Electronic Medical Record (EMR) systems are helping health care service providers to deliver high-quality services. This system manages almost everything from tracking patient information to scheduling appointments, post-visit follow up, billing and payment. Such technological advancement has helped the healthcare ecosystem to improve the complex workflows by providing real-time information to deliver better patient care. One of the largest electronic medical records providers in West Africa, Helium Health launched EMR solution in 2016 to build a system that eliminates paper records and digitalizes the medical records. It has moved the whole system from manual to digital for the storage of medical records.
The company is inspired by a vision of a connected healthcare ecosystem across Africa to help patients get the care they need when they need it. And to empower all healthcare stakeholders with the actionable data and tools that they require to make informed decisions. Today, Helium Health provides the tools that over 5,000 medical professionals use to treat over 150,000 patients monthly.
Easy Solutions
Helium Health provides simple to use solutions that require little to no training and anyone, regardless of their levels of computer literacy, can easily use it. With this data-driven solution, hospital administrators are not only able to provide care in record time but are also able to get a better handle on the performance and finances of their practice. Moreover, the system is developed in a way that enhances connectivity between its stakeholders.
Helium EMR, the flagship product, is an end-to-end solution that completely digitizes every stage of a patient’s visit from check-in to check-out. It drastically reduces patient wait time as well as the risk of loss or fragmented data, and documentation errors by offering electronic data-driven solutions. It empowers hospital administrators and public stakeholders with vital clinical and financial data to notice trends within a specific facility or across different facilities. The software allows them to monitor performance over time as well as the effectiveness of the intervention actions and programs and highlight areas for improvement. The Helium EMR software can run offline as well as on the cloud to insulate against the effects of internet downtime. This ultimately creates healthcare facilities that are more efficiently run and allows health service providers to provide better care.
A Glimpse of Achievements
The company has received several esteemed awards and has been recognized locally and internationally.
- Helium Health named in the CNBC Upstart 100 list of top global startups to watch in 2019.
- The Leadership team was listed in the Forbes 30 under 30 healthcare class of 2019
- The company was inducted into The 2018 Future Awards Africa Class for Technology.
- Helium Health participated in 5th class of the Google Launchpad Accelerator. It has also participated in the Y Combinator 2017 summer batch.
- It has won the Etisalat (9Mobile) Prize for Innovation and was recognized by the Nigerian President during the Aso Villa Demo Day.
An Ardent Spearhead
A group of entrepreneurs, Adegoke Olubusi, Dimeji Sofowora, Tito Ovia and Ralph Oluwole founded Helium Health. Adegoke Olubusi is the CEO and Co-founder of the company. He has earned degrees in Engineering and Management from Johns Hopkins University, Morgan State University and King’s College. He has expert knowledge and rich experience of more than a decade. Mr. Adegoke began his career in technology building systems at Goldman Sachs, eBay and PayPal. He has received several notable awards across the globe from Chevron, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, the State of Maryland, the Nigerian President and more. He and the other co-founders set the tone for Helium Health’s organizational objectives and a very welcoming and productive work culture. They are very proactive in their responsibilities and they lead from the front by being examples everyone in the organization emulates.
Challenges Faced
Describing the challenges, the frontrunner asserts –
The African healthcare market, while growing, is still at its infancy. Therefore, our growth is constrained by the maturation of the market. Moreover, human capital in this sector is underfunded and underdeveloped. This results in poorly educated and technology adverse personnel working in healthcare facilities. We are addressing this challenge by providing training sessions for all personnel prior to the commencement of deployments.
Future Ahead
The company’s long term aim is to power the data that runs the African healthcare system. It wants to improve how healthcare is understood and delivered on the continent. In the coming year, the company will be launching a suite of products that are providing solutions tailored to the needs of the different facets of healthcare. It will be providing tools for healthcare providers and payers with the end goal of providing patients with easy access to better care.
A Piece of Advice
Adegoke advises, “It is important to get as much information as you can before you go into any venture. Learn from the thought leaders of the industry; learn about the trends pushing the industry. Count the cost before you jump and then jump.”
