Mutti Doctor: A Primary Healthcare Solution Built to Improve Access to Care

When mPharma launched Mutti Doctor in October last year, the vision was simple; create virtual doctor offices in mutti pharmacies for millions of people to access all their primary care needs. Our goal is to help diagnose and treat conditions before they become life-threatening health emergencies. Through Mutti Doctor, we want patients to see their pharmacies not just as avenues to self-medicate, but as a place to get physician-managed healthcare. Four months after the launch, nearly 4,000 people have been examined and treated by a Mutti Doctor. These consultations span 30 Mutti Doctor locations across Ghana, Nigeria, and Kenya.

(1 — Left) Patient talking to a Mutti Doctor (2 — Right) Community health nurses offer free preventative health screening and education. Those who need additional health checks are referred to a nearby Mutti Doctor location.

Over this period, we have seen many people return to good health with minimal financial investment. We offer Mutti Doctor at no cost to the general public, completely breaking a central barrier to accessing healthcare — money. An important aspect of Mutti Doctor is its ability to connect patients in remote areas with experienced doctors based in major cities. In Ghana, a mother took her 4-month-old baby to one of our Mutti Doctor locations in New Tafo (a remote town in the Eastern Region). The baby had been coughing all night, had a runny nose, and was completely restless. The mother of 3 had no money to spend on healthcare bills and could not afford health insurance either. A licensed doctor based in Accra (Ghana’s capital) performed basic tests on the baby, and offered a remedy, much to the relief of the mother. The doctor utilized our all-in-one digital stethoscope, otoscope, thermometer, and examination camera. There are several such stories involving hypertensives, diabetics, and pediatrics where our community-focused solution has helped to avert a possible health emergency.

Our goal for 2022 is to continue to expand the footprint of Mutti Doctor locations across Africa while continuing to offer the service at no cost. We want every community to have their own doctor’s office where they seek primary care.

I will end this post with a story written in the words of a member of our medical team.

PATIENT STORY BY Dr. M.T. Amirikah

To protect the privacy of our patients, we have removed all identifiable information. The name used in this post is not the real name of the patient.

Context and Background

Kwame Quartey, 4 years old, reported to a Mutti Doctor location with his mother on the morning of January 27, 2022. The mother made a complaint that for nearly 3 weeks she had noticed a gradual increase in her son’s abdomen, especially after meals. Over the period, Kwame occasionally complained of sharp intermittent abdominal pain which is associated with semi-formed stools. Prior to seeking additional help, Kwame’s mother got him an Over-the-Counter (OTC) medication, but it did nothing to improve his condition. This necessitated her interest to seek medical assessment and case management through Mutti Doctor.

Mutti Doctor Intervention

On direct questioning, there was no fever, headache, chills, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, constipation, diarrhea, bloody stool, melena, early morning facial puffiness, frequency, dysuria, nocturia,

The child was delivered at term, had no known chronic illnesses, and had no prior history of hospitalization. Dietary history was normal.

Upon examination using Mutti Doctor’s all-in-one digital stethoscope, otoscope, thermometer, and examination camera with built-in illumination for high-definition images, the following was discovered; Kwame looked stable, abdomen moderately distended, not in pain, afebrile, mildly jaundiced, moderately pale, not in obvious respiratory distress, no pedal edema, well hydrated. The examination also showed that Kwame’s abdomen was moderately distended, hard, mildly tender, no masses palpable, shifting dullness and fluid (couldn’t be elicited), BS+

Mutti Doctor requested an urgent abdominal USG test. The test was conducted at a medical imaging facility within 250 meters of the mutti pharmacy. USG findings are below:

• Right kidney medullary cyst
• Soft tissue mass lesion in the right upper quadrant
• Features consistent with intussusception ileocolic

The child was urgently referred to the nearby Tema General Hospital for possible pediatric surgical management.

An ultrasound sonography (USG) test was conducted at a nearby medical imaging facility.

Aftermath

1. Mutti Doctor continues to offer support to the family as they embark on this difficult journey. Kwame has now been referred to Ghana’s premier referral facility, the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital for specialist management.
2. Kwame remains on admission at Korle Bu to date. Recent labs have shown severe anemia
3. Doctors are in dire need of A+ blood which is not readily available at the hospital. Attempts by relatives to get a match have proven futile.
4. Mutti Doctor will continue to follow up with the family and offer additional support where necessary

• This story is ongoing and will be updated over time (see latest update video below).

We are happy to share a video update on the earlier story. We hear from Kwame’s doctor and guardian on how everything unfolded.

This case indicates the gap Mutti Doctor is filling in recognizing and treating primary care conditions while also recognizing potentially life-threatening illnesses and providing prompt referral services.