Helping women tackle health issues brings app developer ‘double’ award glory and inspiration to a new generation of developers

Women are known for putting their families first. It’s why many don’t give their health the attention it deserves and only seek medical help when it becomes unavoidable. Then, treatment becomes complicated because accurate medical records aren’t available, and doctors need to diagnose and treat without having the benefit of a patient’s history to guide their efforts.

It is helping women overcome these every day, but essential, issues that spurred a young female app developer to find a solution with her Guardian Health app.

For Tsitsi Marote, her effort and dedication to helping women put their health first won her two awards in two consecutive years of the MTN Business App of the Year Awards - South Africa’s premier app development event. She first won in the Best Youth App category in 2020, and then 12 months later, the Best Health Solution category.

By stepping up and deciding that instead of women being encouraged to seek out data to improve their health, the data should seek the women out, Marote has helped thousands of people. Not only have they become more aware of maintaining records, but the Guardian Health app has also helped patients find registered health professionals offering in-clinic and telehealth consultations.

Using the app to build personal medical records, people can answer a doctor’s questions about their medical history, chronic conditions, prescribed medicines and even when they last saw a doctor. This is a boon for medical practitioners and women who lose track of the routine, essential check-ups needed to maintain health because of their lifestyles and priorities.

“Often, women do not have the necessary knowledge to ensure that they don’t unwittingly neglect their health. Many don’t know where to find reliable information on how to conduct basic self-examinations,” says Marote. Articles on the Guardian Health app are calculated to break this cycle.

Besides informing women about issues that impact their bodies, the app helps users to connect with health professionals. Services range from primary care to contact with general practitioners, physiotherapists, counsellors and medical specialists to dietitians, pharmacies, and labs. The service helps set virtual appointments and assists with the vital task of building and maintaining an accurate clinical record of treatments and medicines prescribed.

“Getting help can involve moving between doctors,” Marote explains, adding that if a complete medical history is unavailable, much consultation time can be spent on reconstructing medical records as a patient moves from practitioner to practitioner.

“Then, when a doctor asks about treatment already received, it is difficult to be precise about medicine dosages or the type of medicines prescribed. Because of the lack of patient knowledge, the potential exists for treatments to be repetitive or opportunities for new protocols to be introduced being lost.”

The Guardian Health app encourages users to build timelines of issues, note visits, findings, and particulars of medical visits. The result is a record that can be either forwarded to a practitioner or handed over during a visit. The doctor gets a deeper understanding of the problem and can work forwards without wasting time getting an imperfect history.

“It is wonderful as we move into the 2022 MTN Business App of the Year Awards, the 11th year of the event, that we can look back on the successes of people like Tsitsi Marote and the Guardian Health app. They contribute positively to the quality of our lives and inspire other developers to turn ideas into reality”, says Kholofelo Magagane, head of marketing at MTN Business.”

“Each year, we see more and more entries into the MTN Business App of the Year Awards coming from women who are committed to combining business and digital skills to find solutions for everyday problems. We can’t wait to see what the 2022 edition has in store for us”, concludes Magagane.

Entries for the MTN Business App of the Year Awards close on 5 September. Entrepreneurs, start-ups and those launched app-based products and services, are encouraged to take part for their chance to win prizes worth R 1 million.

Full details of the categories available, deadlines for entries, the judging process and entry forms can be found atwww.appoftheyear.co.za.

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NOTE TO EDITORS:

Hodisang Dipeu Holdings is based in Bloemfontein and is involved through eight subsidiaries in programmes involving the promotion of entrepreneurship and business literacy in ICT, agriculture and other sectors.

Datacomb Consulting is an economic development consultancy based in Johannesburg that provides expertise across all industry sectors on economic development strategy and advisory services aimed at enabling growth planning for SMMEs.

ISSUED BY:

Leigh-Ann Chetty, Senior Manager: Public Relations, MTN SA

Cell: 083 209 1310

E-mail: Leigh-Ann.Chetty@mtn.com

Mthokozisi Ndlovu, Manager: Communications and Public Relations, MTN SA

Cell: 083 209 2683

E-mail: Mthokozisi.Ndlovu@mtn.com

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