Quro Medical, a Johannesburg-based healthcare startup that uses technology to make healthcare more accessible and affordable, has just secured an undisclosed investment fund from Life Healthcare (LHC), a leading international healthcare organisation and South African largest private hospital chain.
Quro Medical, founded in 2018 by Dr. Vuyane Mhlomi and Zikho Pali, is a tech-driven healthcare at home company; it basically uses healthcare technology to analyse real-time data to monitor patient health. Its model gives patients who need constant healthcare monitoring, outside of acute hospital care, an option to be assisted remotely and get the support they need.
Life Healthcare is a global people-centred, diversified healthcare organisation listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. LHC has over 33 years of experience in the South African private healthcare sector, and currently operates 66 healthcare facilities in southern Africa and is actively present in 10 countries globally.
LHC has vast medical expertise and thousands of hundreds of patients who trust their services; on the other hand, Quro Medical has the technology that can help Life Healthcare reach their patients faster and efficiently.
This investment is coming a little over three months after Quro Medical raised a seed fund of $1.1m. The period between both investments indicates the startup’s growth and the level of healthtech acceptance among the South African people.
“Since the announcement of the last round, the number of doctors signed up to access our platform has nearly doubled, and the round has allowed us to service more patients.” Mhlomi told TechCabal. “We have also had to increase internal resourcing to respond to this demand.”
Why is this partnership important?
On the heels of COVID-19, the world is rapidly moving towards a virtual-first mode; conventional ways are going out of fashion and every industry is getting served digitally, even the health care sector.
According to Life Healthcare Group Chief Executive, Peter Wharton-Hood in a statement, the ongoing strain on the South African healthcare system during the pandemic has highlighted the need for digitally-enabled home-based healthcare solutions.
With this investment, LHC will be able to provide its patients with onsite and remote care— a hybrid healthcare model that will continue to drive its relevance in both local and global markets.
“Our people-centred approach has encouraged us to think of new and innovative ways to further serve our patients outside of our hospital service offering, continuing to live our purpose of making life better,” Wharton-Hood said.
“We can therefore continue to treat patients who don’t require further in-hospital care, but need monitoring while making additional in-hospital resources available for those who do. Our shared passion for improving healthcare in South Africa makes our new partnership with Quro Medical purpose-driven. We look forward to providing this digital healthcare solution to our patients soon.”
According to Mhlomi, Quro Medical’s Co-Founder/CEO, data-driven clinical interventions demonstrate incredibly good outcomes for patients. “When you’re able to be further assisted in your own home, your recovery and healing are accelerated.”
Mhlomi adds that Quro Medical goes beyond traditional telehealth.
“Patients get safe, world-class treatment with 24/7 monitoring in the best place to continue healing: at home. We’re excited to leverage LHC’s vast hospital experience with our home-care expertise to give patients affordable access to at-home medical services”.
This partnership is mutually beneficial to both parties but the biggest winner is the people who can now check-in and out between two healthcare options. Mhlomi said this is the first of it’s kind deal and it may result in “increased appetite for collaboration within the healthcare provider space or between healthcare providers and tech companies.”
Additionally, this partnership may open up a new trend of hybrid healthcare systems in Africa.
According to the company, this deal is evidence of its commitment to join forces with others in order to solve Africa’s intractable healthcare challenges. This deal will help Quro Medical’s expansion plan as it can now move into other markets where LHC is present.
