Health IT, Hospitals, Startups

Penda Health is using health IT innovations to improve primary care access in Kenya

A for profit business is seeking to improve access to primary care for low income […]

A for profit business is seeking to improve access to primary care for low income families in developing countries, particularly for women. To do that, it’s bringing mobile and remote monitoring technologies, some of it still in the early stages of adoption in the U.S., to its two outpatient clinics in Kenya.

Stephania Koczela, the co-founder of Penda Health, said it’s been speaking with Cleveland Clinic, Kaiser Permanente and Duke. It’s also a member of the International Partnership for Innovative Healthcare Delivery, which has helped it hear about innovations in primary care settings in the U.S. One example is the use of non medical staff to help with medication adherence. It also does a lot of proactive text messaging for patients with chronic conditions.

One of the benefits of implementing mobile and health IT technology in its two Kenyan clinics, according to Koczela, is it doesn’t have to comply with HIPAA and other US regulations governing healthcare. Although that means it can innovate more rapidly, it does mean that, at least to a certain extent, the technology is implemented through a process of trial and error. On the other hand, maybe it’s better to think of it as a pilot program for primary care  innovations.

[Photo credit: Kenya map from BigStock Photos]

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