IO, Surabaya – As the number of Covid-19 patients in Indonesia rises, the workload for health workers increases as well. As a result, the number of medical personnel exposed to Covid-19 has also risen. Inspired by this issue, Faculty of Medicine (FK) Airlangga University (Unair) took the initiative to create a “DokterSafe” application. Muhammad Shoifi, an Orthopedic and Trauma specialist as the Project Manager of DokterSafe, said that the application was useful for protecting medical personnel who are struggling to treat Covid-19 patients.
“We were entrusted by Dean of FK Unair to design a special application for the protection and safety of Indonesian doctors and health workers during the current Covid-19 pandemic,” he said at the launching of DokterSafe, Sunday (17/1/2021).
As an application for the nation’s children, DokterSafe is developed with the aim of being a medium of information, communication and education for protection and safety, especially for doctors and health workers amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
So, how does the DokterSafe application help doctors and health workers?
The application, which was recently inaugurated by the Minister of Health, Budi Gunadi Sadikin, contains interesting features useful for protection and safety. For example, the self-assessment feature to detect conditions and risks to Covid-19. “This is an important part of the awareness aspect to prevent the transmission and spread of the Covid-19 case,” Shoifi explained.
The DokterSafe application provides access to information on the current situation and condition of Covid-19, which is updated every day. Furthermore, users can also monitor the development of the number of cases and the latest news regarding Covid-19.
The application also has several additional features, including access to important links, such as the WHO website, the Covid-19 Handling Task Force, and the Ministry of Health. It is also equipped with videos and books as media of education and learning. Some important hotlines are also provided. “This hotline can be contacted if there are doctors or health workers infected by Covid-19,” he said.
DokterSafe also provides a GPS feature. The goal is to detect the position of the user and the nearest Covid-19 referral hospital. FK’s success in creating DokterSafe was inseparable from the struggles of Shoifi and the team. He said, the process of creating contents, searching for names, creating logos, and rearranging all application components took a lot of time.
“We started working on this idea seriously in early March 2020. Alhamdulillah, now it is finished and can be used,” he said.
The application, which is now available on Play Store, has been downloaded by more than 1,000 users. Dean of FK Unair, Prof. Budi Santoso, hoped that DokterSafe can grow and develop to answer the challenges of the future. “Hopefully this application platform can be useful for all of us in the effort to give protection and safety of doctors and medical personnel during this pandemic,” he concluded. (*/est)