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Local surgeon introduces record-sharing health app

Sibahle Malinga
By Sibahle Malinga, ITWeb senior news journalist.
Johannesburg, 03 Jun 2016
LogBox captures patients' electronic information once, and can then share it multiple times in future.
LogBox captures patients' electronic information once, and can then share it multiple times in future.

LogBox, a health application that allows patients to capture and share their personal information with medical practitioners, was introduced in Johannesburg yesterday.

The mobile phone and Web-based app is the brainchild of local orthopaedic surgeon Dr Neal Goldstein, in partnership with global software company Epi-use.It aims to save patients the time wasted in repeatedly filling in or updating paper forms each time they visit a medical practice.

Goldstein, who runs a practice at the Netcare Sunninghill Hospital, says the app offers doctors and allied healthcare professionals a secure, easy-to-use, POPI-compliant application that is hosted in the cloud. It records and keeps patients' personal information without the need for reams of paper and admin-related delays.

"LogBox is a step towards digitising South African medical practices, as patients' electronic information is captured once and then shared multiple times in the future with other medical practices that subscribe to the app.

"It is universally applicable and not restricted to any medical aid or hospital group. Apart from doctors, it can also be used by any person involved in the healthcare industry, including dieticians, physiotherapists and optometrists," he explains.

It has been successfully piloted at the Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centre, he adds.

Dr Sue Tager, CEO and hospital manager at Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centre, says patients are often stressed and anxious when they visit a medical professional and the last thing that they want to do is get caught up in the admin of repeatedly filling out forms.

"The practices at our hospital are able to offer a less stressful waiting room experience to their patients, confident that they have the correct information, as admin staff don't have to struggle to read hand-written forms," she notes.

Phillip Loots, partner at Epi-use, says a major departure from competitive products is that with LogBox the patient owns and controls their data and not the provider.

"LogBox is a platform that can be used within any industry that needs personal information to enable delivery of their services. It has been engineered by our team to be scalable, accommodating large numbers of users, adheres to global best practices in security, and is compliant with current POPI legislation," he points out.

The app can be downloaded either via the iOS and Android app store or via the LogBox Web site, the user can then register by capturing their personal information, such as their name, address and medical aid details, explains Loots.

According to a study published in the Journal of Medical Internet research, most parents prefer electronic forms over paper forms when filling out medical information about their children at a medical practice.

The study found they generally reported feeling less burdened when filling out the electronic forms, compared with the paper forms. Parents also said that the electronic forms were convenient, easier to complete and that they would be more likely to fill out such forms in the future.

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