Evidence for pharmacies
Pharmacy clinics work best with a doctor behind them
South African pharmacists say a lack of support from doctors holds back their prescribing role. PRIME puts a doctor’s review behind every case your clinic sees.
PRIME’s own results
- 9/10times, the reviewing doctor agrees with the diagnosis the nurse made with PRIME
- R21,000profit from consultations alone, at one pharmacy using PRIME, before dispensing
The research
What the studies show
- Market · 2026
Telehealth is growing fast
South Africa's telemedicine market is projected to grow about 20% a year from 2026 to 2034, to more than five times its 2025 size. PRIME is how you take part safely: guideline-driven, checked for emergencies, and reviewed by a doctor.
IMARC Group, 2026 - South Africa · 2024
What holds pharmacist prescribing back
By July 2021, only 363 of 17,181 South African pharmacists (2.1%) had registered for PCDT training. Pharmacists in Limpopo named a lack of support from doctors, a lack of time and limited scope among the barriers.
Moloto et al., Rwanda Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences, 2024 - Primary care · 2018
Nurses as substitutes for doctors in primary care
A Cochrane review of 18 trials: care from nurses probably gives similar or better health outcomes than care from doctors, and patients are probably slightly more satisfied.
Laurant et al., Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2018 - Decision support · 2020
Clinical decision support improves care
Across 122 trials and more than 1.2 million patients, computer decision support increased the share of patients getting the recommended care, with small to moderate gains.
Kwan et al., BMJ, 2020 - Diagnosis · 2014
1 in 20 adults
Even in well-resourced health systems, about 1 in 20 adults experiences a diagnostic error in outpatient care each year. A structured history and a ranked differential are how PRIME guards against it.
Singh et al., BMJ Quality & Safety, 2014
Regulation
Built to South African standards
PRIME was developed according to the guidance South Africa's health regulators have issued on artificial intelligence in medicine. These are the documents we work to:
- HPCSABooklet 20: Ethical guidelines on the use of artificial intelligence (2025)
How registered practitioners may use AI ethically: the practitioner stays responsible for every decision, the patient's privacy and consent come first, and AI supports clinical judgement but never replaces it.
- HPCSABooklet 10: General ethical guidelines for good practice in telehealth
How a doctor may review and treat a patient at a distance, as PRIME's reviewing doctors do, to the same standard as an in-person visit.
- SAHPRACommunication to Industry MD08 (2025/2026): AI and machine learning-enabled medical devices
The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority's guiding principles for AI in medical software: local validation, safety, transparency and ongoing monitoring.
Start today
Start consulting in your pharmacy
Register at primeclinic.app and see your first patient with a doctor reviewing every case.
Ready in about 5 minutes
- Create your accountTap Sign up below. In the app, choose “Sign Up”, then “Healthcare”.
- Add your detailsYour name, email, role and clinic. Nothing to install.
- See your first patientPRIME guides the consultation, and a doctor reviews every case.
R950 a month · No set-up costs · Questions? Talk to us