Development Myths and Direct Health Care through ICT4D: The Medical Concierge Group

By Chalenge Masekera

The jury still out on whether developmental work and aid money given to developing countries is useful. To address this concern, Bill Gates released his annual letter during the DAVOS World Economic Forum titled ‘3 Myths That Block Progress For The Poor’. Of particular importance are the first two ‘myths’:

Myth 1: Poor countries are doomed to stay poor.

Myth 2: Foreign Aid is a big waste

In the first myth he addressed the notion pointing out how various nations or parts of countries have made great leaps from poverty to having good living standards through good developmental policies citing examples of countries like Malaysia, Botswana, Chile and the city Nairobi. In the report he points to how the percentage of children in school has gone from the low 40s to over 75 percent since 1970, which outlines as a key foundation block for any developmental work. An educated society is more likely to solve their own problems as well as have more sophisticated needs than the basic needs, which should drive further development.

He tries to debunk the second myth by outlining some really interesting figures that show enormous strides that have been made in solving some of the world’s health problems. An example is how Polio cases have decreased from 350 000 per year in 1988 to just 400 per year in 2013. How cool is that!

With such amazing groundwork laid out ICTDs can come in to build on to ensure better health for all. To this end I found an interesting ICTD health initiative that should also go along way in improving the health care access and delivery to people in Uganda. The social initiative is called The Medical Concierge Group.

The Medical Concierge Group

According to the team lead Eunice Namirembe; there is only one (1) doctor for every 250 000 people. This has seriously compromised access to health care and health information.

Medical Concierge hopes to connect communities with quality health care and health care information that they would have otherwise not been able to access easily. The name comes from the term ‘concierge medicine’ (also known as direct care) which is a relationship between a patient and a primary care physician

Essentially it will be a 24-hour ambulance center where patients can call in for assistance. The project uses the Google API dashboard and Google Maps to record patient information and track patient locations. By using these tools, the team is able to help connect more Ugandans to medical services at a faster rate therefore helping to save lives. The team seeks to leverage on the proliferation of mobile phones, in places such as rural areas where there is no Internet access. People in these communities can call in at any time for help that they may need and where necessary be connected to the nearest doctor and/or pharmacist.

The project is still very inchoate and has a lot of hurdles to overcome before they are able to fully meet their goals. A lot issues will need consideration such as trust, the ability of the caller to fully articulate the problem as well as the capabilities of the person taking the call. By providing health advice they are liable for regulation by the countries’ health laws and policies, which may not be well developed to deal with such health provision.

This innovative project has a lot of potential to change health access in the country and possibly other countries. Also, as more people use the service they should be able to collect large volumes of health information that can be used for various other purposes.

Links to article:

Link to Concierge Group


  1. What an awesome organization, Chalenge! I actually think I used their ambulance service once in Uganda. I was riding my own boda (yes, like driving a motorcycle) and some Evil Boda sped by and yanked hard at my laptop bag strapped across my chest and on my side. The pull was so hard, I lost balance and skidded along the road along with my motorcycle. Some kind Ugandans called for an ambulance service through this organization. I didn't know they have integrated technology into their programs, so thanks for sharing! (PS. I was fine after the doctor bandaged my leg and ordered me to have a shot of local waragi- true story. For you kind ones who are concerned, no worries, my laptop was fine too- Lenovo rocks in developing countries...)

    1. Very interesting story San, who would have known that their work impact someone who is not Ugandan! I believe it an example of a really good locally-driven solution that is doing work in its community.

    2. Wow, San! That's a crazy story.

      P.S: For people who are curious about waragi:

    3. Priya, this comment might haunt you forever, per An Anonymous Blogger's recent blog post here on this site- it seems like you were researching about a highly seductive alcoholic beverage during class time.

    4. I only wanted to learn more about the drink that saved our bold ICTD instructor ;)

  2. Hi Chalenge,

    Very nice post. San's comment makes it even more interesting! I am amused by the work that Google is doing to connect all kinds of development. Google maps has actually been improving a lot and it is impressive how much information you can find even in developing countries. The Medical Concierge group has done a really good job at analyzing the environment in Uganda and creating something that best fits the country. I didn't know about this so thank you!

  3. Dear Chalenge,
    This is a very interesting blog post and thanks also to San for sharing her story! I had a quick question about one of the numbers. When you cite team lead Namirembe about there only being 1 doctor for every 250,000 people, do you refer to a specific region or is this a global number?
    Also, you write that the app records callers’ information and location. Does this mean that when patients call in they usually don’t share their location information? Or does the app connect callers to a local doctor right away or send someone in their direction if it's an emergency?
    I also wonder if the service costs more for the caller than a regular phone call.
    Sorry for all the questions--and thanks for sharing! I heard about tech health initiatives before, but most of them are mCare based, meaning that doctors remotely monitor patients' progress, etc. when a patient lives too far from a clinic to come in for regular visits. Here is an example:

    1. Hey Christina, just realized I skipped mentioning that the she was referring to Uganda only. For the app, they did not do a good job describing the technical details behind it but what I got was that they 'record' from interacting with the user just like normal hospital scene (guessing most of the people don't have smartphones). What they do have is the actual locations of ambulances, doctors and pharmacists who they can then call based on the location of the user. So you call them, they look up on the Google Maps API the best resource then connect you with. The cost is normal call rates all day. I think they 'make money' from referrals to others in the consortium. Helps it clarifies for everyone

  4. I hope you enjoyed reading Bill Gate's Annual Letter like I did. So much of what I read about development (whether it's aid or ICTD projects) is how it has failed, is failing, or will fail. Even though I am skeptical whenever I see such a rosy picture of aid being painted by a donor (would Bill Gates really be able to tell us if the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation was making a mess of things?) it is good to be reminded that there are successes out there too, and not just because it feels nice - the beliefs or myths he outlines can be dangerous if they cause people to give up on helping each other, instead of trying to figure how to help each other more effectively.

  5. Wow this is very cool Chalenge (but not cool that San had to learn about this org the hard way...). Do you know if this organization has an official website? I would love to learn more about how they operate, i.e. how exactly they connect patients with medical services and the extent of their reliance on algorithms and such to optimally service emergency situations.

    1. I do not think they have an official website, all I know they have is a Facebook page

  6. Wow! Thanks for such an engaging and interesting blog post chalenge! Sorry to hear San that you learned about this amazing organization in such a hard way. I can already imagine this service helping out the poor and inaccessible areas in India. I remember this story about Dashrath Manjhi aka the mountain man of India who built a 110 foot road in reach the nearest hospital.