In order to bridge the widening gap between patients and healthcare providers, a medical mobile app called Ezzycare has been launched.
The app, which can be downloaded on both Apple Appstore and Google Playstore, connects care seekers to healthcare providers in their area, and enables them to access quality medical care from the comfort of their homes or offices.
Lafiya360 reports that the app will, to a large extent, help solve the challenge of patients’ lack of access to healthcare and healthcare professionals.
By using their phones or other mobile devices, healthcare seekers can click on the app to locate a healthcare provider between 30 seconds to 2 minutes. Healthcare specialists on the platform include: general medical practice, cardiology, endocrinology, pediatrics, gynaecology, mental health, orthopedics, urology, pharmacists, nurses, dentists, medical laboratory scientists, among others.
Speaking during the official launch of the mobile app in Abuja, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ezzycare, Dr. Torngee Malu, said: “Ezzycare has over 1,000 doctors that have subscribed to it already in this very short time. All the specialties have been covered, from general medical practice, cardiology, endocrinology, pediatrics, gynecology, mental health, orthopedics, urology, and any aspect of medicine that you can think of – Ezzycare has doctors in all those areas.
“It is also not just about having doctors in those areas. Ezzycare has doctors that are close to you. We have had incidents in medicine where people have died only to discover that their next door neighbor is a doctor. With Ezzycare, that will not happen.
“If you have the Ezzycare app, all you need to do is click on the app and request for urgent care because the app has options of urgent and non-urgent. Within 30 seconds, the first doctor that is available picks your call, and you have a doctor to attend to you. Within two minutes, you are able to locate a doctor that can either do a video consultation, or that can come to you, or a doctor that you can see at the hospital. It makes life so easy.
“Ezzycare has all the healthcare providers. There is also provision for laboratory tests. If you want to do a laboratory test, with Ezzycare, once you click on the app, it locates all the laboratory scientists that are closest to you. Then you can take a look at the ones that offer the prices that you can afford. Also, general practitioners prices will be different from those of specialists, but you can determine who to see. If you want to see any doctor, it shows you their prices and consultation fees, and you can choose the one that you can afford. You can also request for drugs on the app, and it can help you locate the nearest pharmacist.
“You can be rest assured that the healthcare professionals you will be meeting with are those that have been certified by their various bodies, whether they are doctors, laboratory scientists, pharmacists, nurses, and others.
“Therefore, there is security in using Ezzycare. For example, we do not accept a doctor to operate on our platform unless he or she has the practicing license from the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN).
“It is also beneficial for doctors and patients. The doctor chooses the time he will be available. They also have a choice to attend to urgent, non-urgent, home care or not. They also determine their price.”
The Medical Director of Ezzycare, Dr. Deborah Ojiako, in her remarks added: “Ezzycare prides on the fact that for all care seekers, we ensure that all their information is kept confidential, and there is no disclosure. Nobody is prying into your conversations. Ezzycare only connects the care seekers to medical professionals.
“For Ezzycare, your consultation slot is 30 minutes. We believe in breaking the barriers between healthcare seekers and healthcare providers. It also solves the issue of access to healthcare, especially for those in rural areas. Instead of queueing up to see doctors in hospitals, you can access them on Ezzycare.”