Patient support and education app for Octagon

About the Client

Octagon Medical Practice is a UK-based merger of GP practices with more than 100,000 patients. The client tasked HW.Tech with developing a cross-platform application to streamline specific processes in the British healthcare system. The app’s goal is to educate patients on self-care, thereby reducing the number of in-person hospital appointments. It has to guide patients on how to recognize symptoms of severe illness and provide detailed video instructions on self-help for less serious conditions.

Challenge

The business logic behind this project operates in two directions. First, it provides patients with a sufficient self-help experience, enabling them to rely on their judgment when a trusted doctor is unavailable. Second, it enhances stability in the healthcare system, addressing issues like budget constraints, practitioner shortages, and increasing patient numbers. The app’s global goal is to free up time and space for those with acute symptoms. 

To implement this logic, the project was divided into three stages.

• Patients with minor symptoms, such as the common cold, are guided through videos on reducing discomfort, increasing the likelihood they will manage without visiting a doctor.
• At this level, the users have everything to tell serious illnesses apart from minor ones. Only The National Health Service (NHS) protocols are used for these purposes.
• Those needing a doctor's opinion can consult via video chat, with an average consultation lasting about four minutes—much shorter than a traditional clinic visit.

Solution

The HW.Tech team was involved in full-cycle project development, featuring stages of discovery, development, and testing, followed by deploying the app to the Apple and Google app stores. We leveraged a “just-enough” approach to the scope, focusing on the critical functionality of Stage 1 and eliminating waste tasks in scope. The main features that were developed in the course of Stage 1 were:

• Patient registration
• List of practices to select from
• List of minor ailments
• Video recommendations in which general practitioners provide guidance on self-treatment

This approach enabled the team, which included a UI/UX designer, back-end engineer, front-end developer, QA engineer, and project manager, to complete the project a week ahead of schedule.

Result

The client achieved the desired business value by launching their initiative promptly while preserving 20% of their budget. The app aims to facilitate self-treatment, filter patients with minor symptoms, and free up slots for urgent visits. Stages 2 and 3 of the project will be addressed in future releases.

The app is expected to significantly reduce call center usage, with the client anticipating at least a 10% decrease in workload. This reduction is expected to lead to lower operational expenses while enhancing overall efficiency. By facilitating self-service options for users, the app will help streamline processes and improve resource allocation in the healthcare system.