Safaricom has partnered with ‘Call-a-Doc’ to launch a mobile health service that will enable Kenyans to access medical services over the phone.

The service dubbed ‘Daktari1525’ will enable the over 18 million Safaricom subscribers to call doctors at any time of the day and receive expert advice on any health-related issues.

To access the service, users will be required to dial code ‘1525’ which will go directly to the Safaricom call centre and a doctor will be on hand to assist.

The service which is the first of its kind in Kenya and the region will be charged at Ksh20 a minute and is expected to drastically reduce hospital visits and medical spend especially for patients seeking expert advice on various conditions.

Information and Communications Permanent Secretary Dr Bitange Ndemo who officially launched the service termed it a timely event at time when the government is looking at digitizing its medical operations.

“This service will reduce medical costs by huge margins. It comes at a time when as a government, we are in the process of rolling out a digital platform for our key operations. We are headed to an era where all our crucial information will be stored on cloud for ease of access and reference,” said Dr Ndemo.

Under the arrangement, Safaricom has invested Ksh15 million in terms of network infrastructure, call centre facility and marketing of the service. ‘Call-a-Doc’ has on the other hand recruited qualified doctors who will be based at the Safaricom call centre.

Safaricom’s director in-charge of Corporate Affairs Nzioka Waita reiterated the company’s commitment to improving lives through technology.

“This service is part of a deliberate accent we are placing on healthcare as a major focus point of our investments. As part of our Digital Inclusion agenda which is steadily gathering pace, mobile health (M-Health) is one of our key pillars. As a socially responsible corporate citizen, Safaricom commits itself to using technology to improve the health of Kenyans,” said Nzioka.

Current statistics indicate that in Kenya, one doctor attends to over 10,000 patients.  There are just slightly over 7500 licensed medical facilities in the country attending to a population of over 40 million Kenyans.

“Bearing in mind that we have over 25 million mobile phones and a limited number of hospitals, it goes without saying that mobile technology could be successfully deployed to create effective solutions for the capacity challenges of our healthcare system,” said Dr Polly Okello, the ‘Call-a-Doc Director.

Under this service, doctors will not prescribe treatment to the caller. They will instead give expert advice based on the request and refer the patients accordingly. Sometimes, the doctors will offer home remedies and tips on healthy lifestyles to prevent the risk of some medical conditions. This will in turn act as a kind of triage-on-call, materially reducing the time and money patients use on their first contact with the doctor (consultation).

The service will also come in handy for any Kenyan in an emergency situation in any part of the country where the Safaricom network is available.

Among other engagements, Safaricom is involved in the global strategy of Every Woman, Every Child, which is aimed at reducing maternal mortality. In this initiative, the company has partnered with the Ministry of Health, World Vision, AMREF, Care, NetHope and other NGOs.