emocha Mobile Health, a digital health startup that’s using telemedicine as a way to confirm medication adherence, has won the support of the South Africa department of health to roll out its program for multi-drug resistant tuberculosis patients across the country following a pilot, according to a company statement.
The program, referred to as miLINC, was developed to identify, track and support these patients. For patients in primary care clinics, healthcare professionals collect critical data such as a national identification number, medical record number, mobile number, and specimen barcode. Lab results are matched against enrollment data from the clinic on emocha’s cloud-based server. Linkage Officers check results and follow up with patients. Specialized nurses check patients into specialized clinics for MDR TB.