AugmentCare, Chughtai Labs partner to create

accessible healthcare

LAHORE (PR): AugmentCare (AC), a multifaceted healthcare app that allows patients to connect with doctors and pharmacies, has now added laboratories to the list by partnering with Chughtai Labs, Pakistan’s largest network of laboratories.

The MoU was signed the other day in a ceremony held at AC’s head office in Lahore by Hyder Mumtaz, CEO of AugmentCare, and Dr Omar Chughtai, Director Operations Chughtai Labs. The ceremony was attended by key members of AugmentCare and Chughtai Labs’ management teams, Ali Naqvi-part of AC’s Advisory Board and owner of Islamabad United and Leonine Tech Ventures, as well as members of the press.

AugmentCare and Chughtai Labs’ partnership is a milestone in addressing the issue of bridging the gap between doctors, patients, and laboratories by enabling quicker and more efficient healthcare. Accordingly, it will not only benefit patients but will also serve as a major convenience for doctors, saving them ample time and enabling quicker diagnosis. With the availability of centralized digital records, doctors will not have to repeatedly ask patients regarding tests results and medical history. The automation of this key process during healthcare delivery is designed to eliminate any redundancies and delays previously faced at this juncture.

AugmentCare and Chughtai Labs have partnered to provide patients with the facility of ordering lab tests via the AugmentCare app. Upon request, a phlebologist will visit the patient’s home, collect a blood sample, and provide the patient with a lab report via the app which a doctor can also easily view online.

“This immensely simplifies the process and eliminates delays caused by the inability to go to a doctor to show your lab reports to and the delay of collecting them from your laboratory,” said Hyder Mumtaz. “This integration will also significantly facilitate the doctor who can simply ask the patient to conduct certain blood tests and view the reports online rather than having to ask the patient to visit multiple times. This previously increased the time lag between consultation, diagnosis, and treatment.”

Karandaaz to provide Rs700m to ORIX Leasing

ISLAMABAD (PR): Karandaaz Pakistan, supported by UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), is providing a loan of Rs 700 million to ORIX Leasing Pakistan to increase access to finance for small enterprises. ORIX will use this facility to on-lend to small businesses and grow the share of loans to small enterprises in its portfolio.

Karandaaz is committed to enhancing access to finance for SMEs and this agreement with ORIX will contribute to achieving this target. This loan facility from Karandaaz will benefit over 160 small businesses, creating approximately 850 new jobs, and increasing revenue for the partner businesses by Rs 4.4 billion.

Ali Sarfraz, CEO Karandaaz Pakistan, said, “We believe that this loan facility from Karandaaz will enable ORIX to enhance its focus on small enterprises, in line with its credit model and business strategy. This is one of many such initiatives that Karandaaz Pakistan has undertaken to promote inclusive economic growth, job creation, and improved incomes through greater financial inclusion of Pakistanis.”

Shaheen Amin, CEO ORIX Leasing Pakistan, said, “ORIX has been operating in Pakistan for over 30 years and is currently the only leasing company with meaningful operations in the leasing sector. In addition to a wide outreach, it is also the largest Non-Banking Finance Company that focuses on SMEs. It has positioned itself in the industry with a risk assessment model that is well suited to extend credit to SMEs.” KARACHI (PR): Al Meezan Investment Management Limited (Al Meezan Investments) has announced the opening of a new branch in SITE, Karachi at Shop#5, Plot # B/9-D, Main Estate Avenue, SITE Area. The opening of this branch took place recently and is part of Al Meezan’s commitment to provide Shariah compliant investment solutions and quality service to the investors at their doorstep. With this branch opening,  Al Meezan now has 17 branches in 10 major cities. M Shoaib, CFA- Chief Executive of Al Meezan Investments, and Dr Muhammad Imran Ashraf Usmani, Shariah Advisor and Group Head of the Product Development and Shariah Compliance Dept of Meezan Bank, announced the inauguration of the branch. Telenor, CPG host event

ISLAMABAD (PR): Country’s foremost digital service provider Telenor Pakistan in association with Corporate Pakistan Group (CPG), a coalition of corporate leaders, hosted an exclusive forum led by Stephen Brobst, the global Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Teradata Corporation, on digitization & leadership in the digital age. This session is in line with Telenor Pakistan’s emphasis on becoming a hub of leadership, innovation and collaboration.

Held at Telenor Pakistan’s new flagship campus 345, the event was attended by over 100 participants including 50 business and technology leaders, parliamentarians, senior ministry officials and entrepreneurs.

The talk shed light on the crucial role data & analytics have started to play in a business’ success and survival in the recent times. Building on the premise that global business investments in Data & Analytics (D&A) will surpass $200 billion a year by 2020, the talk ventured to answer such fundamental questions as: What are the new business best practices? How do you integrate D&A into your organization’s DNA? How can big problems be solved by big data? How are the fortune 500 businesses exploiting the data opportunity?

 LG Electronics, Here

Technologies join hands

KARACHI/SEOUL (PR): LG Electronics (LG) is partnering with HERE Technologies (HERE), a global provider of digital mapping and location services, to offer a next-generation telematics solution for autonomous vehicles. The solution combines LG’s advanced telematics technology with high-precision map data and location services powered by the HERE Open Location Platform. Through their planned collaboration, the companies aim to support automakers globally with a robust and secure data communications hub for highly automated and fully autonomous cars.

Telematics is an industry that is defined as the integration of telecommunications and informatics to provide vehicle safety and entertainment services such as navigation, location confirmation and emergency dispatch through various communication technologies, from GPS and DMB (Digital Multimedia Broadcasting) networks to Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and mobile communication. LG, the leader in the global telematics market since 2013, is committed to introducing next-generation solutions that offer high-precision map information to meet the needs of the quickly expanding autonomous vehicle industry.

HERE is the world’s leading provider of map data and location services to the automotive industry, powering more than 100 million cars on the road today. The company is also working with automakers on the development of HD Live Map, its highly-accurate cloud-based map service which supports connected ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) and automated driving solutions. HD Live Map, which LG intends to deploy in the joint solution it offers automakers, identifies all roads and surrounding features such as lane markings, stop signs, crosswalks, speed signs and traffic lights. The importance of the HERE’s intellectual property and potential was highlighted in 2015 when a consortium of global automotive companies - Audi, BMW and Daimler - acquired the company. Since then HERE has also attracted investors from the broader technology industry.

When fully developed, telematics will play a key role as the communication hub for autonomous vehicles. First, sensors in the vehicle’s ADAS - comprised of cameras, radar and lidar - read the surrounding environment and send the data to the cloud along with information on nearby vehicles collected via V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything). All the information gathered is repeatedly analyzed and transmitted to the telematics systems of vehicles for customized driving information.