Access to necessary medications for illnesses such as HIV/AIDS can be a struggle for patients in emerging markets like Nigeria and other African countries. With pharmacists being the first point of access, patients are often required to visit them every month to receive their medications and to keep track of their drug use.
This creates a tedious process for patients, which can result in low adherence and missed doses. However, a new technology-based solution is aiming to improve this situation by offering a personalized medication management platform. It is called Famasi.
In Africa, where millions of people struggle to receive the care they need, one of such factors is the high cost of medicines, which makes them unaffordable for many African citizens — most of whom pay out-of-pocket. In addition to the high cost, regular access is also another challenge especially for chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and cancer, where ongoing treatment is required and prognosis largely hinges on an individual’s ability (or inability) to use drugs as scheduled.
With many countries in Africa lacking proper healthcare infrastructure, it further becomes difficult for people to access medicine and receive treatment. This includes a shortage of trained healthcare workers, inadequate supplies, and limited funding for healthcare services. While efforts are underway to address several of these challenges in the long term, new tools and approaches are being deployed or tested to improve access. One of such is technology.
Gap-bridging techs
Technology has been playing an increasingly important role in improving access to medications for patients in need, providing new and innovative solutions to longstanding challenges.
One of such developments is the rise of telemedicine, which allows patients to receive consultations and diagnoses from healthcare professionals remotely. This technology is especially valuable in areas where access to medical care is limited, helping to bridge the gap between patients and healthcare providers.
Mobile health apps are also proving to be an effective tool in improving access to medications. Some of these apps allow patients to manage their own health and receive reminders to take their medication, helping to ensure that they adhere to their treatment plans. In some cases, these apps also provide medication tracking and ordering services, making it easier for patients to receive the medicines they need.
Dr. Peter Sands, former Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, described technology as “a key enabler of universal health coverage, providing new and innovative solutions to reach more people with the care they need”. Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), also agrees.
Digital health has the power to transform the way we deliver care and improve outcomes, especially for communities that have historically faced barriers to access.
Ghebreyesus
The curious case of Famasi
With tech, via digital health, already playing a vital role in improving access to medications for patients globally, several attempts are also being made in Nigeria to leverage digital health to close the ecosystem and a number of solutions have already been introduced to address specific problems. One of such is Famasi.
Famasi’s platform works by obtaining a patient’s medication history and creating a monthly care plan that is delivered to the patient’s doorstep. The care plan includes a care specialist who is able to track the patient’s drug use and monitor any side effects or adverse reactions. In order to make medication management easy and accessible, Famasi is leveraging technology, including smartphone apps and USSD.
For Adeola Ayoola, CEO and co-founder, Famasi, her working experience at the HIV Clinic of the National Hospital in Abuja opened her eyes to the struggle of patients to take their drugs on a recurrent basis to get access to their medications and stay on track with those medications.
“What you find in emerging markets like Nigeria and Africa at large is that pharmacists are the first point of access and that means people that have to take recurrent medications take at least two medications and they have to visit these pharmacies every month just to get their medicines. This is very tedious and it adds up to the low adherence in taking these drugs,” Ayoola said.
How the service works
For Famasi, realizing each patient has to ensure they find their medication at the right price at the right time on an ongoing basis, it is saddled with first ensuring that they help people to find one place where they can order their medications, manage it and automate refills.
“So the way it works is when someone signs up to Famasi, we get the history of their medication use and also sign them up to curate care plans that are personalized to them. When we curate this care plans on a monthly basis, they get their medications delivered to their doorstep,” Ayoola told healthnews.ng
The service also keeps track of any side effects or adverse drug reactions which are then communicated with the physician in charge of the patient’s care to ensure these are clinically handled. The service is provided via a user dashboard which morphs into an on-going interaction with a care specialist who helps each user to find a personalized healthcare plan.
“With this, they can know when their medication is about to run out. They can properly track their medications. They can know when their consultation is coming — who to see, and what test to do, all from the comfort of their home,” said Akinwumi Faruq, Famasi’s co-founder.
Ayoola described the technology as an enabler to make it easy to manage medications for Famasi’s customers. By offering access to remote monitoring, she noted that people can get to speak with their caregivers.
“They get to speak with their physicians without having to leave their homes, get stuck in traffic and lose productive hours,” she said.
The challenges
Late January 2023, Starlink, a satellite internet service provided by SpaceX, a private aerospace manufacturer and space transportation services company, announced users in Nigeria can now access internet services thus increasing broadband penetration in Nigeria to 100%. In addition to this development, several regions across the country are already reached with high speed broadband yet not every patient that could benefit from Famasi’s services will be able to use it because active broadband subscriptions in Nigeria remain lower than optimum.
Latest data by the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) showed while the country has over 222 million mobile subscriptions, there are only over 90 million active broadband subscriptions. There are also language communication challenges with the English languages not being the preferred comfortable language for communication for millions of potential Famasi users who cannot speak English.
Faruq admitted that these are major challenges for Famasi and the company is tackling these in its growth plan which includes translating its services into Nigeria’s major languages while also working towards backing its platform and services accessible via feature phones through the USSD interface.
“We are also partnering with existing agent networks to reach people in traditionally excluded environments,” he said.
Ayoola on the other hand identified “non-consumption” as the major challenge. This refers to the reluctance to actively be responsible for one’s health, choosing instead to wait until it is too late before they start to look for their medications.
“People have health conditions that they have to take drugs for, but they wait until they have some symptoms before they even remember that their blood pressure is too high, or their sugar level is dropping. And these pose a big problem because when you look at other challenges in the African space — logistics and all of that in trying to care for people. There are all of these things that worsen when we wait till the last minute to pay attention to our healthcare needs,” she said.
Ambitious goals
Despite the challenges, the co-founders believe Famasi is looking to revolutionize the way medication management is done in Africa. By offering personalized care plans, remote monitoring services, and accessible technology, the company aims to improve adherence and make healthcare more accessible to patients.
With its approach, they see the company taking a major step in addressing one of the key challenges faced by patients in emerging markets, and helping them to manage their medications more easily.
Oluwatosin Fatun, pharmacist and head of operations at the 100k Club, described Famasi as a tool that removes one of patients’ major excuses for not adhering to the guidance regarding their medications.
“Some give excuses about not having time or forgetting to pick up or not knowing how to take their drugs. With Famasi, you know that your drugs get to you when due, especially if you are taking medicines for life-long diseases. Our healthcare system needs all the innovation,” she said.
Agbara Nwanyi is one of Famasi’s current users. She said she signed up because of her desire for a service that reminds and delivers her medications in line with her medical history.
“Not only was the handler helpful, the call I just had put me at ease. It felt like I was talking to a friend. I’m really impressed,” she said. Orifunke Lawal, an entrepreneur and founder of the Orifunke Lawal Academy, also revealed Famasi curates her period care package based on her body’s preferences.
This story has been supported by Nigeria Health Watch through the Solutions Journalism Network, a nonprofit organization dedicated to rigorous and compelling reporting about responses to social problems, solutionsjournalism.org