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HelpAround

Vakoms helps a healthtech startup grow into a large US healthcare provider

Industry:

Healthcare

Team:

18 members

Country:

Israel

Client

HelpAround, Inc is a healthtech startup whose purpose is to serve patients with chronic diseases. The company is a well-known healthcare provider operating in the US and planning to expand to new markets.

In the beginning, it was a support network for people suffering from diabetes. Patients could join various helper communities and count on support with glucose management, carb counting, CGM, insulin, and more.

Later on, the project evolved into a complex platform specializing in immunological, oncological, neurological, pediatric, and other chronic diseases as well as procedures like infusions and hemodialysis.

HelpAround today is a bridge connecting patients with the resources they need to navigate the complex specialty medication journey, giving pharma companies a better way to get patients on therapy and keep patients on therapy.

Challenge

Initially, the Client needed to rework iOS and Android applications, which were focused on patient communities. Besides, there was a necessity to refine the website and support servers.

Later on, when the project evolved from a social network to a mobile platform for specialty patients, the need emerged to rework the whole system, add functionality, and expand the functions to mobile and web.

Overall, the project promised to be quite ambitious and complicated. Numerous patients’ treatments depended significantly on the stable work of the app, so the system had to run like clockwork.

The system required major updates and enhancements in the following directions:

  • security — the processed data had to be adequately protected and the system should have been especially secure overall

  • stability, performance, accessibility — health issues require special attention and 24/7 access to the system, so it had to be stable, perform well and be easily accessible from both mobile and web

  • compliance — to ensure the proper privacy protection of the sensitive health data, the system needed to be compliant with the health care requirements, in particular with HIPAA

  • flexibility — the Client wanted to be able to expand the functionality of the project, as well as meet the latest needs in healthtech. This way, the system would be flexible enough for easier integration of the future support programs

Development

It all started in the spring of 2013 when HelpAround chose the Vakoms software development team from various Eastern European IT outsourcing companies.

At that time, HelpAround was a small startup building a mobile network of “helpers” for diabetics. Initially, the Vakoms team was commissioned to do the following:

  • develop the new iOS and Android applications

  • redesign the website, add functionalities

  • support the server

Later on, the Client made a pivot that dramatically changed the idea of the startup, requiring changes to the specification and broadening the scope. The challenge was to make HelpAround a multifunctional tool that enhanced patient support programs for pharma companies.

Mobile applications

The mobile app development team started by updating mobile apps. Vakoms has completely reworked the mobile apps: moved from Objective-C to Swift for iOS and from Java to Kotlin for Android.

Old HelpAround app

New HelpAround app

The scope included:

  • redesigning UI and UX for both Android and iOS versions of the HelpAround app

  • adding the possibility to log in with a phone number

  • integrating the Twilio communication platform for text messaging and voice calls

  • adding the option of Facebook integration to get a detailed and expanded user’s profile

  • creating a private messaging system and push notifications service

  • integrating analytical tools

  • adding multi-factor authentication

  • putting in place the proper security and privacy for the patients’ data

Currently, HelpAround is a mobile concierge that simplifies patients journey, including helping patients:

  • get information about their condition and therapy

  • receive updates about insurance, benefits, prior authorization, and more

  • enroll in a support program

  • access the financial support services

  • access thematic communities

  • chat with a case manager, a nurse, or peers

  • manage appointments and check out the treatment protocol

Web application

The web app is being developed using Vue.js for the front end and PHP Laravel for the back end. Through the mobile-friendly web app, clients can go through the onboarding process, enroll in a support program, contact the company for more information. Currently, Vakoms is working on making all HelpAround mobile features accessible from the web.

Back end

Vakoms’s Ukrainian web developers provide a full range of support for the HelpAround server deployed on Amazon EC2. The back end is developed with Laravel, a PHP framework, with a lot of cutting-edge solutions aimed at increasing performance and reliability.

All project data is stored in a cross-platform document-oriented database MongoDB. Request processing is managed by a high-speed ZeroMQ asynchronous messaging library. Mongrel2 — an efficient open-source system — is responsible for input queries.

Now the Vakoms development team is implementing a new working scheme for the server. It includes the deployment of Ansible Technology to bring better flexibility, efficiency, and uptime to HelpAround service. To increase the processing speed, as well as improve data security the team created synchronized copies of the database within the so-called Replica Set.

Security, compliance, performance

To keep up with the security requirements, Vakoms has implemented multifactor authentication. Apart from that, Vakoms’s healthcare software developers are constantly implementing new ways of reinforcing the security of HelpAround.

In 2018 HelpAround became compliant with the HIPAA regulation, which is one of the obligatory standards for healthcare providers in the US. It means that HelpAround is properly protecting its patients’ personal information.

Vakoms is continually improving the HelpAround project to keep it up-to-date and flexible. To enhance the performance, the team has migrated the HelpAround server from PHP 5 to PHP 7.

Result

HelpAround today is a multifunctional mobile concierge that serves both patients and pharma companies. The tools created by Vakoms help patients with chronic diseases get timely help, follow the treatment, keep updated on their health conditions, get easier access to specialty pharma, and more.

Vakoms has completely reworked mobile applications while making the system reliable, secure, compliant, and kept up with the latest healthcare technology trends. Apart from that, the team has created a mobile web application for those who prefer using the web over installing apps.

HelpAround has received investments from the industry giants like IQVIAConnectiveRx and Windham Ventures.

Team

As of early 2021, the Vakoms HelpAround development team consists of:

PHP Laravel

7 engineers

WordPress

1 engineer

Vue.js

2 engineers

Swift

2 engineers

Kotlin

3 engineers

DevOps

2 engineers

Project manager

1 engineer

  • PHP (Laravel)
  • MongoDB
  • Javascript
  • WordPress
  • AWS
  • Swift
  • Kotlin
  • Twilio
  • JWT
  • Facebook API
  • AWS API
  • Google Maps API
  • Amplitude API