MotoMeds Providing essential nighttime healthcare to children in low resource settings
MotoMeds is a pediatric telemedicine and medication delivery service (TMDS) that provides high-quality care to families faced with access barriers such as nighttime, distance, and poverty. The healthcare delivery model prevents common childhood illnesses from transitioning into emergencies during the nighttime hours- a critical service where high level healthcare resources are often inaccessible and prohibitively expensive.
About Us
Our Mission
Our Mission is to Improve Access to Pediatric Care at Night When Children are Most Vulnerable and Isolated
The healthcare delivery model prevents common childhood illnesses from transitioning into emergencies during the nighttime hours- a critical service where high level healthcare resources are often inaccessible and prohibitively expensive.
Our Story
Waiting Until the Morning
While conducting research in Bangladesh and responding to the 2010 cholera outbreak in Haiti, Dr. Eric Nelson frequently observed severely dehydrated patients lined up outside clinics each morning. Those that had become ill during the night had to wait until the morning to seek care. For certain illnesses, such as cholera, and for some populations, such as young children, this delay could be the difference between an easily treatable patient and one with a life-threatening emergency. Confronted with this gap in nighttime healthcare, Dr. Nelson began exploring solutions, which led to the concept of a nighttime telemedicine and medication delivery service.
Our Team
Principal Investigator
Eric Nelson, MD, PhD
“The idea for MotoMeds was inspired by experiences from the 2010 cholera outbreak in Haiti. In the morning we would see patients arriving at the clinic severely dehydrated because they were isolated from access to oral rehydration fluid and sound clinical advice during the night. While MotoMeds is Haitian inspired, once validated, we hope will serve as a model for global deployment.”
Project Director
Molly Klarman, MPH
“I am especially drawn to the work being done at the Nelson lab because of its focus on bridging the gap between research and actionable public health improvements and I am excited to have the opportunity to contribute to this endeavor.”
The Nurses
The MotoMeds call center is staffed by dedicated Haitian nurses and nurse practitioners who use their clinical expertise to conduct virtual exams guided by a clinical decision support tool developed by our team. When cases fall outside the scope of these guidelines, they can consult on-call physicians for additional support.
The Drivers
MotoMeds delivery drivers are essential to transforming the service beyond an ordinary telemedicine service. Relying on their extensive local knowledge, they navigate unpaved roads and reach households in the dark, despite the absence of a formal address system.
Give a Gift
You can help support MotoMeds mission by making a contribution today.
How it works
Make the Call
A parent with a sick child contacts the call center (open 6PM-5AM).
Speak to a Provider
Call center providers use electronic clinical decision support to guide virtual exams.
Create a Plan
Virtual exams generate treatment plans that include recommendations on where and how the patient should be treated.
Medicine Delivered
Motorcycle drivers deliver medications to patients’ homes, and in select cases providers accompany them to conduct in-person exams.
Testimonials
Families
“With MotoMeds, families take an active role in their healthcare which has the benefit of educating them.”
Nurses
“Working for MotoMeds has positively impacted my professional development. I have gained a lot of knowledge in pediatrics and technology. And I have now built up the confidence to work independently.”
Drivers
“You can arrive at the hospital with the person, and they will let him die over 500 gourdes (4$US). The person can be left to die if you do not have money. This is how hospitals in Haiti are, if you don’t pay [in advance] there is no care. But MotoMeds shows you that it’s care before money. It’s life before money.”
Our Impact
Our Stats
As of October, 2025
2,218 Nights of service Provided (offline 3 nights)
5,712 Calls Answered
5,460 Virtual Exams
3,801 Deliveries
1,255 In-Person Exams
36 Providers (22) and Delivery Drivers (14) Trained
6 Peer reviewed manuscripts within the Improving Nighttime Access to Care and Treatment (INACT) study series published
Connect with us
Contact us about partnership and other opportunities to get involved!
Eric Nelson, MD, PhD
PO Box 100296
Gainesville, FL 32610
Molly Klarman, MPH
EPI, University of Florida
2055 Mowry Road
Gainesville, FL 32611
mklarman@ufl.edu