Smart Applications International has launched a Mobile App for all smartcard holders, the App empowers Smart card holders to access their cover information with ease at the comfort of their phones. To use the App, users will be required to download the app- MediSmart on either the App or Play Store and follow a simple registration process. To complete registration, users will be sent an automated OTP (OneTimePin) to complete the registration process. Key Features – Capability to generate/view member medical expenditure report – Check your medical cover details and card balance – Geo- Locate your approved healthcare facilities – Check your biometric smart card status – FAQs & Support The chairman Dr. Chris Kirubi with the management team
Industrialist Chris Kirubi Smart Applications Donate Sh300000 To Support A Patient Due For Spinal Surgery At KNH
NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 16 – Industrialist Chris Kirubi, together with Centum Foundation and Smart Applications donated on Monday Sh300,000 to Mary Muthoni, a patient set to undergo spinal surgery at the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH). Smart Applications Group Marketing Director Esther Muiruri, while handing over the cheque to KNH, said the funds will assist the family which had already raised Sh200,000 towards Muthoni’s surgery. “We want to pass this contribution to the family through the hospital which will go a long way in serving the patient through the treatment she will be getting,” said Muiruri. KNH Chief Executive Officer Evanson Kamuri assured of the hospital’s support saying the donation will specifically be dedicated to Muthoni’s treatment costs. “For Kenyatta, we can promise that the money you have given will go directly to the beneficiary and it will not be misused,” Kamuri said. Dr Kirubi and Smart Applications Group intervened after Muthoni’s three children staged a walk from Kinangop to Nairobi in a campaign to raise at least Sh500,000 for a titanium plate on her back. Muthoni’s brother Paul Kimani, said the family resolved to mobilize funds through the walk to Nairobi having only managed to raise Sh60,000 for the surgery while the sum required for the procedure was Sh500,000. “We want to thank Chris Kirubi for supporting us during this journey, this is a miracle that we are forever grateful to Smart Application and Centum too who have assisted us in paying for the surgery cost,” said Kimani. The two boys and their elder sister started the journey to Nairobi on Sunday displaying a picture of their mother who had been in the hospital for the last two months. Muthoni was sheltering herself from the rain at a quarry when rocks dropped on her, leaving her with the injuries which necessitated the surgery.
BIMALAB II INSURTECH ACCELERATOR PROGRAM
As the Bimalab II InsureTech Accelerator program kicks off. We are honoured to be part of the mentor organisations who will be shaping and sharing our tech experiences in the InsureTech space with other great organisations. Empowering others remains at our forefront. #insuretech #Technology #healthcare #Smartcares
Old Mutual and Smart Applications Group launch electronic data interchange solution
NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 4 – UAP Old Mutual has partnered Smart Applications International, a leading healthcare management technology solutions provider in automating the UAP Old Mutual’s member access processes and digitizing the medical claims interface with healthcare service partners. The digitization through Smart’s Electronic Data Interchange Solution (EDI) will enable UAP Old Mutual clients faster access to treatment and result in more efficient, paperless medical claims through the healthcare facilities. The new platform will greatly enhance UAP Old Mutual’s innovation in service delivery, achieve a paperless hospital engagement process. The solution also brings on board the capability for auto-claims validation before submission and auto-vetting once submitted, leading to faster and more efficient payments to all accredited healthcare providers serving UAP Old Mutual members. The General Manager Health Business, Japheth Ogalloh said “This innovation which has been integrated to our backend system will improve the claims process by making it more efficient and cost effective. This partnership and innovation underscores our commitment to evolving with the emerging needs of our vendors, intermediaries and customers. The business environment is changing rather rapidly, and at UAP Old Mutual we are alive to this reality and will continue to innovate as part of our strategy”. The EDI solution is a step towards the much-needed innovation in the healthcare space to accelerate uptake of medical insurance through digital platforms that reduce insurance scheme administration costs whilst delivering convenience. The Smart EDI platform also comes fully compliant and loaded with the ICD10 coding mechanism as approved and provided by the World Health Organization for ease in clinical and medical claims automation. Among many other deliverables under the partnership between UAP Old Mutual and Smart Applications International is further automation through implementation of world-class healthcare processes like Straight Through Processing (STP) and Service Based billing, all new in Africa and which will now ride on the EDI framework, according to Harrison Muiru, the Group Managing Director at Smart Applications. “We are extremely delighted working with UAP Old Mutual as a leader in the healthcare space to on board our Smart technologies within their medical insurance operations for better reach, effectiveness and efficiency in delivering their medical products,” said Muiru. The move by UAP Old Mutual marks a milestone in healthcare automation & standardization. Smart Applications International will continue to work with key players in the African healthcare industry like UAP Old Mutual to digitise and automate medical processes in order to realise efficiency not only in Kenya but across Africa where it has a presence. The sentiments were echoed by Esther Muiruri, SMART’s Group Marketing Director. With presence in 9 countries across over 4,000 healthcare facilities, Smart remains at the forefront of taking healthcare access innovation to new heights across Africa.
Data Insights During the Covid Pandemic
We live in an age where information on you is constantly collected and stored. These large data sets can be used to offer insights into the behavior of a given populace. SMART APPLICATIONS gives a sneak peek into insights gleaned from data collected since the COVID pandemic struck. These insights can be used to guide future policy and isolate causes and effects of emergent issues. In this article, we shall look at four insightful trends and their definite effect on the cost of healthcare in the country. Before we dive into the data, we need to state that correlation is not causality. Just because one event increased in correspondence to a second does not mean that the first event caused the second, or vice versa. First, and rather obviously, data shows there was an aversion to hospitals in 2020. The year saw a marked drop in hospital visits; originally this was thought to be caused by reduced illnesses caused by social isolation and restricted movement, however, a sharp increase in hospital visits in 2021 may imply a psychological aversion to hospitals in 2020. The most interesting bit from the data analysis however is that: Visits to the dentist have increased since Covid 19 struck. The data shows a sharp increase in cases of tooth decay. Dental carries which was formerly not even top 20 is now the second most commonly treated ailment. It is important to remember that correlation is not causality. It’s not likely that the Covid 19 virus also affect the teeth but; it is likely that wearing masks for longer contributes to the erosion of tooth enamel. CNN International Correspondent Larry Madowo at the start of the pandemic tweeted in jest “I know we’re washing hands but when do we go back to taking showers?”. While the humour is not wasted on any of us, it may point and a general disregard for hygiene during the WFH period. This may include dental hygiene which in turn shows the increase in dental caries. It could also be that during the WFH period, many people are consuming more sugar leading to the upsurge in tooth decay. Again, correlation versus causality. The hypothesis that mask-wearing is the culprit gets a little more weight by another interesting statistic. There was a marked increase in cases of myopia reported. Eye problems and tooth problems together may point at the negative effects of prolonged mask-wearing. But this needs further investigation. Lastly, lower back pain has seen a sharp increase in reporting in 2021. This could be caused by increased in-activity during the WFH period or could be as simple as most people working form home do not have proper desk set up. Furniture built for lounging on such as living room furniture does give adequate back support and could also be the cause here. We have to insist, correlation is not causality, therefore establishing the actual cause demands further investigation. While we can speculate on the sudden upsurge of myopia, lower back pain and dental caries, we know with certainty the effect. Insurers have been paying more in hospital claims as visits to the dentist and ophthalmologist often cost more than visits to a GP. SMART APPLICATIONS has a dedicated data science and analytics team that graciously availed this data within the confines of the data protection act. AVERSION TO HOSPITALS EYE PROBLEMS HAVE INCREASED BACK PROBLEMS HAVE INCREASED DENTIST VISITS HAVE INCREASED
Turning 30 Is Worse Than You Thought
The data has spoken! It says, “if life begins at forty, old age begins at thirty”. Thirty is the age at which you begin to use the phrase ‘young people’ to refer to those younger than yourself. It is the age at which your body begins to take on a maturity you wish it didn’t. You seem a little calmer and purposeful, but it’s actually because you’re less energetic, not because you’re self-assured. This has been my experience with getting over the age of thirty. The data shows that 30- to 40-year-old individuals are most likely to report to hospital with illness among the top 4 illnesses reported. This age group reported the most acute upper respiratory illnesses. This could be because of days spent at crowded work places, pollution on the drive to work or poor lifestyle choices. The second most affected age group, as you would naturally guess was forty to fifty years. This order stays the same again for acute pharyngitis. Age group 30 to 40 is the most affected followed by the 40 to 50 age group. Both of these put together Pharyngitis again may have the same causes as upper respiratory illnesses. In both pharyngitis and upper respiratory illnesses, the 20 to 30 age group had the least reported cases. These group seem by and large to be the healthiest of the lot. The story however changes when it comes to gastritis. The most common cause of which is H-pylori infections. Food that is poorly handled is the main culprit here. It seems the 20 to 30-year-olds are also having their fill at the less than sanitary kibandaski. Persons aged forty to fifty however topped the list when it comes to hypertension with the thirty to forty age group following closely. It’s a bleak picture; the data seems to be saying, “after you turn thirty, you get ill and then you retire with high blood pressure”. But while the data is painting a bleak picture. SMART would like to leave you with a bit of hope. The next time you feel a bit of gastritis creeping in, take a holiday down in Mombasa and get treated for the lowest prices in the market in Mombasa. If you’re older and suffering hypertension, rush on out to Kiambu where the treatment costs are lowest according to our data. Getting medical attention around the country has Nairobi and Nakuru as the most expensive counties with Kiambu and Mombasa as the best priced counties to get medical attention. Lastly, whatever age group you’re in, take care of your body. It’s the only one you’ve got.
Tanzanians are the healthiest population In Greater East Africa
If you are in greater East Africa. You are budget sensitive, and are about to fall ill. Move to Tanzania! The data is speaking again. This time it talks about the variance in the cost of healthcare across Greater East Africa and Zambia. The healthcare markets in this study are: South Sudan, Somali-land, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Zambia. Firstly, the cost of health in Kenya ranks the highest in the entire region. In Kenya, you will have to part with $1,100 for admission while in Tanzania at only $158 for an average admission cost. In other words, the amount of money to spend as admission cost in a hospital in Kenya could buy a holiday in Dubai. It may be cheaper to book a medical trip to Zanzibar and enjoy the sun and sand than to book a hotel. This analogy between hospitals and hospitality could offer an insight into the cost differences. It may be fair to assume that macro-economic factors such as the cost of living and average wages drive up the cost of healthcare. This would explain why Somali-land and South Sudan have relatively high costs of healthcare. The other hidden issue is investments in healthcare. It is quite possible that Kenyan hospitals have private sector invested in more in their facilities and infrastructure. The data also shows that Kenyans don’t fall ill more than their neighbors. The average Kenyan makes about 2.6 visits to a doctor every year. This number doesn’t change in both Uganda and Somali-land that come in at 2.5 and 2.4 respectively. Tanzanians who coincidentally enjoy the lowest cost of healthcare also make the fewest visits to a hospital at about 1.38 visits per person per year. South Sudan and Zambia follow closely each with about 1.5 per patient per year. This may allude to a generally healthier population or a general health aversion. The data is yet to disclose what the cause. The more interesting data point however is that the Rwandese visit hospitals more than their counterparts. The average Rwandese patient makes 5 outpatient visits per year. Again, we’re not certain if this is due to accessibility of health-care services or an over reporting of illness. The jury is still out on this. Smart Applications International Limited is committed to ensuring the security and protection of the personal information that we process and providing a compliant and consistent approach to data protection laws across our African footprint.
Smart Applications Launches Smart Access The Customer Virtual Healthcare Access App
NAIROBI, Kenya December 1st, 2022 – Leading ICT and biometric giant, Smart Applications International Ltd, fondly known as, Smart, recently launched a virtual mode of medical access, aimed at enhancing patient experience, providing health on-the-go, and providing instant onboarding support to medical insurers, for enhanced provider transparency in healthcare administration. The virtual access will be available on both a newly developed app dubbed Smart Access and through the short code *891# for Safaricom subscribers. Smart has been providing biometric smart cards to all its clientele as the mode of identification for access to medical services installed in over 6,000 healthcare facilities across Africa. With the growing adoption of mobile technology globally the Smart Access will be a timely upgrade from physical biometric smart cards to virtual access. Through the app, patients will be able to access healthcare insurance, view utilisation of their covers instantly, read informational articles about their health, and geolocate their healthcare providers of choice at the tap of their screens. This service will be available in the 11 countries that Smart currently operates in. Speaking during the launch, Smart Applications International, Managing Director, Mr. Harrison Muiru, noted that, “millions of Smart customers will now be able to use virtual access to pay for services across all lines of healthcare. We are cognizant of creating transformative patient centric solutions that address current needs in such economic times ”. Mr. Muiru further noted, “Our team has worked on the Smart Access App to ensure that this unique and comprehensive solution offers accurate users an opportunity to manage access health education on various topics of interest, check for closest medical providers with specified services These features will go a long way in the promotion of trust within the healthcare ecosystem”. “With our newly launched app, a customer traveling through the 11 countries covered by Smart can access healthcare by using the app across all lines of healthcare without having to worry about pre-authorization or even coverage,” said Esther Muiruri, Sales & Marketing Director, Smart Applications International. Smart Applications is committed towards pioneering digitization across Africa and beyond through provision of World Class Technology Solutions.
