Chil Group targets rural specialist shortage with virtual ward-round platform

What the report says

KAMPALA — Health-technology firm Chil Group has introduced an E-Ward Round Platform intended to help rural health facilities cope with a shortage of specialist doctors. The system is designed to let consultants in urban hospitals join ward rounds for admitted patients by video, which the company says could reduce the need for long-distance referrals and transfers.

According to Watchdog Uganda, Chil Group said many partner facilities lack specialists such as cardiologists, neurologists and intensivists, even when they have inpatient wards. The company said the platform links rural teams with remote specialists in real time and can connect to bedside medical devices so clinicians can review vital signs, diagnostic information and patient records during virtual rounds.

Chil Group said 67% of its partner facilities have inpatient capacity, representing more than 260 wards, although that figure was not independently verified in the report. The company also said the platform will work alongside its free electronic medical records software and includes an AI-based triage tool to help prioritize urgent cases. No independent performance data for the tool was provided.

Founder and chief executive Dr Shamim Nabuuma Kaliisa said the initiative builds on the firm’s earlier business-to-business telemedicine work, which had focused mainly on outpatient care over the past six years. The company said the new module is available for immediate deployment across partner facilities. More broadly, the development reflects a growing use of telemedicine in African health systems, especially where specialist care is limited outside major cities.