Aviro Health, Western Cape Gov't roll out chatbot for high-risk patients.

Aviro Health, Western Cape Gov't roll out chatbot for high-risk patients.

South African health tech startup, Aviro Health in collaboration with the Western Cape Government Department of Health, has rolled out an automated Chatbot system that leverages Whatsapp to confirm the delivery of chronic medication to patients’ homes.

The Chatbot platform allows users to confirm existing appointments with their healthcare professionals or facilities to eliminate the risk of vulnerable patients waiting in long queues.

Speaking on the benefits of the chatbot, Pharmacist at Mitchells Plain Hospital, Mohamed Sonday said, “The Department wanted a system that would respond to high-risk chronic patient queries timeously and to give people peace of mind that their medication will be delivered to their homes. The system also allows our high-risk healthcare workers the opportunity to assist clients with their queries without placing their lives in danger as well.“

Due to the positive user experience, the number of users of the Chatbot has grown through word-of-mouth from existing users. Existing users have placed orders from all over the Cape Town Metropole from Mitchell’s Plain, Plumstead, and Edgemead to the CBD.

Product Manager at Aviro Health, Lyanne Mapani said that there are lessons on how the platform can better accommodate users who are requesting deliveries on behalf of patients.

“Together with the Department, we are looking at ways to improve the chatbot so that it can be responsive and better serve users who are accessing it to make requests for their loved ones and fellow community members. The tool is clearly of value, but we want to make sure that we are reaching patients where they are. We are looking forward to launching additional features in the future such as, offering the service in multiple languages and supporting users in booking appointments,” Mapani further stated.

Aviro Health designs and develops digital health apps that solve real-world problems in healthcare delivery.

Research by Aviro Health and the Western Cape Department of Health has found that individuals health problems such as; diabetes, hypertension, TB, HIV/Aids, cancer, chronic lung disease, and heart disease have a higher risk of becoming severely ill if infected with Covid-19 and therefore designed this chatbot to lessen such risks.

Individuals can join the Chatbox platform by adding the following number, 087 240 6122 to their mobile phones and send a message saying “hi” to start the WhatsApp Chatbot conversation.

Users must have their ID, folder number, the name of the attending health care facility, and home address before they can access the Chatbot.

After the  ‘soft launch’  in May,  700 users have accessed the platform with over 500  received chronic medication orders.

Aviro Health is backed  by TuksNovation, the University of Pretoria’s technology incubator and accelerator.