By 
By Dr. Olusesan Makinde.
Health is an important issue in many countries and attention to the health of citizens or lack of it can be a decider in elections across the globe. Healthcare services are provided in health facilities: both government-owned and privately owned. However, the government is responsible for regulating all facilities.
The absence of government enforcement of standards or the proper regulation of health facilities can provide for the proliferation of illegal health facilities which have the potential to lead to poor services, tarnish the image of healthcare professions and also result in undue loss of lives by suboptimal practice served. Policing health facilities requires ensuring that all health facilities in the country are registered and abide by laid down guidelines and standards.
Nigeria is a vast country and policing health facilities can often be a difficult and expensive task. To this end, Viable Knowledge Masters (VKM) has applied technology as an easy means to solving this problem. VKM has created a mobile app which it named ‘Reporta Health’
Nigeria is a vast country and policing health facilities can often be a difficult and expensive task. To this end, Viable Knowledge Masters (VKM) has applied technology as an easy means to solving this problem. VKM has created a mobile app which it named ‘Reporta Health’. The name is basically coined from the phrase ‘report a health facility’. Reporta health works by permitting anyone with the app to properly delineate registered health facilities across the country from those not registered, and makes easy for them to report any facility they do not find on the database to the government through the app. In addition, it permits those reporting to geotag these health facilities so that enforcement teams can easily navigate to them and take necessary action.
Previously, enforcement units have had to rely on driving around town to identify new facilities or rely on members of the public to come physically to their office to make a report. This puts increased burden on these individuals to conduct this task which many do not wish to pursue. Also, in so doing, they have to reveal their identity on the forms completed which often ends up being revealed to the owners of these illegal health facilities. As such, Reporta Health will eliminate all these issues and permit the quick discovery of illegal health facilities for proper investigation in Nigeria and beyond.
Reporta Health will … permit the quick discovery of illegal health facilities for proper investigation in Nigeria and beyond.
Besides permitting the reporting of illegal health facilities, Reporta Health also permits the general population to report on the quality of service provided at registered health facilities and for the public to rate these facilities. The score of these facilities will then be made available to the public and they can then decide objectively if they wish to utilize a facility or otherwise based on the experiences of others.
The Android version of the app is available for download in Google Playstore at this link https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vkm.reportahealth while the IOS version is still under development. You can also learn more about the app from its website https://reportahealth.org/. We welcome feedback on the app through the contact us page or through a phone call.
Dr. Olusesan Makinde, medical practitioner and software developer, is the Managing Partner of Viable Knowledge Masters which developed the Reporta Health mobile app.
