Countries with poor health care infrastructure need to maximize resources to the fullest extent. In places such as India, projections estimate doctor shortages of up to 600,000 in the next 10 years. Many times, a patient’s relatives become passive observers as they wait for health care professionals to complete their care. Patient care doesn’t always end at the hospital though, particularly for invasive procedures.  This places greater stress on healthcare centers to support patients once discharged in order to reduce readmissions. What if there was some way to reduce the burden on fragile healthcare systems in a low-cost and effective manner?

Noora Health, a non-profit currently in the winter batch of Y Combinator, is helping to train family members and patients with low-risk skills. With a human-centered design philosophy in mind,  Noora Health combines video lessons and in-person training to deliver the basic skills that reduces readmission and length of stay in health centers.

Through a partnership with Narayana Health, a chain of hospitals in India, they’ve trained over 7,000 patient family members. In addition, complications for open heart surgery were reduced by 36% and readmissions for the same surgery by 22%. Their mission is focus these training programs exclusively in marginalized populations.

Visit their website at www.noorahealth.org to donate.

photo by US Army Africa