Competitors and suppliers collaborate in the interests of advancing health technology

South Africa/Luxembourg, Tuesday, 4 July 2017: The Foundation for Professional Development (FPD) Group and Right to Care Group, joined forces to bring their healthcare technology under one umbrella for the advancement of health outcomes in developing countries. The new organisation which will house thirteen software offerings will be known as Qode and will service HIV/AIDS efforts in South Africa and seventeen developing countries through support of the EQUIP program.

Qode, through Right to Care Group, has further entered into a license agreement with Advanced Biological Laboratories (ABL) S.A. for the distribution, access and modification of ABL’s medical data and diagnostic software in the developing countries.

Using visual analytics, Qode enables healthcare organisations to explore clinical, financial and operational data which will lead to improvements in patient care, reduce costs and deliver higher value to patients. Gert van der Merwe, Executive Director of Qode says, “Qode’s strength lies in a deep understanding of the healthcare challenges of developing countries. This enables us to develop clinical systems that respond to data analysis requirements.”

Werner Swanepoel, Executive Director of Qode states that, “Qode is an African med-tech initiative which offers developing countries a level playing field in the fight against diseases like HIV/AIDS. Qode offers software solutions that provide insights into correlations in clinical data that we have not even begun to explore in many developing countries.”

Van der Merwe explains, “The FPD and Right to Care Groups’ clinical solutions were complementary, when paired with ABL’s offering – it made sense to combine efforts to offer comprehensive solutions to the developing healthcare industry.”

Says Dr Chalom Sayada, CEO of ABL, “This is the first time in ABL history where we have provided access to the source code of our products to improve and adapt them to local needs. We aim to provide the broadest access at local pricing thereby contributing to improved patient clinical outcomes.”

Qode will align to the Microsoft® Partner Network, as other FPD Group companies, under its commitment to the development, maintenance and support of sustainable software solutions.

ENDS

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About ABL
Advanced Biological Laboratories (ABL), S.A., is a medical data technology company founded in 2000. ABL’s products offer infectious disease clinicians and virology laboratories optimal and efficient IT solutions for sequencing, clinical genotyping and drug resistance analysis, including powerful fully integrated databases and analysis systems.
www.ablsa.com

About Right to Care Group
Right to Care Group is a South African non-profit organisation that supports and delivers prevention, care, and treatment services for HIV and TB. Through technical assistance, Right to Care supports the private sector, the Department of Health and the Department of Correctional Services. In addition, through direct service delivery, Right to Care treats patients for HIV, TB, cervical cancer and sexually transmitted infections. It leads the EQUIP consortium in 17 developing countries.
www.righttocare.org

About EQUIP
EQUIP supports the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) commitment, through the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), to end the HIV/Aids epidemic, by fast-tracking cost effective treatment and prevention initiatives in 17 countries. With novel approaches, EQUIP supports the rapid diagnosis, viral suppression and linkage to sustained treatment for people living with HIV, ultimately working towards the UNAIDS 90-90-90 targets.
www.equiphealth.org

About FPD Group
The Foundation for Professional Development (FPD) was established in 1997 as a department in the South African Medical Association (SAMA). In 2000, FPD was registered as a separate legal entity and with the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) as a Private Higher Education Institution (PHEI) in terms of Section 54(1)(c) of the Act and Regulation 16(4)(a). FPD prides itself on being one of the few private higher educational institutions that fully engages in the three scholarships of higher education, namely: teaching and learning, research and community engagement.
www.foundation.co.za

About Qode
Qode is a joint venture between Right to Care and the Foundation for Professional Development to house thirteen software offerings which are used in the development, testing and scaling of innovative approaches that reduce HIV/Aids. Qode will provide its products in 17 countries, through EQUIP, an initiative which works towards the eradication of HIV/Aids.
www.qode.healthcare