Malaysia-based healthcare services firm Columbia Asia has opened a Ksh253 million ($2.5 million) clinic and diagnostic centre in Nairobi, which targets the increasing number of patients seeking specialised treatment abroad.

The outpatient facility is set to offer health checks and telemedicine services. It is already offering radiology e-services through online connection to 70 specialists across Asia and Africa, while the telemedicine is offered by integrating medical devices, records and video-conferencing facilities to provide experts with real-time information on patients’ health conditions.

Columbia Africa is part of the US-based Columbia Pacific Management, which has 27 hospitals and clinics in India, Malaysia, China, Vietnam and Indonesia.

The Kenyan branch will have 11 doctors specialising in paediatrics, family medicine, general surgery, obstetrician and gynaecology, ophthalmology, orthopaedics, pathology and an allergy consultant.

“We have incorporated telemedicine, which will provide a second opinion from our pool of doctors,” said general manager of the healthcare centre Sumit Prasad, adding that many patients travel outside the country for medical care in search of a second opinion.

“A patient’s medical history, examination and investigation is enough to make a diagnosis, without having the patient physically there,” said Dr Prasad, adding, “That is why two of our specialist doctors, one in the Nairobi facility and another in any of our other 28 facilities in Asia will give their second opinion to reduce possible medical errors.”

The Nairobi unit is part of Columbia’s plan to expand in Africa through a chain of healthcare facilities under the Columbia Africa brand.