Improving Access To Quality Lab Tests Matters

Gold Star Kenya and Pathologists Lancet Kenya have entered into a strategic partnership that will see over 100 private health facilities linked to Pathologists Lancet Kenya from all over the country. The facilities under Gold Star Kenya Network franchise will benefit from quality assured and affordable lab tests provided by Pathologists Lancet Kenya.  

Speaking on behalf of Pathologists Lancet Kenya, Managing Director and CEO Mwende Musunga said, “One of our key objectives is to increase quality diagnostic care to patients through strategic partnerships, and being part of this healthcare network will ensure patients live healthy lives. We are delighted that with this partnership, we will be able to achieve our goal by increasing accessibility to quality diagnosis to a wider pool of patients.”

In the past, Gold Star Kenya and Pathologists Lancet Kenya have worked together to improve HIV services through quality assured and subsidized HIV testing services including HIV treatment to reduce viral load to undetectable levels.

 “We are excited about this partnership and for us, at Gold Star Kenya, multi-sectoral and multi-disciplinary collaboration is the future solution to gaining ground in private health sector quality service delivery. Our widespread Gold Star private sector network of health facilities and medical practitioners and most importantly – the patients (our primary beneficiaries) will now be able to access high-quality and affordable lab tests from a globally reputable and accredited firm, Pathologists Lancet Kenya,” said Dr. Nyawira Gitahi, Executive Director, Gold Star Kenya.

The private sector in the past has not had adequate support to address the challenges of quality, high cost of lab tests, infrastructure, and sample referral networking. Over the past year, there has been reduced funding in the supply chain which has resulted in many patients in both public and private facilities not being able to access viral tests as prescribed in policy guidelines.

Dr. Charles Wahome, Chief Pathologist at Pathologists Lancet Kenya said, “In today’s world, we have innovative ways of testing for diseases such as HIV/AIDS. The availability of resources and expertise have enabled us to advance our offering in differential diagnoses and also venture into this partnership. We strongly believe in offering patients quality tests to improve their health. We hope that with this partnership, we will continue to do so with the added pool of patients to our portfolio.”

 This collaboration will improve access to ISO 15189 accredited laboratory services covering HIV-related tests (Viral Load), and Antenatal care profile, among many other tests. This will positively impact the quality of diagnosis and access to safe health care services in the private sector.

Gold Star Kenya is a leading local Kenyan NGO implementing quality sustainable community health and development programs that cover reproductive, maternal, child, and adolescent health; HIV/TB, NCD, and nutrition.