No time to read? Snack on these:
- South African healthcare faces systemic fragmentation issues across drug availability, infection control, and service access.
- Modern technology solutions exist but implementation is challenged by limited budgets and infrastructure.
- Mint’s 2019 AI pilot successfully managed 25,000 monthly patients at Rethabile Clinic using predictive analytics.
- Mint partnered with Vantage Health Technologies to improve medication alerts and patient data access.
- In 2024, Mint digitized patient records at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital.
- Despite ongoing challenges, Mint offers customisable healthcare technology solutions to fit specific budgets.
The South African healthcare system is fragmented with broken systems, silos and limited visibility into services and patients. Its complexities are a hangover from the past, and they deepen with each passing year as challenges in funding and limited access to skilled practitioners remain constant. As a recent study into the sector by the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) highlighted, there are issues across drug availability, infection control, and limited access to integrated clinical services. The Council believes that changing this narrative requires innovation and research – a sentiment echoed in an article from the University of Pretoria which highlighted how it has become essential for the sector to gain access to connectivity, infrastructure and technology.
The same article also highlighted how technology has incredible potential to help shift these challenges. There are solutions available that allow for medical practitioners to provide instant patient testing, to transmit critical patient information in real-time, and to help legacy systems communicate with one another more effectively. If these could be implemented, sustainably, within the local healthcare system then patient care across even the most remote and rural areas could be equalized.
The challenge is selecting the right technology to ensure that both public and private healthcare systems evolve sustainably and deliver longevity in their performance and capabilities.
Personalized and Relevant
There are already numerous solutions available to the healthcare sector that allow for providers to improve and personalize patient care. Real-time data analytics, artificial intelligence (AI) powered devices, automated systems, predictive analytics, and intelligent patient security systems are all readily available solutions, but it comes down to costs and relevance.
For many healthcare institutions, the choice of technology – and in some cases the option of even considering basic technology infrastructure – comes down to budgets. Decision-makers have to balance critical care investments against security or analytics or even connectivity. They are under pressure to deliver exceptional care while facing increasingly tight budgets and restrictions.
Fortunately, there are more and more use cases that show how healthcare organizations can reimagine their ageing systems and support their practitioners with technology, and within budgets.
In 2019, Mint implemented an AI pilot with the Limpopo Department of Health at the Rethabile Clinic in Polokwane to establish the value of intelligent healthcare within government clinics. The goal was to transform 400 clinics within the region by using intelligent technology to resolve legacy challenges. Over the period of a year, 2018-2019 – Mint used predictive analytics, operational intelligence, and remote monitoring to manage 25,000 patients a month, enable access control and queue management, provide intelligent scheduling and medicine dispensing and improve inventory control. The technology also helped healthcare staff improve their service delivery and removed ghost staff from the roster. The result was a smoother, more efficient system that streamlined patient care, eased the administrative burden of healthcare workers, and took a huge step forward towards improved healthcare in the country.
Mint has also collaborated with Vantage Health Technologies using Microsoft Azure to create alerts for medications, improve consultation and diagnosis reports, and gain easier access to patient data. The ability to record data electronically has the potential to lead to uniformity of practice across health practitioners in the country and ensure that patients receive personalized, relevant care regardless of location.
In 2024, Mint worked with Microsoft and the Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital to digitize its patient records. It is one of the largest healthcare facilities on the continent, and the initiative introduce cutting-edge technology to improve patient care, enhance data security and establish a model for digital transformation in the country.
While challenges remain, there are strides being made by healthcare organizations and technology solutions providers like Mint, to revolutionize the sector. Mint’s healthcare technology solutions are trusted and empowering and can be customized to suit specific requirements and budgets. From improving operations to insights to information, Mint has a solution.
