Telemedicine landscape Assessment
Telemedicine Landscape Analysis across Two (2) states in Nigeria
DPD’s consultants were engaged by a large international development organization to conduct a landscape analysis in Nigeria to define the country context for telemedicine implementation. The scope of work included working collaboratively with the organization to define any sub-national parameters and conduct a landscape analysis that included:
Justification
The client began implementing a supply chain strengthening intervention to improve the visibility, accessibility, and last mile availability of critical commodities in primary healthcare facilities across four (4) States in Nigeria: Yobe, Kaduna, Kano, Niger. This intervention entailed the deployment of innovative technology to improve supply chain visibility and a distribution network, whilst leveraging existing relationships to improve government ownership of the project to drive sustainability.
Mapping key telemedicine stakeholders (e.g. government, private sector, telemedicine providers) and potential strategic partners in Nigeria for telemedicine implementation
Providing an overview of the existing legal and regulatory framework supporting telemedicine (e.g., prescribing, scope of practice, payment)
Evaluating existing telemedicine platforms and companies including analysis of factors such as service delivery models, pricing and business model, geographic coverage
Drafting recommendations and value proposition for the organization in telemedicine in Nigeria. From this landscape analyses, the entity would have a clear picture whether a telemedicine solution might be feasible, acceptable, and impactful in a Nigeria state or context.
Technical Approach
The technical approach entailed both primary and secondary data collection approaches in eliciting information about the telemedicine ecosystem in Nigeria. The exercise adapted the Edmunds research and policy framework for telehealth (2017). This framework consists of a set of questions designed to address three major components:
- Policy context for telemed implementation
- Health system delivery and
- Outcomes.
Digital Health Maturity Assessment across 10 states in Nigeria
The technical capacity for a digital health maturity assessment was outsourced to DPD by an indigenous development firm with funding from a large international foundation in Nigeria. The platform’s consultants were engaged to conduct a maturity assessment of the digital health ecosystem in Nigeria to inform a situation of selected states along a spectrum of maturity and provide a roadmap towards digital health maturity.
Specific objectives of the assessment were as follows:
Conduct a situation analysis on the state of the digital health ecosystem across the funder’s flagship states in Nigeria. This situation analysis or landscaping will be informed by secondary data review of digital health resources in Nigeria and primary data collection across key respondents.
Develop a maturity spectrum using a tiered system, rank the Ten engagement States across that continuum, and recommend steps to get actors (Federal and States) from one level to the next.
Develop guiding documents and risk assessment for donors and stakeholders for investment planning, resource mobilization, and policy/advocacy considerations.
Technical Approach
The project kicked-off in August 2021 with stakeholder engagement across the engagement states to understand and align on priority challenges that digital health is currently addressing or has the capacity to address. This phase entailed virtual meetings with public and private sector stakeholders in the digital health space to understand the states’ vision for digital health and plans currently underway. Secondary data review entailed desk reviews of previously conducted studies and projects on digital health in Nigeria from 2015 to 2021. Primary data collection entailed key informant interviews to explore critical issues and interventions in the digital health landscape in the states and at the national level.
Review of Digital Health Investments for a Large International Foundation in Nigeria
Over the last six (6) years, (2015 to 2021), a large international Foundation had invested and deployed support to several health care delivery and strengthening endeavors using digital in Nigeria. In line with a retrospective review of its investments, the technical capacity for a digital health investment review was outsourced to DPD by an indigenous development firm with funding from the International Foundation.
Goal
Assess the client’s digital health investment in Nigeria in the last six (6) years (2021 – 2015) to inform the next generation of digital health investments, through:
Specific objectives of the assessment were as follows:
The conduct of a situation analysis of the different digital health investments deployed at the National and State levels from 2015 to 2021.
Documentation of lessons learnt from investing in the digital health space in Nigeria, the critical success factors and opportunities for alignment on digital health investments within the organization.
Technical Approach
The assessment entailed two data collection approaches, desk reviews of the different investments for the primary data collection and conduction of key informant interview (KII) with concerned stakeholders for the secondary data collection. The assessment approach entailed development of the data collection and assessment tools using the USAID Digital Health Investment Review Tool (DHIRT). These tools were structured to accommodate data collection from the desk reviews and key informant interviews, across twelve (12) domains/elements. The investments’ performance across the DHIRT elements, were ranked from nascent (1), emerging (2), established (3), institutionalized (4) and optimized (5).