Remember last week when we talked about orderlies being the unsung heroes of patient advocacy? Well, this week brought that conversation full circle in the most unexpected way.
As we were preparing to launch our Campaigns feature on www.patient.ng, something remarkable happened. One of the orderlies at a teaching hospital in Lagos reached out through our platform. He shared a story about a patient who had been struggling to afford their monthly medications for diabetes. Instead of just watching helplessly, this orderly had been quietly coordinating with other hospital staff, helping to find more affordable alternatives and even sometimes pooling resources to help the patient.
This is exactly what grassroots advocacy looks like in action.
The timing couldn’t be better. We have started beta-testing the Campaigns feature, and should* be going live next week. Campaigns is not just about raising or winning funds – it’s about highlighting how these informal support networks can be transformed into structured, community-driven assistance programs.
Speaking of community, the response and feedback to our Green-Heart system to climb the campaign leaderboard has been encouraging. I lowkey wish folks shared or commented in public (I’d admit, the external validation helps) but then I remember I was never one to comment publicly either.
Anyway, here’s what really keeps me up at night (in that exciting, can’t-wait-to-get-to-work kind of way): How do we scale this kind of organic advocacy? How do we take these individual acts of kindness and turn them into systemic change?
This question came up during a research proposal review session with one of my postgrad students this week. We were reviewing a dissertation on AI applications in healthcare resource allocation, and he made a brilliant observation: “Sometimes the most sophisticated solution is simply amplifying what’s already working on the ground.”
That’s exactly what I hope to achieve with the iPatient podcast too. This week, we transcribed our first three patient stories, and a common thread emerged: the most impactful advocacy often comes from the people closest to the day-to-day reality of patient care.
It’s making me rethink our entire approach to the podcast. Instead of just focusing on patient stories, we’re going to start including narratives from these informal advocates – the orderlies, the nurses, the family members who’ve become experts in navigating the healthcare system.
On the technical side, we’re working on something for the Campaigns feature – a way to connect campaign creators with relevant healthcare professionals and resources based on the nature of their advocacy needs. Plus the validation from a licensed healthcare professional to support featured campaigns would go a long way to limit the possible fraudulent campaigns on our platform.
So going into the weekend, here’s what I’m curious about: Have you ever witnessed or experienced an act of informal advocacy in healthcare? Maybe you were the advocate, or maybe someone advocated for you. What made it effective? Email us at info@patient.ng (if you still wouldn’t comment in public)
P.S:
To the orderly who shared his story (if you’re reading this) – you’ve helped us understand what real grassroots advocacy looks like. Thank you for being the change we’re trying to encourage.
