Summary of Project
HealthyATeam was the name of the project that myself and other students created as a solution for overcrowding at Westmead Hospital. The idea behind it was to create a mobile app in which users could submit their medical claims to a hospital before their arrival. Once sent, the information would be displayed on a web dashboard for the doctors/nurses to view. We believed this would help the situation at Westmead as it would allow adequate time for the necessary preparations before the patients arrival.
My role in this project was the create the backend behind the android application, as well as creating the basic xml layout which was built upon later. This also included creating the database for the medical information to read and stored from by the app and dashboard.
To see a clip of the app and dashboard in action, please watch the video below.
What I Learnt
Creating the application required learning android application development. Having a strong background in Java made this easy as the android programming language is an extension of it. This was learnt from reading documentation, watching tutorials and through experimenting in Android Studio.
I also had to learn a new technology known as Google Firebase. This was what was used to create and manage the database for all medical entries, as it was compatible with both technologies. Since Android Studio and Firebase were both developed by Google, connecting them proved significantly more easy than creating my own database system.
Improvements and Reflections
Overall I believe the application completed everything required within its scope. The design was easy and simple to use, which was validated by other members running User Tests on participants. My biggest concern with the application was its difficulty integrating with the current MyHealthRecord system currently used in Australia, which ultimately was the reason this project was discontinued. Transfering medical information about patients from one platform to another without access to the MyHealthRecord api would of proved impossible.
The final key improvement I would consider changing would be to not use Google Firebase. For testing and developing purposes, it proved incredibly useful. However, using another system to manage sensitive data such as medical information would of proved problematic. Entrusting the privacy of this data to Google is something I would of liked to change as its impossible to know its security from the outside. If I had created my own database system to manage this, I could of implemented any security feature I wanted given enough time.