Health technology company Chil Group has launched an E-Ward Round Platform designed to connect patients in rural health facilities with specialist doctors based in urban medical centres.
The platform allows urban-based doctors and specialists to conduct virtual, multidisciplinary ward rounds with doctors and nurses in rural facilities in real time, providing remote access to specialist expertise for patients who might otherwise have to travel long distances for care.
Chil Group said 67 percent of its partner health facilities have inpatient capacity, accounting for more than 260 medical wards. However, many rural facilities continue to face shortages of specialised medical personnel, including cardiologists, neurologists and intensivists.
The company said the new platform is integrated with its Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system, enabling rural clinical teams and remote specialists to access and share patient information during inpatient care.
“Patients should not have to travel hundreds of kilometres to access specialised medical care when technology can bring that expertise directly to them,” said Dr Shamim Nabuuma Kaliisa, founder and CEO of Chil Group.
“For the past six years, our B2B telemedicine solutions have focused primarily on outpatient services, but we recognise that inpatient care requires an equally strong digital bridge. The E-Ward Round Platform represents the next step in our mission to make quality healthcare more accessible across Africa,” she said.
The platform can connect with multiple medical devices, allowing remote specialists to access patient information such as vital signs, diagnostic data and digital health records while participating in virtual ward rounds with local healthcare teams.
It also uses an artificial intelligence-powered triage model to analyse patient data and vital-sign trends, helping healthcare providers identify and prioritise cases requiring urgent attention.
According to Chil Group, the system incorporates data privacy and security measures, including a zero-knowledge architecture under which each inpatient bed is assigned a dynamic cryptographic token. The company said the approach is designed to allow clinical data to be processed while limiting exposure of patient identities.
Authorised clinicians can access personal information when necessary for patient management, while doctors participating in virtual rounds can review vital signs, diagnostic images and digital health records through the platform.
The launch expands Chil Group’s B2B telemedicine services beyond outpatient consultations into inpatient care, with the company positioning the platform as a tool for collaboration between rural healthcare teams and specialists in urban centres.
The E-Ward Round Module is available for deployment at Chil Group’s partner health facilities with inpatient capacity.
