They conducted a research which identified the incorrect use of prescription medication as a worldwide issue.
Al Ain - A team of students at the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) in Al Ain is developing a medical app called 'Dwak' that serves as a personalised reminder to patients to never miss taking their medicine.
Published: Thu 21 Sep 2017, 8:32 PM
Updated: Thu 21 Sep 2017, 10:47 PM
Don't want to miss taking your medicine? Well, there's an app for that.
A team of students at the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) in Al Ain is developing a medical app called 'Dwak' that serves as a personalised reminder to patients to never miss taking their medicine.
Currently being incubated at the university's Science and Innovation Park (SIP), the app creates a link between hospitals and pharmacies, and the patients they serve, to help ensure that medication is taken correctly.
According to management information systems student Yahya Iqelan, 21, who leads the team of three students, Dwak was devised after his sister and fellow team member Fatima, 24-year-old pharmacy student, highlighted the problem of non-adherence to drug prescriptions.
They conducted a research which identified the incorrect use of prescription medication as a worldwide issue. In the US alone, this problem led to an estimated 125,000 premature deaths each year. It also places a greater strain on healthcare funds, with one out of every 10 hospital cases being due to the patient not following medication guidelines.
"Quite simply, people can get sicker and even die because they do not take medicine correctly," Iqelan told Khaleej Times. "We realised there should be a way for people to have automatic reminders to take their medicine, ask questions and even make sure their medication is refilled when needed. That led us to develop Dwak," she added.
Completing the team is nutrition student Shahd Abadlah, 22, and advisor, UAEU management instructor Steve Kranz. The team set one goal for Dwak: Ensuring patients "never miss a pill again".
The app they created is designed to send automatic reminders to users every time they need to take a tablet or a dose of medicine, keeping them in line with the prescribed medication regime and preventing the potential health consequences of incorrect use.
"Remembering to take prescription medication on time, and getting refills, has always been difficult," explained Iqelan. "There are applications that remind people to take their medication, but none that do it automatically."
"Dwak offers automatic reminders once patients pick up their prescriptions and also offers a direct connection with healthcare professionals, so their questions can be answered. There is nothing like it currently on the market."
The team has now formed a partnership with Al Ain Pharmacy to test Dwak in a pilot scheme. "Our aim is to expand and offer the service to all pharmacies in the UAE by 2018," Iqelan said.
"As we believe this is a vital service with the potential worldwide application, we are also applying for a US patent and we plan to extend Dwak to other countries in the future," she concluded.
angel@khaleejtimes.com
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