Market Research

What happens when the internet is not working, your time to work on a worthwhile project is counting down, and the weather is nice?
You do your market research on foot!
Googling (is that a verb?) this area previously had not produced beneficial results. I decided it was time to venture out of the hospital and find out what local hospitals and clinics there were in the area. This was to deem the "competition" for MRN and how it could improve its processes based on other available healthcare in the area.
With the help of wonderful MRN employees (Amy, Modeste) we were able to come up with a list of private clinics (and the one public hospital) in the area and a game plan to research them. Modeste and I ended up hiring a motorcycle taxi to take us to all the locations in the area; there are six private clinics in the immediate surrounding neighborhood (Ahala). By this time I had become very comfortable with riding the motorcycle taxi. I created a list of questions I wanted Modeste to ask the clinics as they were less likely to communicate with me [outsider]. We spent 1-2 hours completing this and celebrated our success over beignets. The information gathered from this endeavor was included in the field report created for Project HOPE.
What this research showed me is that when one doesn't have ready access to needed information, you have to get creative. Think outside the box and step out of your comfort zone. Its akin to going to the library and looking up the needed information in books; who does that anymore when you [normally] have the power of the internet at your fingertips. It's just not so in most other parts of the world.
Anyways - this was probably as fun an experience as I'll have doing "market research".

Cameroonian Pharmacy

Recently I had the opportunity to visit a Cameroonian pharmacy while downtown, to purchase some medication. I knew exactly what I needed, the only problem was I didn't know if the medication was available here (or only in the USA). I entered the pharmacy and it was a very well-kept shop. Very neat, organized, clean, and full of everything. Mostly what I saw were medications lining the walls and further back in the back of the store. One section of the store was dedicated to beauty products.
That was it. No toilet paper, no chewing gum, no office supplies. This pharmacy had a small beauty section and the rest of the store dedicated to medications. I went up to the staff and unfortunately nobody spoke English. Between Lexicomp, some hand motions, and a few broken French words I was able to communicate what I needed. The pharmacist brought me a few medications that might help. I recognized the classes of the medication, but they were definitely ones I had not heard of. Luckily one medicine of the pile was pretty much what I was looking for and it worked. The pharmacist showed me the directions on the box and started counseling me on how to use it, I was glad to see that.
All-in-all a good experience. I'm glad I found what I needed. I'm also glad I was able to see what a Cameroonian pharmacy was like, to compare it to the States.