Caring App

It’s an efficient and centralized health application. Based on data and automation, the application aims to replace the obsolete and non-efficient health system of countries like Ecuador.

Caring is a personal mobile application that accompanies its users in their integral health. It will schedule medical appointments, analysis for primary disease prevention, assistance in case of emergency and the collection of medical data and medical history. This is planned to be achieved through a public-private partnership in each of the countries. In the event of a user's health emergency, Caring will notify health entities and emergency contracts.

Similarly, anonymous data collection could be used to obtain health statistics for a population. This same data can be used preventively by the competent health authorities. Also, the database will make it possible to provide each user with personalized advice depending on his or her data.

To achieve these objectives, Big data, Blockchain for data storage, as well as Machine learning will be used. In addition, the linking of the software with wearables will improve the reception of data and provide a better monitoring of health. Additionally, the GPS tool of the cellphone will be used only in case of emergency.

An efficient and centralized health information system is planned, based on data and technology. Obsolete systems that do not efficiently manage health services will be replaced.

The problem we are trying to solve is that of a health system that does not rely on technology, many of the current health problems are due to the lack of centralized and efficiently accessible health information.

It is a big problem if we consider that most of the population has access to different types of health services, but none of them is managed by an efficient digital system. In Ecuador, for example, there are constant criticisms and visible inefficiencies on the part of the current governments and bad administrations, especially in public health, causing a system with errors that are not corrected, nor are they expected to be corrected in the short term. The lack of digitalization is a factor that increases costs and time, which results in a greater inaccessibility to the health system and a waste of resources that could be useful to solve the problems of the system. Health is a primary need of every human being, so Caring aims to make health more accessible, efficient, preventive and this can be achieved with digitization. It is proposed to implement this digitalization in order to provide a self-adjustable service that meets the particular needs of different populations.

Our solution is created for all people who access health services and have access to a mobile device. People who want to access new and more efficient tools. As such it is directed to all public, without any type of impediment except for certain sectors that have problems with internet connection or in acquiring a mobile device.

This solution tries to help with new technologies and responsible data management for the common welfare.

Providing accessible tools and allowing greater access to the health system. Health monitoring will be easier for both health agents and users themselves, allowing for greater disease prevention.

For a long time, I knew about the inefficiencies of the health system, the weaknesses that many people expressed for paperwork, poor care in different areas, or lack of a good health platform, when I turned 18 and had the opportunity to see all the flaws for myself, I knew that, although my problems were not complex, there were already clear inefficiencies and lack of quality in the public health service. On the other hand, inefficiencies in emergency cases are public knowledge. For this reason. Several problems come together to which it intends to give an efficient and accessible solution. In addition, it is evident the lack of preventive medicine or the real analysis of data that users can provide to be able to predict certain types of diseases. The lack of this type of practice was evident during the pandemic, especially due to the lack of information and the lack of an efficient way to obtain it. 

Caring for the moment is a concept that comes out of the testimonies of close people, public opinion and own experiences, of how the public and private health system is inefficient to the needs of users in my country. Even though a team, objectives and tools are already structured as part of the application, for the moment it has not been possible to move on to a prototype stage for its better presentation, especially due to lack of investment capital. Likewise, it is believed that we require advice from qualified people to carry out the project in a more efficient way, advice that allows us to enter the field of this type of entrepreneurship with a better basis on the market.

Caring is based on smartphones connected to the internet. This will allow the use of other technologies centralized on dedicated servers. Such as Blockchain, Big data, GPS, artificial intelligence, QR code and messaging. Blockchain and big data will be used for secure and efficient data collection and management. Artificial intelligence will be used to interpret the indicators obtained from the data and be able to generate efficient responses that help improve the app. And the provision of its services. GPS, QR codes and messaging will be used primarily as security and emergency services tools.

All these technologies already exist, but they are not used efficiently in Ecuador's healthcare system. Caring intends to implement these technologies into a single system that manages the health service in an efficient and comprehensive way that accommodates each of its users.

For the following year we intend to serve at least the population of the city where the project was born which is Cuenca (Ecuador), and for this we plan to have a pilot in different cities of Latin America to see the acceptance and adaptation in another population with another health system different from that of Ecuador. Considering that the application is still a concept that is projected for everyone who needs a more efficient health service, it involves all the inhabitants of the country where Caring is developed or opens the doors to Caring, we will try to serve everyone who can handle and have access to a mobile device. According to INEC (National Institute of Statistics and Census) figures, the proportion of people using smartphones in Ecuador by 2020 is 81.2% and the percentage of people using the internet is 70.7%. This being our target market in the country, since all the inhabitants would need this tools to enjoy the benefits of the application, no matter if they are affiliated or not to a public or private insurance, since Ecuador has a health system for all. In this way it is understood that from the beginning of the application it is projected to serve the entire population that needs the application in the following years.

Our goals are to solve the following questions: 1) What is the most suitable locality to start the application operation? 2) Is it possible to implement the technologies you have in mind to run the application, and how realistic is it to use the technologies you intend to use?

If the growth of Caring is as expected, additional people for the team and direct contact with more countries that want to be part of the project could be included.

To achieve this, it is important that the team is formed, and more roles are created within the team. For this we plan to seek private and/or public investment that will allow us to consolidate a company capable of hiring personnel.

One metric I'm measuring progress on at the moment is how structured the project is, adding and subtracting details every day, until it reaches a point where it finally aligns with Caring's overall goal. Then, when the application starts to reach more people, it could be measured by the number of recurring user of the application and the amount of investment.

The success of the project will be measured based on the number of active users the application has and the profits it produces in the future. In addition, the same data provided by the users will be related to a possible decrease in cases of diseases or data that reflect an improvement in the health of populations.

In relation to the UN SDGs, this project wil be measured based on goal number 3, which has to do with "Good health and well-being". This goal explains that it is essential for everyone to always consider good health as a priority. Caring would contribute with its data to statistically see how a population is doing, what are the diseases that can threaten them and help governments to act on these issues. In addition, it is planned that Caring can prevent and inform about diseases that populations ignore or have very little knowledge, among other ways in which the application would be developed for the benefit of populations, communities, and individuals, with its different tools.

Most of the barriers are monetary since the development of the application represents a very important expense. Along with this, I need to meet with people who know the subject and with their experience can guide me to correct errors. In addition, Ecuador is complicated to develop an application of the form and magnitude that I want to implement, but in the same way the application could be located momentarily in Ecuador, and then be in a country that opens the doors to technology and innovation. As problems are the barriers of company creation, taxes, credits, and technological development that Ecuador has and that can be avoided with the development of Caring from another place, however the application is aimed primarily for countries with health systems like Ecuador.

If we talk about good positioning, I would like to talk about the attributes that helped me to start working on this project. I know that when I see that something is not right I do not stay still, that is why this idea was formed. I have the creativity to create a project from scratch and do what I can with the people who can support me, to achieve the best postulate that I can.

For this reason, I have great motivators to do things better every day. Past projects have also helped me to learn how to manage a team. Besides, my career (International Studies) gives me the knowledge in business and marketing that I believe is fundamental to start a project like Caring.

I like to create, and working for my environment, the things I have seen with in health system are a motivator to change it. Caring is a new challenge, which is ideal because it is not a personal benefit, but rather an idea that can directly help people, solving problems that I have seen, heard and lived.

For age reasons my name is the only team member, but I think it is necessary to name the person who has motivated me and helped me to go ahead with the idea, and that is José Solano. He has worked on this project with an indescribable passion. He has helped me to improve it every day. He is totally qualified and well positioned for this project, because you can see his discipline and creativity in every idea. He also finds solutions from a different point of view than mine, this makes that not because he is my brother he believes that all the work I do is right, rather he is more demanding.

At the moment and being a concept, we do not have partners for the project, but the most important partners that are targeted in Ecuador are public entities such as the Ministry of Public Health, Ecuadorian Institute of Social Security, in the private sector have the National Association of Clinics and Private Hospitals of Ecuador and private ambulances and paramedics, all this for data management and linking of these services with the service of Caring. In Ecuador the system that registers emergencies is called Ecu911, this service is fundamental for the coordination of the emergencies that the users of the application or the application itself register, being this one of the most essential partners for the performance of the application. These identities are fundamental to integrate the services proposed by Caring.

Also, having partners for the development of the proposed technology, and marketing experts to help us reach users.

I would use it to start working on the project. This award would help the idea to come out as a more formal prototype.

I would use it to start working on the project. This award would help the idea to come out as a more formal prototype.