Telemedicine is often interpreted as a video call between a patient and a doctor. South African health tech company Udok is taking a different approach, using a connected digital platform to link virtual consultations with physical medical practices, pharmacies, electronic medical records and other elements of the healthcare journey.
Founded in 2018, Udok has built a network that now spans more than 300 doctor practices, 3 000 pharmacies and 200 000 patients across South Africa, with its latest development focused on decentralising care rather than concentrating patients in a single virtual clinic.
“Our mission is to make healthcare accessible to everyone on this continent through the use of a smart device – whether it's the patient's own or with the help of a nurse,” says Dr Petrus van Niekerk, founder and CEO of Udok.
From telemedicine to connected care
The platform enables patients to consult registered medical practitioners via video, voice or chat, but the consultation is only part of the system.
Udok also connects the consultation to an electronic medical record, allowing doctors to access relevant patient information and maintain continuity between virtual and physical consultations. Depending on the outcome, a consultation can result in an electronic prescription sent to a pharmacy selected by the patient, a laboratory referral, medical certificate or referral to another healthcare professional.
Dr Van Niekerk says Udok’s AI-powered patient queuing system is designed to manage high consultation volumes while allowing multiple healthcare providers to contribute to a patient's care.
“This creates a model that is closer to a digital healthcare infrastructure layer than a standalone telehealth service.”
Turning practices into connected care nodes
The latest evolution of the platform is centred on what Dr Van Niekerk describes as a “decentralised network of care nodes”.
He says: “Rather than directing patients towards one centralised virtual clinic, the model allows existing medical practices to become local hubs that can serve patients both online and in person.”
For example, a patient could conduct a routine follow-up or prescription renewal remotely, while returning to the same practice for a physical examination when required. Both interactions can be supported by the same digital patient record.
The aim is to combine the convenience of digital healthcare with the continuity of a physical doctor-patient relationship.
Patients can also search for practitioners according to factors such as expertise, qualification, location and language. For participating doctors, the platform provides the digital infrastructure to offer virtual consultations while maintaining their existing practice and patient relationships.
This includes services such as digital queuing, electronic prescribing, medical records and billing.
Building healthcare infrastructure around existing providers
The decentralised approach also changes the role of the doctor within a digital healthcare model.
Rather than replacing the traditional practice with a virtual service, Udok is positioning technology as the layer connecting existing healthcare providers to patients. This allows practices to extend their reach digitally while retaining a physical presence in their communities.
“For patients, this can reduce the need to travel or wait for routine consultations, while still providing a route into physical care when necessary,” says Dr Van Niekerk.
Affordability is another component of the model. “Consultations can cost 40% or more below standard doctor's fees, potentially lowering the barrier to accessing primary healthcare for households under financial pressure.”
For doctors, the platform effectively provides a virtual practice environment, combining consultation capabilities with patient records, prescribing, referrals and access to a broader patient base.
As healthcare systems come under increasing pressure to provide care more efficiently, Udok's proposition is that digital healthcare should not simply replicate the doctor's consultation room on a screen. Instead, technology can connect the different parts of the healthcare ecosystem – and allow patients to move between digital and physical care without losing continuity.
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Udok
Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Paarl, South Africa, Udok is a connected care platform that facilitates online medical consultations and supports hybrid virtual-physical healthcare practices through a decentralised network of connected care nodes.
Learn more at www.udok.co.za.