We’ve arrived at crossroads and stalled a bit with our community-building efforts at patient.ng. But after a few consultations last week, I think we may have just figured it out. I clearly underestimated the amount of branding and influencing required to promote any social venture in Nigeria.
Anyway this week, I want to share something different- a few insights from the most challenging project I’ve been working on – The iPatient app.
My partners and I have been building this application to fundamentally shift how people engage with their health in Nigeria. And let me tell you for free, creating mobile experiences that Nigerian patients will find valuable and consistently use is TOUGH.
Healthcare Access: A Game Everyone Wins
Let me properly introduce iPatient: it’s not your typical medical app. We’re building a rewards and discounts system that allows users to earn points through gamified activities like research surveys and health quizzes, then redeem these points for actual healthcare services – medical appointments, diagnostic checkups, health insurance, and more.
The concept sounds simple enough, right? Create engaging activities, reward participation, improve healthcare access. But implementing this in Nigeria’s healthcare environment has been… let’s just say “idealistic.”
The Participation Puzzle
Our first major challenge emerged during our focus group testing in Lagos. We assumed people would naturally participate in health quizzes & surveys for points. The reality? Most participants asked us questions like-
“How much are these points actually worth?”
“Who’s seeing my survey answers about my health?”
“How do I know these points won’t expire before I can use them?”
Nigerians are value-conscious and time-poor. As we say in our local parlance- time no dey!
This forced us to rethink our points economy and create a simple value system where users can clearly see the naira equivalent of points to guarantee activities are properly incentivised & valued.
The Healthcare Provider Equation
The other side of our marketplace – getting healthcare providers to accept these points as payment – has been equally challenging. During discussions with a network of clinics in Anambra State, a manager asked the question we’ve heard repeatedly:
“How do we convert these points into actual revenue? We can’t pay staff with points.”
Building our healthcare network has meant creating redemption systems where clinics and labs can quickly redeem points for cash and demonstrating how being part of iPatient improves overall revenue generation.
What’s Working Well
Despite the challenges, we’ve found some encouraging bright spots:
1. Sponsored Health knowledge quizzes are surprisingly popular, especially when they dispel common health myths
2. Community challenges where teams compete for group rewards has potential to drive strong engagement
3. The preventive care angle – users are genuinely excited about earning points for wellness visits rather than waiting until they’re sick
4. Partial payment options where points cover a percentage of more expensive insurance products are showing strong interest.
The Road to Quarter 2, 2025
As we push toward our MVP launch, we’re also exploring partnerships with health insurance providers to allow points to offset premium payments – potentially bringing formal health coverage to previously uninsured populations.
I’d love to hear your thoughts. What health services would you most want to “earn” through an app like this? Which activities would you actually complete to earn healthcare points? Your insights could directly shape what we prioritize.
Building innovative healthcare solutions in Nigeria comes with unique challenges, but when I think about how iPatient could make preventative care accessible to millions who currently only seek healthcare in emergencies – it makes all the late nights worthwhile.
P.S:
Want early access to iPatient? We’re looking for beta testers for April 2025. Drop me a line at info@patient.ng with “iPatient Tester” in the subject line!
