Chil Femtech Center's Hub & Spoke Tele-Oncology: The Only Hope To The Scarce Oncologists in Africa

Cancer continues to pose serious health challenges globally. While rapid advancements are being made in terms of care, much of that impact is not felt in Africa and other underrepresented populations around the world.

One of the key challenges the region faces in the oncology sector is the lack of oncologists. For instance, Rwanda has fewer than 15 oncologists for a population of 13.5 million people, while Nigeria has about 84 oncologists for a population of over 200 million people.

This means that there's one oncologist for every 3,000 patients in Sub-Saharan Africa. In contrast, in the USA, the ratio is one oncologist to 187 patients.

Enhancing Cancer Care: The Patient-Centric Hub-and-Spoke Model

The hub-and-spoke model for cancer care is a patient-centric approach that offers comprehensive and accessible healthcare services. In this model, our specialized cancer center acts as the central "hub" with advanced diagnostic and treatment facilities and a multidisciplinary team of specialists.

This is complemented by partner health facilities, or "spoke" centers, where patients can receive routine check-ups, follow-ups, repetitive treatments, and supportive care.

In Africa, where patients often have to travel vast distances to access medical services - an endeavor that can be prohibitively expensive and logistically challenging - patients can approach the "spokes" for routine care and medication.

They would only need to travel to the "hub" during critical situations. This patient-focused model offers convenient access to comprehensive cancer services, personalized treatment plans, emotional support, and an overall improved quality of care. Centralizing the most capital-intensive services in one hub can also reduce the cost of care.

Rural areas present numerous challenges for cancer care professionals and patients alike, including suboptimal care, limited facility availability, low awareness, and affordability concerns.

Approximately 80 percent of rural Africans expend a significant portion of their income on basic necessities, such as food and shelter, leaving minimal funds for healthcare. Our hub-and-spoke model has emerged as a transformative solution, bringing specialized cancer care closer to remote regions. By establishing spokes in rural areas, this model ensures that specialized cancer care facilities and expertise extend beyond urban centers and major cities.

This provides patients with comprehensive care closer to their homes, reducing travel and associated expenses. Consequently, healthcare services have become more affordable and easily accessible to individuals in rural communities, effectively bridging the healthcare gap and enhancing the overall healthcare environment.

Decentralization through the Hub-and-Spoke Model and Virtual Care Improves Availability

A key benefit of our model is its capacity to enhance the diagnosis and treatment of cancer in Africa's rural areas. Spoke clinics, equipped with advanced and compatible tele-imaging technologies, enable the early detection of cancerous growths.

These clinics can then transmit the imaging data to the hub virtually, using our Artificial Intelligence chatbot, where specialized oncologists can analyze remotely and provide a timely diagnosis.

Once a diagnosis is confirmed, the hub-and-spoke model facilitates efficient treatment planning and coordination. Treatment protocols and recommendations can be discussed via teleconferencing, ensuring that patients receive the most appropriate and personalized care. This collaborative approach reduces the necessity for patients to travel long distances for consultations, thereby minimizing the physical and financial burdens of seeking timely cancer care.

Achievements

In 2023, we managed to assist more than 12,991 cancer patients from our four countries of operation.

We have partnered with 404 local clinics, which act as our spokes, and recruited 55 oncologists from around the world to our Tele-Oncology Platform.

We've also concluded six partnerships with key cancer diagnostic tele-device makers, and have opened five hubs in locations such as Kisumu (Kenya), Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), and Ethiopia.

CHIL FEMTECH CENTER INC
United States of America
8 The Green, St R, Dover, DE 19901

CHIL Femtech center is a Telemedicine company that links the excluded , rural clinics in Middle East and Africa to scarce resources like doctors using their revolutionary spoke and Hub Tele medicine Model . The model resembles a bicycle wheel, with the hub representing CHIL Hospital and the spokes symbolizing partner local clinics
It creates a distribution network that enables efficient delivery of healthcare services to remote locations. The model involves the use of telemedicine equipment, an Artificial Intelligence chatbot, and trained nurses for e-consultation sessions with doctors and specialists .

This release was published on openPR.