MIT Solve

Solution Overview

Solution Name

HePhiCom

One-line solution summary.

This is an app that aims to bridge the gap of people's need for health care access through the use of a mobile app.

Elevator pitch

What is your solution?

This is a HePhiCom that allows the app user to use the app to ask for help to get the type of need that the app user wants to get especially if he/she lives in a rural area. This app can locate the exact location of an app user. The app user can see the Health Records, Map Box, Help and Message and Call in the landing page of HePhiCom. For the four features, first the Health Records. The app user can fill up his/her information about Medical History Form and Medical Visits. For the second which is MapBox, the app user can see his/her exact location through the app. It will also be visible to whoever the app user messages or calls through the app. Third, the Help feature. The app user can search the nearest hospital in his/her location with the help of Mapbox. The app user can select what type of need he/she needs for health concerns. Fourth, the Message and Call. The app user can contact the Department of Health, The Local Government of the app user and the Appointed Doctor for the nearest hospital of the app user in case he/she needs help.

What specific problem are you trying to solve?

The specific problem that we're trying to solve is, the lack of access to Health Care of people in rural areas in the Philippines. It affects the massive scale of people in rural areas across the Philippines. Health Care access is really needed by the people especially the Covid Vaccinations. The factors that contribute to the problem are: Lack of Funds, No vehicles for transportations for the people who live in other rural areas and No internet connections for some rural areas. According to DOH, At present, 70% of the population living in rural areas are still struggling with no or limited access to quality inpatient and outpatient care services. Recent health demographics studies showed that the segmented distribution of the health facilities and healthcare providers contribute largely to this alarming situation as exemplified by the fact that only 13% of healthcare providers and 40% of tertiary hospitals are situated in non-urban areas; let alone that on the average, the time it takes to travel to a local health facility usually takes around 39 minutes. COVID-19 watchdog OCTA Research warned Tuesday that if a coronavirus surge occurs in the country due to the potentially more transmissible Omicron variant, it may likely hit harder rural areas or places with low immunization rates. According to the Philippine News Agency, a total of 47,128,197 million Filipinos, representing 61.10 percent of the target population and 42.77 percent of the country's total population, are now fully vaccinated.

Who does your solution serve? In what ways will the solution impact their lives?

The Target population of HePhiCom is the people that want any type of need related to Health Care access. Mostly, the people who need help are from rural areas across our country. The people from rural areas became underserved since their locations are farther than urban areas. The people who live in rural areas are the majority prone to health related diseases. To help the people who live in rural areas is really challenging. The Local Government and Non Government Organizations can't go to any places from each rural area in the Philippines just to help the underserved people.

This solution will help to address their needs by the app features and functionalities of HePhiCom.

What steps have you taken to understand the needs of the population you want to serve?

We gathered information from online reliable resources and used my experience as a Team Leader who lives in a rural area. I understand the needs of the population we want to serve. Based on my experienced, our community is lacking for Health care access especially in the midst of pandemic. I also engaged with some people who experienced our situation.

Which aspects of the Challenge does your solution most closely address?

Improving healthcare access and health outcomes; and reducing and ultimately eliminating health disparities (Health)

Our solution's stage of development:

Prototype: A venture or organization building and testing its product, service, or business model

Explain why you selected this stage of development for your solution—in other words, what have you accomplished to date?

We selected prototype since the HePhiCom is not yet an app. We accomplished to finish the app prototype to give ideas how the HePhiCom will function and the app features once it become a mobile application.

Where our solution team is headquartered or located:

Padre Garcia, Batangas, Philippines

Team Lead:

Maebelle Dacallos

More About Your Solution

If your solution has a website or an app, provide the link(s) here:

N/A

If you have additional video content that explains your solution, provide a YouTube or Vimeo link here:

N/A

Which of the following categories best describes your solution?

A new use of an existing technology (e.g. application to a new problem or in a new location)

Describe the core technology that powers your solution.

We used a new existing technology and we created a HePhiCom app prototype. It is a software application since we plan to make this a mobile application. It is a mobile application that has four main features that aims to help the app user to address his/her health concerns. We made the app prototype in powerpoint and figma. Machine learning is the core technology that powers our solution. It is a type of Artificial intelligence that has an ability to automatically envisage the outcomes of HePhiCom without Human interference once it becomes a mobile application.

Please select the technologies currently used in your solution:

Software and Mobile Applications

In which countries do you currently operate?

Philippines

How many people does your solution currently serve, and how many do you plan to serve in the next year? If you haven’t yet launched your solution, tell us how many people you plan to serve in the next year.

We plan to serve the people next year, possibly all Filipino citizens who need help regarding Health Care access across our country. We will focus especially on those who live in rural areas. We strongly believe that the HePhiCom will help them to fulfil the lack of health care access for the app user who needs it by the use of this mobile application.

What are your impact goals for the next year, and how will you achieve them?

Our impact goals for next year are:

To see the progress of the HePhiCom and become one of the reasons why our country will be back to normal.

To witness the usefulness of the HePhiCom for the app users regarding Health Care access concerns.

To have partnerships with DOH, Local Governments and Hospitals for this mobile application purposes.

We will achieve these goals by the help of the MIT Solve Challenge community and the partnerships we plan to have with. After that, we will need help for funding and mentorships to turn the app prototype into a mobile application.

How are you measuring your progress or planning to measure your progress toward your impact goals?

The indicator we plan to use are the 3.8. 1 and 3.b.1 from SDG 3 Ensure Healthy Lives and Promoting well-being for all at all ages. We believe these two indicators are truly appropriate for HePhiCom. The first indicator is all about coverage of essential health services. The second indicator is all about Proportion of the target population covered by all vaccines included in their national program. These two indicators are important to measure for the HePhiCom mobile application development and functionalities.

What barriers currently exist for you to accomplish your goals in the next year?

The Barriers that currently exists for us to accomplish our goals are :

Financial

Lack of funds to make our app prototype into a mobile application.

Technology

Development approach and who will help us to develop the HePhiCom into a mobile application.

Legal

To have patent, copyright and trademark the HePhiCom once it becomes a mobile application.

Market

Special tax benefits to existing firms and to create a strong brand identity of HePhiCom.

About Your Team

Your Business Model & Resources

Do you qualify for and would you like to be considered for The HP Girls Save the World Prize? If you select Yes, explain how you are qualified for the prize in the additional question that appears.

No

If you selected Yes, explain how you are qualified for this prize. How will your team use The HP Girls Save the World Prize to advance your solution?

N/A

Do you qualify for and would you like to be considered for The Pozen Social Innovation Prize? If you select Yes, explain how you are qualified for the prize in the additional question that appears.

Yes

If you selected Yes, explain how you are qualified for this prize. How will your team use The Pozen Social Innovation Prize to advance your solution?

According to the Bloomberg news website, The Philippines fell to last place in Bloomberg’s Covid Resilience Ranking of the best and worst places to be amid the pandemic, capping a steady decline over the course of 2021. In addition, the Philippines’ drop to No. 53 reflects the challenges it’s facing from the onslaught of the delta variant, which has hit Southeast Asia particularly hard amid difficulties containing the more contagious strain and slow vaccination rollouts. The region, which recently had the worst outbreak in the world, populated the September Ranking’s lowest rungs, with Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam all in the bottom five.

Based on the Bloomberg ranking, It shows that our country has the slowest response to the Covid-19 and Omicron. Many research studies became an eye opener for me to think of a solution for the people who really need help with health care access across our country.

We want to be considered for The Pozen Social Innovation Prize. We strongly believe that the lack of healthcare access in our country is an unmet social need. It must be solved in order to decrease the Filipinos who are struggling with their health related concerns.