JOHANNESBURG – Telecommunications companies (telcos) are strategically diversifying into healthcare by leveraging existing assets such as network infrastructure, customer bases and billing systems to close access gaps, particularly for underserved populations.
They are moving beyond their traditional connectivity role to become digital health service providers.
With advanced 5G networks, the carrier's strategy is to provide the premium connectivity needed for next-generation healthcare.
As reported by Healthcare IT News, in Singapore, Singtel is empowering local healthcare institutions with its 5G+ network. The network uses “network slicing” to ensure stable, uninterrupted connectivity for telehealth visits, even during periods of heavy network traffic.
This diversification is a natural evolution for telcos, allowing them to generate new revenue streams and build customer loyalty while solving critical societal problems.
The key advantage they have is their ability to “telecomize'' healthcare, applying their core competencies in connectivity, scale, and customer management to make healthcare services as accessible as a mobile phone plan.
So how is South Africa's largest telecommunications group scaling its Tech for Good solutions across agriculture, education, healthcare, energy and water?
Vodacom is focused on guiding organizations through their digital transformation efforts.
At the heart of this is Vodacom's Internet of Things (IoT) strategy, which increases enterprise operational efficiency and accelerates the digitization of government services through use cases such as SmartGov, smart utilities and smart health.
“Our Tech for Good platform continues to expand beyond expectations, tackling critical challenges across key sectors such as energy, healthcare, education and agriculture,” Vodacom Group CEO Shamir Joosab said in the company's latest integrated annual report.
“These demonstrate how technology, when applied with purpose, can deliver meaningful social outcomes while creating sustainable business value.
“Advances in technology are improving operational efficiency and outcomes while increasing the availability of high-quality resources across sectors. For example, our healthcare platform is digitizing healthcare delivery at scale.”
“South Africa's government clinics are run using our technology, as is the national blood bank.
“We manage national health insurance platforms in Egypt and Kenya, and our systems enable the distribution of vaccines for malaria and other diseases in multiple countries.
“M-mama, the government-led emergency transport system for maternal and neonatal emergencies, has saved more than 9,000 lives in Tanzania and Lesotho.”
Vodacom’s “telco-fy” healthcare initiative
Vodacom is partnering with its subsidiary Mezzanine to deploy digital health solutions to enhance healthcare service delivery and improve supply chain efficiency.
These platforms include platforms such as HealthX in South Africa, eLABS in South Africa and Zambia, and Inventory Visibility Solutions in South Africa, which support more reliable vaccination records, tracking of laboratory samples, and real-time visibility of drug inventory levels.
“Our community program, m-mama, is an emergency transport system for maternal and neonatal emergencies that has saved 9,000 lives in Tanzania and Lesotho,” Vodacom revealed in its integrated annual report.
Vodacom has revealed that it is partnering with two Egyptian ministries to digitize the healthcare system through three programs: universal healthcare, primary care units, and Egyptian University Hospitals.
The Vodafone-owned group added that around 13.5 million people are being served across health facilities in Egypt through digitalization.
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Vodacom launched the Bomoi Ya Mama na Muana project to strengthen maternal and child care in Lubumbashi, improve access to emergency assistance, and partner with the United Nations Population Fund to train health workers.
To celebrate the 100th anniversary of Sendwe General Hospital, Vodacom Foundation has opened a completely renovated and fully equipped maternity ward.
*This article was first published in our sister publication techfinancials.co.za.
