Frequently Asked Questions for Care Providers
The Importance and Reliability of App Data: What You Need to Know as a User
Q: What is MyCrossborderHealthApp?
A: MyCrossborderHealthApp is an innovative app that allows refugees to collect, store, and carry their vital health information on their smartphone. while also giving them complete control over their health information.
Q: What is vital health information?
A: Vital health information refers to information that is essential for maintaining or improving a person’s health. This can include information about medical conditions, medications, allergies, past medical history, and other relevant health factors that can affect a person’s well-being. Vital health information is important for healthcare providers to have in order to make informed decisions about a person’s care and to ensure that they receive appropriate and effective treatment.”
Q: What are the benefits of using MyCrossborderHealthApp?
A: The availability of the medical data supports the health provider in the consultation and promotes adequate and safe treatment. The app also gives users complete control over their health information and allows health professionals to give the best possible treatment.
Q: How user-friendly is the app for refugees who may not be proficient in technology?
A: We will pilot the App, it’s usability will be an important part of the evaluation.
Q: Are there any language barriers in using the app for non-native speakers?
A: The MyCrossborderHealthApp has been specifically developed for international use, available in multiple languages and essential information being stored in internationally recognized standard classifications: ICPC and ATC. Its streamlined design and international coding make it a reliable tool for ensuring seamless access to vital health information regardless of geographical location.
Q: How can health professionals ensure the authenticity and accuracy of the health information stored in the app?
A: Although changes to the information can only be made through the special health professional app (CrossBorderHealthConnect), it is not possible to verify the licences of different health professionals worldwide due to varying licensing, regulatory, and registration systems across different countries. Therefore, the information transfer is based on a foundation of trust. Health professionals can use the app as one source of information and rely on their professional expertise to validate and confirm the information provided.
Understanding How the App Works
Q: How does MyCrossborderHealthApp work?
A: MyCrossBorderHealthRecord is a platform-independent mobile application designed to collect, store, and transmit crucial health information using a smartphone. The app employs internationally recognized classification systems, namely ICPC-3 for coding diagnoses and the ATC for coding medications, enabling doctors in different regions, even those speaking different languages, to easily identify prior diagnoses and prescribed drugs.
Q: How to view, add and update data
A: To view, update, or input additional data, the health professional uses a separate application, CrossBorderHealthConnect. Once changes are made, they’re transferred through another QR code, which is also encrypted end-to-end. No data is stored on the health professional’s device, and the MyCrossBorderHealthRecord user remains the sole owner of their own vital health information. The user has the ability to decide whether these changes are adopted.
Q: Is MyCrossborderHealthApp compatible with electronic health record (Vital Health Information) systems commonly used by health professionals?
A: No, MyCrossborderHealthApp is a standalone app that is designed to be used worldwide, regardless of IT infrastructure differences across situations and locations. Its strength lies in its simplicity, and it has been deliberately made platform-independent to ensure usability in all circumstances.
Q: Can information from other systems be uploaded to the MyCrossborderHealthApp to prevent information from having to be entered twice?
A: No, we expect the caregiver to be willing to provide some essential data. Often that means 1-2 minutes extra time. But that is certainly worth it, because the recorded data, whether in a computer or in paper files, is often lost when the refugee moves. The uploading of the data recorded in a caregiver file to the App is virtually impossible due to a variety of technical objections, including the use of non-standardized exchange formats, and is disproportionate to the costs and the importance of exchanging all data.
Q: What kind of health information can be stored in MyCrossborderHealthApp?
A: The MyCrossborderHealthApp is intended for vital health information - information that is essential for good and safe care and should not be lost under any circumstances. The primary purpose is to store structured information about medical history, allergies, and medication, among other things. Additionally, the app provides the ability to make notes.
Q: Can the app be used by non-refugee populations as well?
A: Yes, the main advantage of the MyCrossborderHealthApp is its platform independence and international encoding for medication and diagnoses. As a result, the app is suitable for anyone who travels internationally and wants to ensure that local health professionals are always aware of their vital health information.
Q: Is it possible for healthcare providers to add free text notes or comments to a user’s health information within the app?
A: Yes, notes can be added within the app. While most information is entered and stored in a structured format for ease of retrieval, it is always possible to create a free text note.
Q: What if I cannot find the right ICPC or ATC code in the CrossBorderHealthConnect App?
A: If you cannot find the right ICPC or ATC code in the CrossBorderHealthConnect App, try using fewer search terms or using a less specific search term. Choose the closest matching result. If you still cannot find the right code, you can use the more extensive search functionalities available on the ICPC-3 website. ICPC-3 coding tool: https://ct.icpc-3.info/ ICPC-3 browser: https://browser.icpc-3.info/ Once you have found the corresponding code, you can enter it into the search field in the app.
Security and privacy
Q: How is privacy of user data ensured?
A: To ensure the privacy and security of user data, the app doesn’t store any information on its server; rather. The data is only stored on the user’s device. Vital Health Information can be shared with a health professional via a QR code generated within the app. During data transfer, the QR code is encrypted end-to-end, offering enhanced protection.
Q: What if someone loses their phone or it gets stolen while using MyCrossborderHealthApp?
A: To prevent data loss in case of a lost or damaged device, users can opt to back up their data to a cloud service of their choosing, such as iCloud or Google Drive. In order to safeguard the privacy and security of users’ data, the app does not store information on its server but only on the user’s local device. Each device has the capability to be locked, and it is the user’s responsibility to activate this feature in order to protect their data. Additionally, to prevent data loss in the event of a lost or damaged device, users have the option to back up their data to a cloud service of their choosing, such as iCloud or Google Drive. However, it is important to note that the security of the cloud service is ultimately the responsibility of the user.
Q: Can health professionals access the user’s health information without their permission?
A: No, health professionals cannot access a user’s health information without their permission. A QR code generated in the app allows users to decide which health professional they share their information with. No data is stored on the health professional’s device, and the MyCrossBorderHealthRecord user remains the sole owner of their own vital health information. About the Creators of the MyCrossBorderHealthApp
Q: Who created MyCrossborderHealthApp?
A: The MyCrossborderHealthApp is an initiative of two passionate software developers and two dedicated general practitioners who recognized the significant amount of critical health information that is currently lost during forced migration, and the impact this has on the quality of care received by this vulnerable group of people. They firmly believe that the most effective means of safeguarding vital health information is by giving refugees full control of their own data, using a straightforward, user-friendly app that stores information directly on the user’s device.