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Draft:Cura

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cura
Native name
كيورا
IndustryTelehealth
Headquarters
Saudi Arabia
Websitecura.sa

Cura (Arabic: كيورا) is a Saudi telehealth or digital healthcare building the infrastructure for accessible, continuous care. It connects patients with licensed clinicians through virtual urgent care, specialty care, mental healthcare, and multi-session wellness programs then coordinates the services that follow, including prescriptions, labs, and follow-ups. For insurers, employers, and healthcare partners, Cura combines a clinical network with technology for care delivery, integration, and medical governance. It is connecting phramacies, labs, home care and physicians. [1][2] Cura has also supplied technology for virtual-consultation projects associated with the Saudi Ministry of Health, including the Sehha service. Its account of the Med Consult project describes a role in developing a platform for consultations between medical professionals.[3][4]

History

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The service was developed by software engineers Wael Kabli and Mohammad Zekrallah. A Stanford Graduate School of Business teaching case, based principally on interviews with Kabli, says Zekrallah began developing the platform in 2015 and Kabli joined him full-time in 2016.[3] A 2016 profile by Wamda described Abdullah Alswaha as another co-founder and dated the venture's founding to 2015; later accounts from Arab News and Forbes Middle East identified Kabli and Zekrallah as founders and dated the company to 2015 and 2016, respectively.[5][1][6]

In 2017, Cura presented its platform at the 9/10ths Startup Accelerator showcase associated with King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST).[7] The Cura application was among the projects recognized in the private-sector category of the 2017 Sheikh Salem Al-Ali Al-Sabah Informatics Award in Kuwait.[8]

At the Saudi finals of the 2019 Entrepreneurship World Cup, Cura was one of five KAUST-associated startups awarded US$50,000 each. It was subsequently among six Saudi startups selected for the global finals.[9][10]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, KAUST described Cura as one of the startups that experienced increased demand for virtual medical services.[11] In October 2021, Cura announced a Series A funding round of 15 million Saudi riyals (approximately US$4 million), led by Elm and Wa'ed. A contemporary report stated that Wa'ed's portion was 6.7 million riyals.[12][13]

Services and government projects

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The consumer service has offered access to general physicians for immediate consultations and appointments with specialists selected by the user. A 2020 Arab News profile also described extended wellness programs. Roland Berger's 2022 report on Saudi primary care listed Cura among the country's teleconsultation services and described its round-the-clock consultations, prescriptions, and programs addressing mental health, chronic illness, and nutrition.[1][2]

The Ministry of Health announced the Sehha application for video consultations in December 2017 and expanded its availability in January 2018.[14][15] The Stanford case says Cura licensed its technology to help power the ministry's service. Cura's own case study describes a joint implementation with the ministry.[3][16] The ministry later said it incorporated Sehha into its unified Sehhaty application.[17]

In 2019, the Ministry of Health launched Med Consult, an application for consultations among healthcare professionals, in cooperation with the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center and the World Health Organization.[18] Cura says that it delivered technology for the project in collaboration with the ministry and the WHO.[4]

Research

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A 2021 study of patient interfaces in Saudi telemedicine applications classified Seha as a government application and Cura as a separate private application. In two evaluations, conducted in 2020 and 2021, the researchers identified 14 user-interface usability issues in Cura, compared with 18 in Seha and 22 in the third application studied.[19]

References

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  1. 1 2 3 Al-Khudair, Deema (23 June 2020). "Startup of the Week: Cura - Telehealth platform for consultations". Arab News. Retrieved 29 September 2026.
  2. 1 2 Caracache, Michael; Hosseini, Morris (June 2022). The future of primary care in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (PDF) (Report). Roland Berger. p. 15. Retrieved 29 September 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 Siegel, Robert (9 May 2021). Cura: Bringing Digital Health to the Arab World (PDF) (Report). Stanford Graduate School of Business. pp. 2–3. Retrieved 29 September 2026.
  4. 1 2 Doctor-to-Doctor Consultations, MedConsult (MOH) (PDF) (Report). Cura Healthcare. Retrieved 29 September 2026.
  5. ↑ Gabr, Ahmed (26 June 2016). "Cura connects Saudis with specialists". Wamda. Retrieved 29 September 2026.
  6. ↑ "Cura". Forbes Middle East. 2020. Retrieved 29 September 2026.
  7. ↑ "Saudi Startups Pitch the 9/10ths Accelerator Showcase". KAUST. 2017. Retrieved 29 September 2026.
  8. ↑ "سمو الأمير يكرم الفائزين بـ«جائزة سمو الشيخ سالم العلي للمعلوماتية»". Al Rai (in Arabic). 29 November 2017. Retrieved 29 September 2026.
  9. ↑ "KAUST startups sweep wins at Misk's Entrepreneurship World Cup". KAUST. 7 July 2019. Retrieved 29 September 2026.
  10. ↑ "KAUST to host 96 startups from 64 countries for Misk's Entrepreneurship World Cup". KAUST. 2019. Retrieved 29 September 2026.
  11. ↑ "Beyond the Crisis: What Does COVID–19 Mean for Entrepreneurs?". KAUST. 14 July 2020. Retrieved 29 September 2026.
  12. ↑ "Saudi Cura gets $4m Series-A financing from ELM and Wa'ed". Arab News. 17 October 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2026.
  13. ↑ "Wa'ed allocates up to SR6.9m in new seed grants and VC funds during Riyadh roadshow". Saudi Gazette. 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2026.
  14. ↑ "(الصحة) تطلق تطبيق الصحة الالكترونية". Ministry of Health (in Arabic). 14 December 2017. Retrieved 29 September 2026.
  15. ↑ "(الصحة) توسع خدمات تطبيق (صحة) الالكتروني". Ministry of Health (in Arabic). 7 January 2018. Retrieved 29 September 2026.
  16. ↑ Sehha Virtual Care Center (Ministry of Health) (PDF) (Report). Cura Healthcare. Retrieved 29 September 2026.
  17. ↑ "Hot Topics - Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)". Ministry of Health. Retrieved 29 September 2026.
  18. ↑ "Al-Rabiah Conveys Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques' Greetings to the 4th Global Summit on Patient Safety". Ministry of Health. 28 February 2019. Retrieved 29 September 2026.
  19. ↑ "Usability of Telemedicine Mobile Applications during COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia: A Heuristic Evaluation of Patient User Interfaces". Healthcare. 9 (11): 1574. 2021. doi:10.3390/healthcare9111574. Retrieved 29 September 2026.
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