In a sense both events represent what Open Diagnostics is all about – bringing affordable diagnostic services within reach of the communities we serve, and then delivering that service with empathy and excellence. That said, I believe it’s important to recap the comments I made recently about the current status of Open Diagnostics and what we plan to achieve going forward.
As a team we can all be very proud of what we have achieved over such a short time, but we also know that we still have some homework to do to increase our numbers.
Thanks to the efforts of our CLOs, more than 230 referral partners are registered on our portal – however, at the moment, only half of them are referring patients to our diagnostic centers. Exactly why this is the case is not entirely clear, but we have commissioned research to pinpoint why this is happening and what actions we need to implement to remedy the situation.
The good news is that this presents an ideal opportunity to strengthen our relationships with doctors who are not yet referring their patients to us which will ultimately boost our patient volumes. Another opportunity is that while our referring doctors have expressed satisfaction with our services, citing great image quality, turnaround times, and transportation initiatives, some have suggested we add SONAR diagnostic services at our diagnostic centres. We are giving this suggestion serious consideration, and I will keep you informed of progress.
Going forward, we remain fully committed to growing the company and establishing another 30 diagnostics centres over the next 3 years. We have an exciting time ahead of us I have absolutely no doubt that we have the right people on board and that together, we have what it takes to be successful in achieving our mission.
As always it a privilege to work with you.
Saturday 26 October 2024 marked exactly one year since we opened our doors to the public at Open Diagnostics’ inaugural centre in Alexandra township.
Yvonne kicked off the anniversary celebrations with a short speech during which she thanked the team for their hard work and commitment before briefly unpacking the current status and way forward for the company. Lars could not join the celebration in person, but he sent greetings from the entire Pristem team in Switzerland and a personal message to the team.
And we did as the photos show!!!!
Yvonne also received a number of heartwarming messages of gratitude and support from the team. Thank you so much for these messages.
“Dear All,
We are celebrating our first anniversary. It has been an unbelievable journey made entirely possible by you and your daily efforts to serve our patients. I am really proud of what you have achieved and how you have been injecting your positive energy into our project.
Thanks to you, our referring partners and doctors are happy with our services. We are also getting positive feedback from our patients, and we have been able to demonstrate that our technology works and is keeping its promise of being reliable and easy to use.
We all know that we still have some homework to do to increase our numbers, but we are working on that.
Thank you for placing your trust in us – the “strange” Swiss, German and French people 🙂 and for always making us feel welcome in your communities.
So, raise your glasses and celebrate this special day!”
“Today marks exactly 365 days, 8 hours, 53 minutes and 3 seconds with Open Diagnostics (Pristem SA) which means the completion of a year. Today marks a VERY significant milestone in our lives”
“Our very first anniversary and we are so grateful to be a part of Pristem, an incredible company of choice that continues to strive and enable its employees to push forward, to excel and be true to themselves. For that WE are committed to be with Pristem SA for years to come.”
“We started this journey together. To Pristem (Open Diagnostics SA) Management, thank you very much for the opportunity and thank you very much for believing in us.”
“It has been a productive year and we look forward to sailing through with you. We are committed to take Pristem SA to greater heights.” – Vuxaka Mahlangu
As you know, we started our Employee of the Month initiative to publicly acknowledge a member of our team who has gone out of his or her way to live our core values and by doing so, deliver outstanding service to our patients and referral partners. Importantly, the team collectively nominates the recipient of the award – not Management.
Appropriately, the award was presented during our first anniversary at the Alexandra centre and it came as no surprise that the winner of our first Employee of the Month certificate was Lebogang Mdluli.
Yvonne presented the certificate to a clearly delighted Lebo.
The citation on Lebo’s award reads:
“In recognition of your outstanding commitment to placing people at the heart of our work. You consistently demonstrate professionalism by treating patients with respect, kindness, and empathy. Whether working directly with patients or liaising with partners, your dedication is evident in every interaction.
As a representative of Open Diagnostics, you uphold our values by interacting with referral partners, GPs, nurses, and other stakeholders with humility, knowledge, and professionalism. Through your teamwork and dedication, you have fostered connections and strengthened relationships within our communities and among your colleagues.
Thank you for your unwavering commitment and contribution to the success of our team.
Heartiest congratulations Lebo. You are truly a deserving winner!
The International Day of Radiology is an annual event promoting the role of medical imaging in modern healthcare. It is celebrated on November 8 each year and coincides with the anniversary of the discovery of x-rays. This year’s theme, ‘Radiographers: Seeing the Unseen’ theme highlighted the growing importance of the radiography profession in delivering accurate diagnoses, enhancing treatment options, and improving patient care.
Our radiographers play a pivotal in our diagnostics centres. They are responsible for ensuring our patients are comfortable and well-informed throughout the imaging process. This involves explaining procedures to patients, answering any questions they may have and making sure patients are correctly positioned for imaging. They also provide emotional support to patients who may be nervous or anxious about the imaging process.
Open Diagnostic’s diagnostics centres in Alexandra and Maponya Mall celebrated the day in style. Our Clinical Team Manager, Stella Malapile assisted by Babalwa Zibi, our HR Consultant, handed out certificates to recognise the vital role our professional radiographers play.
One of our radiographers, Lucia Ndlozi also gave a brilliant interview on Alex FM during which she unpacked the nitty grittys of radiography to the listeners of Alex FM in very simplistic terms. Well done to Lucia for representing Open Diagnostics in such a professional manner!
Congratulations to our brilliant team of radiographers!
Open Diagnostics is always open to receiving feedback and indeed the comments we have received from referring doctors and patients alike have been overwhelmingly positive. However, it is very special when clients spontaneously take the time to write testimonials.
We have received several testimonials from doctors and patients and we have posted them on our website. Please visit the website and go through them…. They confirm that we are indeed touching lives and making a difference.
Google “how to tell if a startup will be successful” and an article titled ”7 signs of a strong startup” will be displayed. Published on the Jotform blog, the article unpacks the 7 characteristics which the author believes sets strong startups apart from… well… not so strong start ups.
What makes the article so interesting is that Open Diagnostics/ Pristem displays all 7 characteristics. We check all the boxes.
Product-market fit.
Pristem’s Cristalix-T1 technology was specifically designed from the ground up for markets such South Africa’s.
Robust market/user testing.
The technology was rigorously tested by a leading university in Switzerland, and it has more than proved its worth after 12 months use in South Africa.
Passion to disrupt the current market.
The development of our technology was driven by a passion to meet a need in the global healthcare system. Our technology, together with our service and pricing models are disruptive in that they are fundamentally different from anything else offered by the current market.
Leadership ability and vision.
Pristem and Open Diagnostics are passionate about our common vision, and we have the strong leaders in Switzerland and South Africa who have the ability and will to be successful.
An established, compelling company culture.
We have an integrated strategy to ensure that our brand promise, values, culture and code of conduct work together to build a strong culture of engagement, transparency and service delivery. We have the systems in place to reinforce them and the feedback we are receiving confirms that our culture is already well established.
Engaged communities.
There is no doubt that the communities we serve are engaged. The awards, testimonials, spontaneous feedback and survey results all confirm we that have established strong, engaging relationships with the communities we serve.
Willingness to hear feedback.
We have several communication channels and surveys in place to hear from our customers and we use that feedback to refine our what we do. See above.
We are definitely on the right track!