Launched in 2019, Ilara Health brings affordable diagnostics to primary care settings across Kenya. The company provides artificial intelligence (AI) and tech-powered diagnostic equipment to medical facilities at a fraction of the normal cost. Doctors pay only 10-20% upfront and financing partners cover 80-90% via loans. Tests done using their devices are completed in the doctor’s office with results available in less than 10 minutes. Their software links diagnostic devices with an electronic medical record (EMR) system that records all patient data. It also sends customized health tips and reminders to patients based on their condition.
Their solutions are designed to have benefits for both medical providers and patients. Medical providers are able to provide quality healthcare with faster turnaround times while receiving increased revenue, while patients are able to access quality healthcare and receive their results quickly at lower costs.
Legacy diagnostic tools are expensive, require significant specialist expertise to operate and, as a result, have struggled to penetrate primary care settings in Kenya. The result? Only a handful of the over 15,000 clinics across Kenya can offer life-saving diagnostics, with the vast majority referring patients away to larger, congested, and distant hospitals. This drastically reduces diagnostic coverage across the country, with millions of patients receiving the tests they need too late, if at all.
Ilara Health leverages developments in point-of-care diagnostic technology, coupling next-generation, affordable and tech-enabled diagnostic tools with smart financing packages. Primary care centres can now sustainably offer diagnostic services, ranging from ultrasound services all the way to diabetic screens, directly to their communities.