Apteka Pharmasoft

Empowering East Africa's pharmacies, Apteka Pharmasoft tackles data gaps to fight AMR. Its reliable platform aids data collection and analysis, revealing insights like a 171% antibiotic jump in one pharmacy. This empowers healthcare professions to monitor and potentially prevent misuse, safeguarding communities from resistant infections.

Kisiriko Solomon Peter, Project Coordinator at Apteka Pharmasoft

The research conducted in East African countries unveiled significant challenges in tracking antibiotic use (AMU) due to reliance on manual methods, leading to errors and incomplete data. This reliance extends to community drug stores, pharmacies, and hospitals, particularly affecting low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in sub-Saharan Africa.

This issue isn't only confined to East Africa but is prevalent globally in LMICs, where antibiotic use and misuse rates are alarmingly high, yet debatable. For instance, in Uganda and Kenya, antibiotic use rates are approximated to reach 73.7% and 67.7%, respectively, with misuse ranging from 8% in Zimbabwe to 95% in Egypt. Inadequate surveillance and regulation exacerbate the problem, hindering accurate assessment of AMU and intervention effectiveness. The lack of digitalization in AMU tools further complicates data management, risking inaccuracies.

This data gap poses serious challenges in addressing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and bacterial infections in LMICs, as accurate data is essential for effective intervention programs. Moreover, the absence of comprehensive data systems hampers monitoring and analysis of antibiotic usage patterns, impeding informed decision-making.

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Apteka's digital tools empower healthcare providers and pharmacists, enhancing community health initiatives and combating AMR. Our platform facilitates efficient data collection, real-time analytics, and dashboards, strengthening decision-making capabilities for clinicians.

For pharmacists, Apteka integrates pharmacy data, ensuring proper antibiotic distribution and use, promoting pharmaceutical integrity and countering falsified drugs. Our comprehensive support includes effective methods and metrics for monitoring antimicrobial use in community and healthcare settings, assessing usage patterns and contributing to informed decision-making. 

Apteka's solution disaggregates data by demographic and vulnerable groups, providing a nuanced understanding of antibiotic prescribing, use, and consumption trends. To understand the needs of our target audience, we engage in direct consultations, interviews, and foster extensive collaboration with healthcare professionals and governing bodies. The iterative development of our solution is shaped by their valuable feedback, ensuring alignment with the practical challenges faced by these communities. 

This ongoing consultation and collaborative effort not only validates the solution's effectiveness but also fosters a sense of ownership and user adoption among the professionals crucial in the fight against AMR.

Apteka Pharmasoft delivers a significant public good through the provision of valuable data and actionable knowledge. With 160 community pharmacies utilizing Apteka and handle 2.9million (app. 8000 per day) transactions annually, our solution generates crucial insights into antimicrobial usage (AMU) and resistance patterns (AMR). By centralizing and analyzing data on antibiotic prescribing, medication usage, and supply chain management, Apteka contributes to a global understanding of AMR. This information is instrumental in informing evidence-based interventions to combat the rise of antimicrobial resistance.

To enhance global accessibility, we are committed to sharing anonymized, aggregated data and insights openly. This commitment takes the form of white papers, peer-reviewed publications, and open-access platforms. By making this knowledge available under fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory terms, Apteka empowers healthcare professionals, policymakers, and researchers globally. 

This collaborative approach supports the global fight against AMR, facilitating the development of effective antibiotic stewardship strategies, promoting responsible antibiotic use, and ultimately mitigating the impact of bacterial infections on a global scale. Apteka's dedication to providing this public good aligns with The Trinity Challenge's mission to address AMR and contribute to the well-being of the public on a global scale.

Apteka will create tangible impact by improving antibiotic prescribing practices and combating AMR in low- and middle-income communities. The integration of real-time data on local antibiotic resistance patterns empowers pharmacists to make informed decisions during prescription dispensing, ensuring more effective and responsible use of antibiotics.

This impact is crucial for the target population, as these communities often face challenges such as limited healthcare resources and inadequate surveillance. By addressing AMR at the point of care, our solution directly benefits patients by enhancing the efficacy of antibiotic treatments and reducing the risk of resistance.

Logical links between our activities and outcomes are grounded in the proven connection between improved prescribing practices and reduced AMR. Evidence from similar interventions, albeit not identical, support the belief that informed decision-making at the prescription level positively impacts community-wide resistance patterns. The tangible impact of our solution lies in creating a more sustainable and effective approach to antibiotic use, benefiting both individual patients and the broader public health.

The primary focus will be on strengthening our presence in Uganda while expanding into Kenya. The short-term goal is to onboard 400 community pharmacies, elevating our network and dispensing data (from patients) from 2.92 to 10million transactions annually. This expansion not only broadens our data pool but also enhances our analytical capabilities, enabling more precise predictions and targeted interventions to combat AMR.

Looking ahead to the next three years, Apteka aims for regional expansion into countries like Tanzania, South Sudan, Rwanda, and Ethiopia. Establishing strategic partnerships with local healthcare organizations and regulatory bodies is pivotal to seamlessly integrating our platform into existing healthcare systems. Capacity-building initiatives, empowering pharmacy staff and healthcare providers with the skills for effective use of our digital solutions, cultivating a culture of data-driven decision-making and antimicrobial stewardship.

Apteka Pharmasoft will continue to innovate its platform, harnessing the power of AI and ML to elevate predictive analytics and prescription monitoring capabilities. 

Actionable insights and seamless data sharing among stakeholders will instigate transformative changes in antimicrobial prescribing practices and enhance public health outcomes in low- and middle-income communities.

We'll gauge success through a monitoring and evaluation framework, focusing on user satisfaction via surveys and feedback mechanisms. Adoption rates among pharmacies, healthcare providers, and governing bodies will measure scalability. Regular assessments will refine our approach, ensuring effectiveness, adaptability, and scalability across diverse healthcare settings. 

Data will be used to assess software components such as antibiotic consumption rates, alignment of antibiotic prescriptions with guidelines, inappropriate prescribing, and awareness of AMR/AMU among healthcare professionals and patients. This approach will guide our efforts to address antibiotic resistance effectively while ensuring the sustainability and impact of our solution.

For example, a community pharmacy B (using Apteka) saw a concerning rise in antibiotic use in 2023, with Ceftriaxone 1g (Zifone) jumped 78% (7,005 to 12,581 doses), Ciprofloxacin 200mg spiked 171% (725 to 1,970 doses), and Amoxicillin/Flucloxacillin 500mg doubled (26,313 to 55,129 doses), compared to 2021. Similar increases were observed across other brands of the same drugs, highlighting a potential shift in treatment patterns in the local community. This information could be valuable for healthcare providers and public health officials in monitoring antibiotic use and potential misuse.

The implementation of Apteka, with offline capabilities and cloud synchronization, presents a promising solution for community pharmacies. However, several challenges in technology adoption, financial constraints, data privacy concerns, and evolving healthcare regulations need to be addressed strategically.

Barriers to technology adoption among pharmacists will be addressed through targeted education campaigns, providing training resources, and highlighting system benefits for streamlined prescription practices.

Limited financial resources for scaling will be countered by pursuing partnerships, seeking grants, and exploring cost-sharing models to minimize financial burdens on individual pharmacies.

Concerns about patient data privacy and security will be alleviated by adhering to robust data protection standards, engaging in transparent communication, and working with local partners to address connectivity challenges.

In areas with limited technological infrastructure, innovative solutions like offline functionality will ensure system viability, successful implementation, and scalability over the next year and the next three years.

Evolving healthcare regulations will be navigated by actively monitoring and adapting the solution to comply with changing regulations, collaborating with legal experts to ensure seamless integration within the regulatory framework.

We totally embrace The Trinity Challenge because it aligns with our mission to digitalize the healthcare industry in Africa and provide crucial data analytics for healthcare providers and policymakers, particularly in combating AMR in LMICS. This Challenge serves as a pivotal resource hub, offering vital support, including funding and expertise, essential for the development, implementation, and scaling of our solution. This support not only alleviates financial constraints but also propels the impact of our initiative forward.

The global platform not only enhances visibility but also provides invaluable networking opportunities, connecting us with potential partners, collaborators, and investors who share our dedication to addressing AMR.

The esteemed panel of experts involved in The Trinity Challenge offers insights, guidance, and validation for our solution, ensuring its alignment with global best practices. Collaborating within the Challenge is indispensable for navigating the intricate challenges posed by AMR, and the structured platform facilitates the establishment of meaningful partnerships. The Challenge's emphasis on actionable solutions influencing policy resonates with our goal of integrating our solution within existing healthcare policies and guidelines.

The Trinity Challenge represents a distinctive convergence of resources, expertise, networking, and validation, effectively dismantling the barriers we encounter and expediting our impact on AMR.

We are keen to collaborate with a range of organizations to initiate, accelerate, and scale our solution, in the fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Specifically, we seek partnerships with:

International Health Organizations would provide valuable insights, guidance, and resources to enhance our understanding of global AMR trends and best practices in antimicrobial stewardship. i.e. 

• World Health Organization (WHO), 

• the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Pharmaceutical Companies could facilitate access to essential medicines, enable cost-effective procurement, and support initiatives for responsible antibiotic use. i.e.

• 160 Retail pharmacies already on Apteka (serving estimated 8000 patients per day)

• Manufactures e.g. Kampala Pharmaceuticatical Industries, Cipla Quality Chemical Industries Ltd, Regal Pharmaceuticals Ltd - Kenya

• SAS Pharmacy - Ethiopia

• HealthPrime Pharmacy - South Sudan

• Samiro Pharmaceuticals Ltd. - Tanzania 

Academic Institutions would allow us to tap into research expertise, access cutting-edge technologies, and engage in collaborative research projects to further advance our understanding of AMR and optimize our solution.

• Makerere University - Uganda

Government Agencies would help ensure alignment with national healthcare policies, regulatory compliance, and sustainability of our solution within local healthcare systems.

• Ministry of Health in East African countries

• National Medical Stores - Uganda

• Pharmaceutical Society Of UGANDA