Technological partnership speeds up emergency response

© Christopher Bailey – 123RF.com

CenHealth is a user-controlled platform, which allows users to keep a digital version of their health records. Members open an online account and can store information ranging from their weight and height, to allergies, upload X-rays, vaccination records and keep a health diary of all their doctor's appointments.

Its users can access ER24's pre-hospital emergency care, including emergency stabilisation, medical emergency care transportation by road and air to the nearest hospital and trauma assistance. This service works in conjunction with CenHealth's emergency profile, through which users enter important details such as allergies, medications they are taking, their age, doctors' details, medical aid information as well as next of kin - all of which help paramedics respond more speedily and accurately in the event of an emergency.

Puseletso Mompei, CenHealth's new business director, says, "The company is passionate about offering users value added services, in conjunction with their digital health record. Our vision is to centralise the health experience for users. While having the ability to create, store and manage their health history from any device is empowering, we believe that this should integrate with real-life situations and allow users access to health related services."

This partnership is the first of its kind in Africa, where most patient's records are in paper format, making critical information unavailable in an emergency. By using a secure, cloud based platform, users can enjoy services, such as ER24, in real time.

The service is available for a fee of R30/month and is bundled with other new services including camera feature to allow users to upload images to their digital record as well as additional storage. Users can also pay a discounted annual fee. "Access is a priority for us, so keeping the price friendly was important," concludes Mompei.

With the usual spike in road accidents, drownings, food poisoning and other injuries that occur more over the festive season, the launch of this service could not come at a better time. For more information, go to www.cenhealth.com.