Rhino Park Private Hospital and Welwitschia Hospital, part of Namibia's largest private hospital network, have partnered with Proto to deploy AI patient experience agents. The deployment streamlines pre-admissions by collecting patient information upfront, addressing common queries and complaints, and delivering pre- and post-operative guidance with handles quotation requests.
A networked approach to patient experience
Medfam Holdings operates a growing portfolio of private healthcare facilities across Namibia, anchored by Rhino Park Private Hospital in Windhoek and Welwitschia Hospital in Walvis Bay. The group is building a coordinated, pan-Namibia healthcare platform spanning general hospitals, specialist clinics, rehabilitation services, and oncology – one of the most comprehensive private care networks in southern Africa.
As patient volumes grow and digital communication becomes the default channel for service enquiries, the group sought AI infrastructure that could serve each facility while being managed centrally. The priority was not just automating support at each hospital individually, but connecting them – so that a patient engaging with one facility could be referred to another without friction.
This AI agent network came to life with the friendly Wally and Ryno agents for each hospital.
[Carousel of Wally and Rhino webchat images with a chat being handed between them]
AI across the full patient journey
The Proto deployment introduces dedicated AI agents for residents and workers, accessible via WhatsApp and webchat in Afrikaans, English, and German, with planned scope for Russian, Portuguese, and Oshiwambo and additional local languages.
The agents are built around four core patient-facing workflows:
- Pre-admission – The agent collects patient information upfront through a guided conversational form, reducing manual data entry for clinical staff and ensuring patients arrive prepared. Gathering this information ahead of admission shortens processing time at the facility and creates a smoother experience at the point of entry.
- Complaints – Patients can report concerns directly through the agents at any time. Each complaint is captured, categorised, and routed to the appropriate care team, with a full audit trail maintained in the Proto platform for follow-up and resolution.
- Pre- and post-operative guidance – The agents answer common clinical and procedural questions before surgery and support recovery with post-op information, reducing the volume of routine enquiries handled by nursing and administrative staff.
- Specialists directory – Patients can find the full list of doctors and specialists for their needs with a single query – covering every consultant across the hospital's departments. Rather than navigating phone menus or waiting to be directed, the agent ssurfaces the right specialist instantly, helping patients connect with the right care from the very first interaction.
- Quotation requests – Patients can request cost estimates for select services directly through the agents, reducing the load on front-desk teams and enabling faster decision-making before admission.
How agent handover works across the network
Each hospital operates its own agent, tailored to its services and patient community. All agents, however, run within the same Proto enteprise deployment – and this shared platform architecture is what makes agent-to-agent handover possible.
When a patient's query relates to another facility in the network – a referral, a service only available at the other hospital, or an enquiry that falls under a different unit's scope – the agent can transfer the conversation directly to the relevant facility's agent.
The handover happens within the same WhatsApp or webchat thread, preserving the conversation history and the patient's context. The patient does not need to reach out separately, repeat their details, or start again on a different channel.
This is enabled by Proto's multi-agent management layer, which sits above the individual agents and routes interactions across the network based on intent and context. Each agent knows its own scope; the platform handles the rest.
Christine Vrey, Country Manager at Proto, said: "Medfam is building something genuinely unique in Namibia – a coordinated healthcare network covering the full care pathway, from general hospitals through to oncology. Deploying AI across that network is not just about business efficiency; it's about making sure every patient gets the same standard of responsive, accessible support. We're proud to be part of that vision from the ground up."
About Medfam Holdings
Medfam Holdings is a private healthcare operator in Namibia, managing a network of hospitals, clinics, and specialist facilities across the country. Its portfolio includes Rhino Park Private Hospital in Windhoek and Welwitschia Hospital in Walvis Bay, with additional business units covering rehabilitation, oncology, and medical services. Medfam is backed by Salt Capital as part of a broader strategy to build a pan-Namibia integrated healthcare platform.