The team behind at the Award Ceremony. (Photo: Bich Van)HCM City (VNS/VNA) – A group
of recently invented QQueue – an app that allows patients
to virtually wait in line, reducing waiting time and the chance of groups
gathering in public spaces.
The group comprises
four IT students – , Nguyen Thi Bich Van, Pham Tran Hien
Dung and Huynh Bao Di – from the University of Science under the Vietnam National
University-Ho Chi Minh City. The app helped them win the Incentive Award
from the University’s Creative Idea Contest 2020.
“At vulnerable
times like during the pandemic, hospitals run risks of overcrowding,
and the longer patients have to wait on premises, the higher the risk of
spreading and catching the virus,” Van said:
Combined with personal
experiences of having to wait for hours at the hospital for a diagnosis, the
group decided to work on this app.
Currently the group is
collaborating with a hospital in Binh Thanh district in HCM City
to improve and update the app.
“The difference
between QQueue and other apps is that it focuses on the complete process of
waiting throughout different procedures requiring lining up, like getting a
number, paying fees, having a clinical examination, getting the medicine,
etc,” Van said.
The application has
six main features: waiting in line, announcing patients’ turns,
looking for hospitals and queues, saving virtual health records, and
estimating the time of a visit.
“The application uses
algorithms to minimise waiting time. Since patients can search for hospitals
and queue in advance, they can estimate the time to get to the hospital right
before their appointment. AI will allow people to spend waiting time more
efficiently,” Van said.
In the future, the
group is planning to allow online payments with e-wallets as well as medicine
deliveries in collaboration with pharmacies. The virtual waiting room design
from QQueue can be applied to many other administrations, banks and government
offices./.
Source: VietnamPlus
