Hope for patients as Outpost expands access to digital healthcare in Nigeria

Hope is on the way for patients and healthcare system in Nigeria as Outpost Health, a Canadian digital health and payments remittance platform sets to expand access to digital healthcare in the country. The firm says it is working in partnership with HealthPlus, Nigeria’s leading retail pharmacy chain.

It considers the partnership a significant leap forward on its journey to provide Nigerians with convenient and secure access to a worldclass digital healthcare and payments network. The Outpost platform is a proprietary, secure and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (Hipaa)-compliant healthcare solution used internationally.

Through the Outpost app, patients can access their personal health records, track chronic health conditions, order prescriptions safely and connect with multi-specialty healthcare providers locally and globally.

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“Outpost connects patients online or in-person with an entire network of healthcare professionals, including doctors, allied health practitioners, pharmacies, labs, clinics, hospitals and other care facilities,” Didi Emokpare, Outpost Healthcare’s CEO, told Businessday in a telephone conversation.

“As Africa’s 1.3 billion people move to more digitally- enabled ecosystems spurred by the COVID pandemic, virtual care is emerging as a game- changer in how the continent safely and conveniently accesses healthcare,” Emokpare added.

The choice of Healthplus for the partnership, he explained, was based on its size and reach in Nigeria which is home to over 200 million people and is one of Africa’s fastest growing economies.

Commenting on this partnership, Jude Emokpare, Outpost’s co-founder, noted that “as the world becomes more interconnected and supply chain dependencies become more fragile, we need to keep aligning with partners who share common values and a commitment to excellent and ethical patient care.

“Outpost is focused on elevating the patient experience by connecting the fragmented pieces of care provision, diagnostics, therapeutics and payments into one integrated platform. The next chapter of Africa’s healthcare evolution is being written now, and we are proud to be a part of it”

He believes that this market- first partnership with Healthplus is a critical step in providing seamless experiences for patients and providers as they navigate virtual and in-person care at over 80 pharmacy retail locations across Nigeria’s expansive geography.

“We don’t want to create a monopoly and that is the reason we are taking on as many pharmacies as possible. Again, distance should be a reason a patient should not be able to access our services,” Didi said.