MobiDawa app developer James Odede shows how the application works. PHOTO | ANGELA OKETCH
By ANGELA OKETCH, AOketch@ke.nationmedia.com
In Summary
- MobiDawa aims to tackle the issue of non- adherence which has become a growing concern to medical practitioners.
Computer scientist James Odede has developed a mobile
phone prescription software to help patients take the right medication
at the right time.
The software called MobiDawa which is available on Google
Play store helps patients to search for information about drugs, dosage
and prescriptions.
It also has a reminder notification, improving patient’s adherence to drugs and outcomes.
Non-adherence to medications is currently estimated to cause about 50 per cent of all treatment failures, according to medics.
The practice of medicine and public health
supported by mobile devices has emerged in recent years in Kenya and
other developing countries as a means of providing greater access to
larger segments of the population and improving the capacity of health
systems in such countries.
MobiDawa joins a number of firms such as WelTel,
mPedigree and the recently launched Hello Doctor which have partnered
with Safaricom and Commercial Bank of Africa to offer medical
consultations on their phones.
Mr Odede says he has been a victim of wrong drug
dosage that almost cost him his life and drove him to come up with the
app that can curb such disasters.
“I have suffered in the hands of quacks posing as
medics and after completing my course last year, I decided to do
something that would enable patients to get the right treatment and
avoid what happened to me,” said the Maseno University graduate.
Mr Odede and MobiDawa co-founder Simeon Obwogo who
is also a software developer came up with the handy tool that makes it
easier to stick to strict medication orders, especially when taking
multiple prescriptions.
According to Kisumu County Chief Officer of Health
Ojwang Lusi, non-adherence means that patients take their mediation in
the wrong way, in the wrong dose or in combination with an incompatible
second drug.
Some patients do not know the importance of taking medications regularly.
“It will be a bit difficult for everyone to use the
application more so the older people but if they can make use of it,
it will address the issues of prescription and wrong dosage,” Dr Ojwang
said.
How it works
A patient c an download the application Mobidawa
from the google play store and search for the name of the drug he wants.
The application contains names of top 100 drugs used in the country.
Users must enter their ages, weights, and gender,
among other details, to know the dosage they would require. They will
then be instructed on how to take the drug and what to avoid when under
medication.
A feedback portal is also provided for patients to
say whether they got well after taking their medicine, whether they
experienced any complications or not and if they would use the drug
again.
Patients can search for information about their medication in the drug database.
“Other than the dosage, the application also
provides drug uses, side effects and precautions,” said Mr Odede during
the East African Community Lake Victoria Basin Commission Secretariat
Conference on Integrated Population, Health and Environment in Kisumu
last month. The mobile phone application can be used on both smartphones
and feature phones.
Developed four months ago, the app aims to serve as
a guide for over-the-counter drugs so that patients can make informed
decisions by themselves.
Users can also provide feedback to pharmaceutical
companies on the side effects of the medicines for the companies to
improve their service.
“Patients sometimes buy drugs over the counter but
develop side effects, our application provides a platform to report on
the side effects of such drugs,” he said.
They also work with companies in what he terms a
business- to-business approach: “We target pharmaceutical companies,
governments and insurance companies to pay for our services while making
it free for the end users.
“We plan to charge them per patient feedback for
surveys done via our app. Government institutions are also interested in
the data and we shall include them,” said Mr Odede.
Patients can order and pay for the drugs through MobiDawa and wait for them to be delivered.
“We intend to use Orange Billing API to facilitate
the payment process. This is also to ensure continuous supply of drugs
for patients with terminal diseases and cannot easily access the
medicine.”
The app developers also say they are in talks with
the Pharmacy and Poisons Board to verify and increase the content of the
application.
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