Tabibi 24/7, an Egyptian healthcare entity, said it aims at changing the mindset of healthcare in Egypt by offering home examinations by family doctors and paediatricians. The initiative aims at facilitating the healthcare process, saving time and supporting easier communication between doctor and patient. "Usually in Egypt children, women and the elderly cannot reach the doctors immediately. Congested clinics and hospitals hinder patients with serious cases from reaching the right diagnosis, which is the aim of creating an integrated healthcare service," said Dr. Khalil Abdel Khaleq, founder of Tabibi 24/7. Abdel Khaleq added that clinics and hospitals are always saturated, which prevents some patients from reaching the specialized doctors as quickly as needed. "We see a major community problem when some patients resort to the nearest pharmacies or ask their families for medical advice. This usually does not yield an accurate diagnosis and delays the discovery of illnesses," he noted. Moreover, he explained that there were several reasons that made him think about how to improve the healthcare process, especially the communication between patients and doctors in Egypt, adding that there is a remarkable gap in the communication between both sides. You can also notice the lack in personalization and following up with the patient, he pointed out. Tabibi 24/7 offers a wide array of innovative services such as vaccinations and lab test services at home, electronic medical records, sports and nutrition programs including physical and psychological preparation of children and adults, home care for the elderly or patients who have just left the hospital. Tabibi 24/7 can be reached through its hotline, the doctors have access to the majority of Cairo's main neighbourhoods. Tabibi 24/7's team comprises 40 practitioners who receive regular advanced training that keeps them ahead in today's medicine. Such training has enabled Tabibi 24/7's doctors to communicate with the family all along the day and disseminate the family doctor culture. Their training is held in cooperation with UK-based medical institution Primary Care International. The PCI is a well-known institution that offers training programmes for various bodies all over the world to ensure sustainability and spread the culture of family medicine and early diagnosis. Family doctors look after their patients' everyday health needs on a regular and personalized basis. They are fully aware of the medical history and any inherited diseases in the family. This is the extra mile of family medicine. It greatly helps doctors to accurately diagnose the patient's condition and enables them to directly offer treatment or transfer the patient to the specialized doctor. "Early check-ups with the family doctor and regularly having the needed tests help doctors discover chronic diseases at early stages. Such diseases can be hard to diagnose due to ambiguity of symptoms", said Abdel Khaleq.
