Healthcent has introduced a feasible mobile application to Chris Hani Baragwanath Paediatric Burn Unit patients, to help improve the communication between hospital staff. Signapps Serve allows doctors, nurses, physiotherapists and so forth to create a profile of a patient where they monitor the care they receive under their watch. “When a doctor or a nurse is not at the hospital, they can comment on the app to help those who are at the hospital with a difficult case,” said Parkhurst.
The app was created by Healthcent and can be accessed by the public for free. Since the official launch of the app, a number of hospitals, including the Red Cross Children’s Hospital have shown interest. “The overwhelming response to the launch of this package from the public sector has meant that we are having to prioritize implementations,” said CEO of Healthcent Andrew Davies.
Dr Ronnell Parkhurst, Head of the Paediatric burn unit said they have been using the app since 2018.“The app has allowed us to have fluid communication between the medical team because each person on the team is able to upload information on the patient; we don’t have to sift through information,” she said.
Parkhurst said her unit receives 600 patients annually under the age of 10 with burns that are bigger than 10% of their body. “Most of the patients we admit are burnt by hot water, followed by flames and then we see cases like electrical burns and unlike other messaging applications which don’t have a high level of security when it comes to the patient’s information and pictures, Signapps serve protects the patient’s information,” said Parkhurst.
In conclusion, the Doctor notes that Bara hospital serves a large population and has a close correlation between burn injuries and socio-economic status. This means that the app is able to relieve pressure on healthcare providers with information being readily available in digital format.
