Digital Transformation for Healthcare Construction

Better access to healthcare services for global communities. 

Maha Harper (Co-Founder & COO)

We are cross-industries between healthcare and construction technology.

50% of the world’s population don’t have access to adequate healthcare services.  With an ever-growing backlog for healthcare facilities around the world, there is a massive need to expand healthcare infrastructure - now more than ever.  

So how can technology help?  How do we increase access to healthcare services to communities around the world while reducing costs?  

Digital transformation is changing business processes in almost every industry.  However, the construction industry (US$10 trillion industry and 13% of Global GDP) is still facing real challenges when it comes to adoption of digitised business models. But those challenges also mean that they have the largest economic potential linked to digitization – most of it yet to be captured (85% of construction companies are not digitised).

We are bridging that gap between construction technology and healthcare – where the need is most acute. 

We believe that innovation in basic science can lead to big breakthroughs in healthcare but, equally as important, is innovation in how we deliver affordable and effective health tools to those that need them. We are passionate about the potential for innovation in construction to transform global health at every level.

Our solution was first developed to address one of the most pressing global healthcare challenges; providing quality healthcare to more remote communities.  In 2014, we visited the Kakuma community in Northern Kenya as part of a Gates Foundation/United Nations led initiative to build schools & clinics for the community. We met with local stakeholders there to understand the challenges first-hand and present a detailed assessment to funding bodies.  It became clear to us that while funding bodies are committed to supporting positive interventions and are ready to provide financing, they are discouraged by previous projects that cost too much and took too long.  

It became clear that if stakeholders are offered an “all in one” delivery model putting four corners around time and cost, then funding bodies would be far more likely to finance these initiatives.  Our feedback from customers is that our platform will be adopted by healthcare stakeholders (in both the public and private sectors) seeking a higher quality product and better value from their capital investments. 

By providing a viable, cost-effective, scalable solution to healthcare providers and stakeholders, we believe that our solution will help improve quality healthcare access around the world and fight deadly diseases.

Localised access to quality healthcare means effective diagnosis/treatment of common illnesses for people who would otherwise have had to travel long-distances for treatment - helping to improve both individual life expectancy and the overall health of communities.  

In many cases, effective diagnosis/treatment of patients can be provided without the need to visit a hospital - over 90% of patients who visit hospitals do not end up being admitted.  However, the lack of even primary healthcare facilities available, particularly to people in rural areas, means that patients have to travel long distances for diagnosis/treatment.  This often leads to patients delaying treatment until their illnesses have become acute requiring more intensive treatment, placing an additional burden on limited medical resources.

Our solution is particularly suited to quickly and efficiently setting up smaller healthcare facilities in more remote areas – as they are designed to operate on/off grid. The WHO released its Essential Diagnostics Exam List (“EDEL”) in May 2018.  ATLAS designed clinics will come equipped to diagnose all the diseases listed on the EDEL focusing on the WHO-identified “priority” diseases aiming to target certain types of healthcare services (both diagnostic and preventative, such as vaccines) depending on the need per country/region.

The WHO defines Universal Health Coverage as ensuring that all people have access to needed health services (including prevention, promotion, treatment, rehabilitation and palliation). 

Health is also an essential part of the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SDG 3.8 target aims to “achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health care services, and access to safe, effective, quality, and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all.” 

Our solution is designed to help address one of the most pressing global healthcare priorities – better access to healthcare services.  We do so by providing a viable, cost-effective, scalable solution to healthcare stakeholders – using new care delivery models to improve access and affordability of healthcare. 

By using ICAS®, healthcare stakeholders are offered a a rapidly deployable, turn-key solution that will help them deliver affordable, accessible and effective healthcare solutions through technical innovation - making a unique and lasting impact, not only by improving access to essential healthcare services, but the speed at which they can be delivered.

The Product (ICAS® Platform):

On a national level, healthcare stakeholders are on a mission to modernise the way they design/build/operate healthcare facilities – as they realise the urgent need to scale their healthcare infrastructure. The pandemic has only highlighted this further.  

Anyone who has built a medical facility recognises the value of our cloud-based product. 

By taking an iterative approach to building out the platform - tackling design, procurement and execution in consecutive iterations (and for specific customers) means that, by the end of 2022, we will have deployed on a number of projects, having built out the ICAS® platform slice by slice, while at the same time bringing in revenues.

At this stage, we envision licensing out the platform to customers. ICAS® can then be scaled up across customer portfolios bringing enterprise-wide benefits.  

Accessible Healthcare Services to Global Communities will be the Result:

By providing a viable, cost-effective, and scalable solution to healthcare providers, we believe that, on a regional and local level, that this will enhance the capacity of health service delivery, reduce costs, and deepen the reach of healthcare services around the world ultimately helping to fight deadly diseases. 

Impact at Every Step: 

By providing an end-to-end digital solution to healthcare stakeholders – making it easier, faster and more cost-effective for them to build & scale their healthcare infrastructure (and providing them with significant & measurable improved project metrics) we will:   

• help improve access to quality healthcare care,
• particularly for more vulnerable groups (e.g., rural communities, maternal and infant health), ultimately
• strengthening community health in underserved communities globally.

Project Metrics include reduction of final construction costs, accelerated project completed schedules, RFI reductions, and reduction of reportable safety incidents. 

Healthcare Access Metrics to track include births attended by skilled health personnel, immunisation coverage rate by vaccine, total patients treated in 50-mile radius, and number of clinic visits per family per annum.  

We believe that innovation in basic science can lead to big breakthroughs in healthcare but, equally as important, is innovation in how we deliver affordable and effective health tools to those that need them. We are passionate about the potential for innovation in construction to transform global health at every level.

While no single actor can provide a ‘total solution’ to the health problems of hard-to-reach populations, together we can make a difference.

Barriers include economies-of-scale and ensuring first-mover advantage. As ATLAS establishes itself in marketplace, increased volume will result in fewer input costs. Network effects will derive from increasing economies-of-scale on both the supply & demand sides. By delivering urgent services to consumers (demand) and offering cutting-edge technology to providers (supply), ATLAS will create a unique value proposition to users, solving their unmet needs. 

To overcome market barriers, ATLAS will offer cutting-edge technology, creating a unique value proposition at a lower cost while ensuring its systems are stable and can handle growth.

Another potential barrier is the traditional nature of construction (old methods which can be hard to change) – evidenced by the lack of technology uptake in sector.  

Therefore, one of our major focus points has been: How do we support the adoption of our platform?

We are firm believers that you can develop the best technology in the world, but if you don’t understand what the end user needs, wants, and will use – then you’re just building great tech instead of delivering a “must have” solution for customers.  This is where our deep industry experience & knowledge of what’s needed, and more importantly what works, will be critical. 

Oracle

Autodesk

Microsoft

We are working on a fundamental technological leap that will impact an industry and which requires deep insight into a specific vertical of technology. That means that we need patient investment at an early stage to help us prove our technology.  

This also means that our venture doesn’t fit the risk profile of a lot of the traditional venture capitalists – as we are still early-stage and they want to see revenues before investing.  If we cannot bring together enough money to help us kick-start the development in the first year, then we risk not being able to execute (even with our Devops model).  Making it increasingly difficult to build out the fuller platform and achieve that end-to-end solution we seek to provide. 

Social good is at the heart of what we do.  And while no single actor can provide a ‘total solution’ to the health problems of hard-to-reach populations, we really believe that our solution will have a major impact on enhancing the capacity of health service delivery, deepening the reach of healthcare services around the world, and providing communities with a basis for long-term economic stability.

We would be privileged to work with any of The Trinity Challenge Member organisations.  For example, we believe that our mission aligns well with The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Number 1 Global Health Priority namely, partnering with organisations around the world to address priority diseases and health conditions.  Our understanding is that the Foundation seeks out innovative solutions that accelerate the reach and effectiveness of health campaigns.  We think that our mission of improving healthcare access to global communities does just that, and we would be honoured to collaborate in any way. 

“We invest in global health because we know that when health improves, life improves by every measure.” - Bill Gates