BCTA MEMBERSHIP STATUS
Active

SECTOR
Health

HEADQUARTERS
United States

REGION OF INITIATIVE
Africa, Asia & Pacific

SDG CONTRIBUTION

The Impact Goal

Medtronic LABS joined Business Call to Action in December 2020 and made a commitment to improving non-communicable disease (NCD) outcomes for more than 10 million underserved patients in Africa and South Asia by 2030 by designing and scaling tech-enabled, community-based healthcare delivery models.

The Market Gap

In low and middle-income countries, two-thirds of all deaths are due to NCDs, and yet, only 1% of health spending goes towards NCD care. In this equation, it is the poor and vulnerable who suffer disproportionately. For the first time, noncommunicable diseases, or NCDs, kill more people than communicable diseases. Medtronic LABS is changing this narrative. They envision a world where all people - no matter the circumstance of birth or station - can live a healthy life, free of chronic disease.

The Business Solution

Medtronic LABS expands access to healthcare for underserved patients, families, and communities across the world. Their current work is focused on high-tech, high-touch care delivery models for chronic diseases, including hypertension, diabetes, and comorbidities within Africa and South Asia. These healthcare models are concentrated on last-mile healthcare delivery at the primary care level, leveraging community health workers and primary care networks and enabling them to do more with technology. Medtronic LABS is committed to building a team that reflects and represents the diversity of patients they serve and continues to shift their center of gravity to the regions where they work. To amplify impact and reach scale, Medtronic LABS partners with local tech entrepreneurs, healthcare providers, NGOs, governments, and other stakeholders.

South Asia

• Prerna: Prerna offers comprehensive healthcare services for people living with, or at risk for, type II diabetes or hypertension. Our model integrates social and clinical interventions in a group-based setting, close to home.

• Shruti: Shruti addresses ear disease and hearing loss in underserved populations utilizing a community health worker-based service model, enabled by point of care diagnostics, hearing implants, and digital tools.

Africa

• Empower Health: Empower Health is a technology-enabled service model that allows clinicians and providers to manage a cohort of hypertensive or diabetic patients remotely. It extends the reach of the health system directly into the community, improving both the efficiency and effectiveness of care.