Future of Telemedicine: Lessons I've Learnt From Building my HealthCare App MVP

I am excited to introduce you to the PARMA project that’s been brewing. A revolutionary healthcare application designed to streamline patient record management for healthcare institutions. I built it with the goal of empowering providers to efficiently manage their processes while maintaining details, accurate, and secure profiles.

James Koduah 😀Full-stack Developer: With a deep understanding of both front-end and back-end technologies, James is the driving force behind our app's technical architecture. His passion for delivering a seamless user experience across web and mobile platforms is infectious.

Farai Ushe: Full-stack Developer: That's me! I bring to the table a versatile skill set that allows me to tackle various aspects of this project. From crafting elegant front-end interfaces to optimizing back-end functionalities, I'm here to ensure our app shines on all fronts.

Why this project?

It all began when I was testing datasets for a school management system, a job that seemed worlds away from healthcare and disease prevention. Zimbabwe, particularly in the southern region, faces its fair share of health challenges. Diseases like cholera and malaria often rear their ugly heads, causing suffering and loss. The local healthcare system, while valiantly striving, is undeniably stretched thin. It was against this backdrop that the spark for our project was kindled.

My thoughts often drifted to how technology could make a difference in the realm of healthcare, especially in a place like Zimbabwe. I couldn't help but wonder if we could harness the power of data and machine learning to predict and prevent disease outbreaks before they spiral out of control.

While the Zimbabwean healthcare system may have its challenges, it's also filled with dedicated individuals working tirelessly to make a difference. Diseases like cholera and malaria can be curbed if we have the right tools and insights at our disposal. This project isn't just about coding; it's about making a meaningful impact on the health and well-being of my community and beyond. It's about taking the skills I've learned and using them to address real-world challenges. It's a reminder that sometimes, the most unexpected journeys lead to the most rewarding destinations. Together with my amazing teammates, James, and our shared vision, we're determined to make a difference, one line of code at a time.

Accomplishments with the HealthCare App Project

• Authentication and Authorization: One of the key achievements of our project is the successful implementation of robust authentication and authorization mechanisms. I've ensured that only authorized users can access patient records and other sensitive data within the application, enhancing security and privacy.
• API Development: I've developed a set of APIs that enable crucial functionalities within the HealthCare App. These APIs allow for booking patients, registering new patients with Medical IDs, and providing doctors with a dedicated dashboard to view booked patients, queued patients, and the next patient in line. This feature streamlines the workflow of healthcare professionals, making patient management more efficient.
• Database Architecture: Our application's database architecture is designed for both performance and data integrity. I've employed a primary database for write operations, ensuring data consistency and durability. Additionally, I've implemented a replica database to distribute read traffic, improving overall system performance and providing data redundancy for failover scenarios.
• Load Balancing: To ensure optimal utilization and responsiveness, I've integrated a load balancer into our architecture. This load balancer evenly distributes user requests across multiple identical servers, enhancing the application's scalability and reliability.

Technologies and Technology Choices:

• HTML, CSS, JavaScript (Vanilla): For the front end, I opted to use HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript without additional frameworks. This choice allowed us to focus on solidifying our understanding of JavaScript and create a responsive and user-friendly interface.
• Flask Python: For the backend, we chose Flask Python due to its simplicity, flexibility, and efficiency. Flask's lightweight nature made it an ideal choice for rapid development and scaling as our project expanded.
• MySQL: As our primary database management system, MySQL provides the data consistency and durability required for our healthcare application. Its relational database structure suits the nature of patient records and medical data.

Notable features:

1. Authentication and Authorization: I've implemented a secure and user-friendly authentication system, ensuring that only authorized personnel can access sensitive patient data.
2. Booking Patients: Our system allows healthcare providers to efficiently book patients, streamlining the scheduling process and improving patient care.
3. Doctor's Dashboard: Doctors have access to a dedicated dashboard that provides essential information about booked patients, queued patients, and the next patient in line, enhancing their ability to manage patient appointments effectively.

Challenges I faced

In our HealthCare App project, I grappled with the task of dynamically selecting available doctors for patient appointments. However, the API consistently threw a "Doctor not defined" error, hindering our ability to recognize the values being passed. Our challenge was clear: enable nurses to efficiently select doctors actively logged into the system for patient appointments. This necessitated real-time availability tracking and a seamless user experience. To conquer this obstacle. Firstly, I introduced real-time doctor availability tracking, monitoring login and logout activities. This updated doctors' statuses to "Available" upon login and "Unavailable" upon logout, supported by an extended data model. Secondly, I adapted API calls for nurses' interfaces, enabling them to filter doctors based on their up-to-the-minute availability status. Nurses received clear, real-time feedback on each doctor's availability status, empowering informed scheduling decisions. Our solution succeeded. Nurses could now effortlessly select from a list of actively logged-in doctors, streamlining patient appointment scheduling.

Technical takeaways

• Implementing real-time doctor availability tracking was a significant technical challenge. It taught me the importance of data synchronization in real-time applications and how to design systems that can handle constant data updates efficiently.
• Extending the data model to accommodate real-time status updates for doctors was a valuable lesson in database design. It showed me how a well-thought-out data model can simplify complex application features.

This project is reinforcing my belief in the power of collaboration and teamwork. Working closely with my teammates, each with their unique skills and perspectives is instrumental in overcoming technical challenges. Being open to trying different technologies and approaches, as we did with real-time tracking, can lead to innovative solutions.

Questioned Beliefs

While I held the belief that planning is essential, this project reaffirmed that adaptability and agility are equally crucial in the fast-paced world of software development. It's essential to strike a balance between planning and the ability to pivot when needed.

LINKS

• My LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/farai-ushe-b29368109
• Landing page: http://parma.jaskin.tech/
• Github: https://github.com/James-koduah/parma