// Perth physiotherapist Zachary Nielsen has developed an app that aims to provide efficient and accessible connections to healthcare professionals online…
After seeing some limitations in healthcare practice, physiotherapist and Bruno Health founder Zachary Nielsen was inspired to create a way to improve services both for healthcare providers and patients.
Starting as a traditional provider operating out of a clinic, Zachary and his team tried to integrate beneficial elements of modern technology whilst maintaining a high quality of patient and provider care.
Reducing the time patients spent in administrative landscapes was key. Seeking the correct type of healthcare, finding a provider that they can trust and navigating the often confusing maze of patient cost, the Bruno Health team found that they were not only making things easier for patients, but also cheaper.
But as Zachary explains, he didn’t originally set out to make an app at all. Rather, it became a solution to the underlying problems the team set out to solve.
“We set up a disability company with the intention of autonomising it and making it cheaper at first, and by chance we actually came to the app”, Zachary said.
They started with identifying all of the essential face to face aspects of healthcare: consultations, psychology appointments, health assessments etc., and worked backwards to streamline and digitise the aspects that were unnecessary, costly, and actually delaying the overall process.
In essence, the Bruno app allows patients to seek and book medical appointments with participating healthcare providers online, including the scheduling of in-house care. It removes the administrative aspects of the healthcare system, cutting costs to the patient and actually improving the payment rates and professional development of sole-trade healthcare providers.
On the surface, the app has many similarities to current online booking systems, where patients are able to choose their GP and appointment time without the need to call or go in in person.
But the Bruno app is different in that it also acts as a hub for both healthcare providers to build a strong network for contract-type work, and for patients to access efficient and affordable services near them, depending on the type of healthcare they need.
It also allows for the booking of in-house appointments, which are particularly important for elderly patients, and those with disabilities.
While there are concerns about the technological shift for elderly patients in particular, the app is quite user friendly and intuitive. Family members and guardians can use it to enquire about services on behalf of possible patients. There’s also a customer support line for those who require further assistance.
For example, in one case, after an accident involving an elderly member, a family was in a state of confusion and stress for months, going to different health providers and struggling to navigate the system.
“We want to create a tool for all health professionals to provide care in the home, where all carers are vetted and verified, and quality can be controlled.”
Dr Zachary Nielsen
By streamlining the process and making information more personalised and accessible, Bruno aims to remove the confusion and stress associated with the healthcare system. Currently, the app has thirty health professionals operating on the system, with a messaging service and payment system to allow for efficient customer care.
It is currently available for iOS and Android on the Apple and Google Play Store.
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For more: Bruno Health
