Singaporean state-owned company SGInnovate, together with the startup Accredify, developed a blockchain system for storing data on coronavirus diseases and vaccinations. In 2020, a Cypriot hospital also began using blockchain to manage medical data.
