Rabia Mayet | rabiamayet@radioislam.co.za

04 September 2024

4-minute read

Ajuda, a Portuguese word meaning ‘help’ has been developed as a groundbreaking technological solution designed to keep track of all a patient’s health records in one place.

The concept came into being just after COVID when tech and marketing business executive Taryn Oldman, and paediatrician Dr Lisa Street teamed up to create ajuda.co.za. Frustrated at not having all their patient records in one place led to the formation of an online space where personal medical information could be stored and accessed with ease. As stated on the website: ‘From birth through life, Ajuda bundles your medical records, health resources, wellness tools and support in one place’ so that ‘your entire health management can function independent of location’.

According to Dr Lisa, “memory and movement are the two biggest problems” when it comes to keeping track of one’s personal medical records. It is difficult for patients to remember all their medical histories, especially if that “information is scattered between the doctor’s rooms”. Having medical records on hand and in one place cuts out complications. The “movement factor” comes in when patients move around from doctor to doctor, immigrate, semi-grate, or just move to other cities within their country and then have to find new health care practitioners. Ajuda will keep track of medical records and medications, access practitioners and allow bookings online, and even send and redeem scripts, all whilst keeping personal medical records and histories safe.

And it can be used for kids as well. Healthy children with no serious illnesses are referred to as ‘medically active’ in their first 10 years of life, and the app will help parents keep track of their kids’ vaccinations, screenings; general tests; educational assessments; and growth milestones, as most parents’ attest that they can’t remember many of the details of their kids as they grow.

So how does it work? Taryn states that Ajuda will “centralize information” with different folders to store information. There are folders for medication, vaccinations, allergies, tests, healthcare visits, and even a notes section to comment on whether certain medication worked or not. Different medications can be labelled according to their different categories – prescription, over-the-counter and homeopathic medication. This helps your healthcare professional stay updated on the different meds you are taking so that they are aware of how they may interact with other medication they may want to prescribe. The app is currently in its first phase, so if you have medical records like X-Rays, blood tests, your kid’s educational assessments, you can upload it and label it on the app and it will categorize and store it for you in the specific folder. The next step they are concentrating on is records that are not on hand but are sent to the various departments. These will automatically be uploaded as you have them done and will be begin to flow into your folder. The other feature is the one-time form which you fill in regarding all your personal, medical and health information, which only needs to be filled in once and updated as need be. This form can easily be downloaded and taken along with you on future medical visits.

Values of ajuda include:

• Resources will not be overused – tests and screenings will not have to be done repeatedly due to documents being misplaced.
• It allows your healthcare to be more streamlined.
• It is cost-effective.
• There are no repeats of medication that hasn’t worked in the past.
• It is not a medical app but rather a consumer app as your personal friend/tool that builds up your medical history.
• It allows you to keep all family members detail in one place.
• Ajuda is safe to use with information kept in a secure space that only you can access.
• It removes anxiety when at the doctor as information is accessible and shareable.

Taryn concluded with encouraging everyone to ‘take ownership of their health’ on ajuda.co.za.

Listen to the full interview on the New Horizons program with Faaiza Munshi.