BusyMed, a South African healthtech startup, is transforming how patients access medicines through its mobile app. Founded in 2018 by Mphati Jezile in Port Elizabeth, BusyMed allows users to order pharmaceutical products directly from their homes.

“BusyMed seeks to solve a challenge that many South Africans face – not having access to affordable and convenient primary healthcare services. COVID-19 has made us all realise the strain our healthcare system is under, which means more services like BusyMed are essential in supporting the struggling healthcare system,” Jezile said in July 2022 to Disrupt Africa. 

BusyMed integrates local pharmacies on its platform so patients can check real-time stock, place orders, and receive medicines within hours. The app also lets users submit prescriptions, consult healthcare professionals, and make secure payments.

The platform especially serves people in rural and remote areas, where medicine shortages and long waits at pharmacies are common. BusyMed’s model digitizes the entire pharmaceutical supply chain, building an integrated system around community-based healthcare.

Beyond delivering medicine, BusyMed plans to expand its app with teleconsultation and treatment management features. “Our goal is to offer primary healthcare businesses in the public and private sector the technology and resources they would need to serve the communities they are based in, and beyond, from the comfort of the patient’s home, at an affordable price,”  Jezile emphasized. 

This article was initially published in French by Adoni Conrad Quenum

Edited in English by Ange Jason Quenum