In Africa, the health system is often deficient and many countries face major challenges such as lack of infrastructure or inefficient procedures for medical care. This often leads to dramatic consequences for patients. In Côte d'Ivoire, yet another medical tragedy has led to an innovation that is now saving thousands of Africans. It is the Mousso Health Pass, a personalised medical file available online. We went to meet Corine Ouattara, the creator of this medical innovation made in Côte d'Ivoire, which facilitates interaction between the patient and the medical staff.
From a medical tragedy to the birth of a health solution
In March 2014, Awa Fadiga, a famous 23-year-old model from Côte d'Ivoire, died in hospital as a result of an assault, as the doctors had no information about her medical history. This event echoes in Corine Ouattara who suffers from asthma, sinusitis, allergies and partial epilepsy. She could therefore have a seizure at any time and be confronted, like Awa, with a delay in treatment due to the unavailability of personal medical information. This is how the Mousso Health Pass was born, "a digital health booklet The device allows the user to identify the location of the patient's home and the place where he or she is staying, as well as the location of the hospital. The device allows the user to identify the location of the patient's home.have access to all personal medical information in real time in order to make them available to health care staff for effective, rapid and efficient care. "says Corine. With this Health Pass, the entrepreneur wants to give a voice to patients taken to the emergency room who are unable to express themselves, thus increasing their chances of survival.
Thus, by tracing the patient's medical history and establishing his or her health profile, the Health Pass speeds up decision-making and improves the efficiency of patient care. In addition, this medical technological jewel does much more. It tracks and reports disease transmissions, provides reliable updates and alerts to both patients and medical authorities. It also facilitates the deployment of telemedicine and allows for easier inclusion of medical insurance products.
In short, the Mousso Health Pass improves and accelerates diagnosis for more effective management. The additional data collected also improves the accuracy of the work of epidemiological surveillance authorities. For Corine, this is very useful for better assessing the prevalence of diseases such as HIV-AIDS, Covid-19, etc.
Modest beginnings, a solid base and representation in the sub-region
Aware of its limitations in terms of rapid deployment, the creator of the Mousso Health Pass has favoured partnerships for pilot phases elsewhere than in her native Côte d'Ivoire. This has enabled her to test the solution in countries such as Senegal, Benin and Togo.
To access the solution today, an interested person approaches a partner hospital, which provides support and assistance in creating an account. Enrolment is easy but requires the patient's informed consent to create their electronic health record. The security of the solution, both in terms of adding data and access rights, is an important concern for Corine Ouattara and her team. Solutions have also been found to guarantee maximum security for medtech innovation. For example, "for a doctor to access patient information, he or she must be registered with the College of Physicians and be affiliated with a health centre so that responsibilities can be locatedCorine continues.
Once the information has been entered, the Health Pass is functional and can be worn around the neck, on the wrist or carried in the wallet. In an effort toMedical inclusionIt costs only 3500 CFA with an annual subscription of 2000 FCFA. The solution is thus kept at the lowest possible price in order to contribute to the achievement of thesustainable development goal of health for all. In addition, partner hospitals can decide to make changes to the design, as well as additional options for their patients or their administrative management. Centres can also have Corine Ouattara's solution available as their own brand.
More than 23,000 people, including 80% women and children, now have the Mousso Health Pass in Côte d'Ivoire and use it on a daily basis. For beneficiaries outside the country, the principle is the same, but the solution can be called by other names and tested in the form of pilot projects.
A medical innovation, a major social impact and challenges
Given all the incredible possibilities offered by the Mousso Health Pass, one might have expected a remarkable take-off as soon as the solution became available. But that was not the case, says the founder of Health Pass. Indeed, in order to be able to deploy the solution, Corine launched a participatory financing campaign on Fiatope, a crowdfunding platform. But unfortunately, the voice of the voiceless in our hospitals was unable to raise the hoped-for amount. This is due in particular to by "the "immaturity" of the coaches. It should be noted that an innovation is only adopted when it is understood. In 2014, although there was already talk of a digital shift, social actors did not have sufficient confidence in digital solutions, especially in terms of profitability explains the entrepreneur. It was not until the Covid-19 health crisis that the major players in the health system in Côte d'Ivoire really understood the importance of the health system.It is urgent to provide health facilities with such innovative solutions, she concludes.
In addition, the recognition of the Mousso Health Pass by the Ivorian state as an "ambassador of innovation by the Ministry of the Digital Economy" and its integration into the Startup4gouv programme have given Mousso Health Pass visibility. For its deployment, the medtech solution needed access to markets, possibilities and opportunities in the same way as foreign solutions with bigger resources (human, logistical and financial). "Local solutions are not particularly favoured and this makes the market more difficult to penetrate."The Ivorian is sorry to say. But fortunately she was able to count on organisations such as the OIF (Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie) and the UNDP (United Nations Development Programme), which called on her team to launch a pilot project during the pandemic. Her resilience also led to her being supported by the Ivorian Ministries of Economy and Health. Aid programmes such as Women in Africa also believed in her and helped her to get 10,000 euros in funding. A contract with a health centre also gave her the opportunity to manage 1500 patients.
The Mousso Health Pass is a health management tool available in real time. It facilitates patient care and saves lives. Additional functionalities are expected as well as a deployment in other countries of the continent. Its creator is also learning new things, always with the aim of remaining efficient. This has led her to take a master's degree in health information systems management in order to better understand the environment in which her solution, Pass Santé Mousso, operates.
