Nov 7, 2016

App Connects Patients to Healthcare

iamsick.ca connects patients to health care
By

Dan Haves

iamsick.ca connects patients to health care

If you’re sick, there are a number of healthcare options available: you can make an appointment with your family doctor, head to the closest walk-in clinic, or in urgent cases, you can visit an emergency room. But depending on the time of day or the day of the week, it’s not always easy to decide the best option.

That’s where iamsick.ca steps in. With this online and mobile app, anyone looking for a doctor on short notice can find one and book an appointment with just a few quick steps. The app was co-developed by Dr. Ryan Doherty while he was pursuing his PhD in Medical Biophysics at U of T.

“When you’re sick, you’re sick,” says Doherty. “You don’t want to spend a lot of time checking website after website to see what’s available or showing up to a clinic that might be closed.”

The iamsick app allows you to see which clinics are closest to you, how long they are open, and how long you can expect to wait for a doctor. And for some clinics, appointments can be booked directly from the app.

Ryan Doherty with the iamsick.ca team

The app has been constantly evolving. Users can now find doctors who speak their preferred language and they can also find family doctors who are accepting new patients.

Earlier this year, the app was updated to accommodate newly arrived Syrian refugees and the entire platform was translated into Arabic.

“We’re partnering with public health agencies to help settle newcomers,” says Doherty. “So this app can help locate the closest Arabic-speaking pharmacist or doctor for that Syrian refugee who’s just moved here.”

More improvements to the app are in the works. Doherty and his team are currently working on ways to make the prescription filling process easier and faster.   

As iamsick continues to develop, Doherty says interest in the app has been steadily rising.

“We’ve actually talked to members of the Ontario Ministry of Health and Longterm Care and provincial agencies who have found their own family doctors with the help our app.”

iamsick.ca is free to use and available across Canada with appointment booking services offered throughout Ontario and in select cities in British Columbia, Alberta and Nova Scotia.