ADVERTORIAL | Companies relying on tech to pivot in the pandemic

Over the past few months, technology has been making society more resilient during the COVID-19 pandemic. Technology has also played a crucial role in keeping many economies functional and accelerated IT trends in areas of telemedicine, online/e-commerce, robotics and digital payments.

Nathaniel Nation, senior software developer with responsibility for talent acquisition and development at MC Systems, said he expects to see more solutions emerging on the market.

He said with the transformation of areas such as education, where many institutions have turned to teaching online instead of face to face, healthcare and e-commerce, the society has turned to technology to survive COVID-19.

“Despite being disrupted, we can still learn and achieve higher education, and the majority of schools and classes went online to achieve this. And again, in the comfort of our homes, we can invite our doctors/health practitioners, via telemedicine, to assess some of our health conditions without us having to worry about going out into the public, which may result in us catching the virus. Doing this, we strengthen and help to maintain a healthy society,” Mr Nation said.

MDLink, a Jamaican company which offers online medical services via video, voice or text messages, is one company that has been providing technology solutions to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. The company will be rolling out an artificial intelligence novel coronavirus screening tool next week. This new project is in collaboration with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Lab and is positioned to be a major help to members of the public.

Dr Che' Bowen, chief executive officer of MDLink, said that the online platform should assist in addressing social distancing, healthcare, mental health stigmatisation and COVID-19 anxiety, which has become prominent since the first case of the virus was recorded in Jamaica on March 10.

Dr Bowen is pushing the envelope a little further in telemedicine, where within a couple of weeks he will be launching artificial intelligence screening, 'Triage Chatbot-MDLex', in collaboration with the IDB Lab.

“What that means is that we have added another module to the MDLink platform, and it is free. It allows anyone to use the COVID-19 screening tool, where its artificial intelligence will answer all your health questions and will then let you know if you are high risk or low risk, and whether you should see a doctor from home or seek help; it also lets you know where you should go to get that help,” he said, adding that its partnership with FLOW helps the company reach more persons with data plan.

Dr Bowen highlighted that the MDLex Chatbot is in line with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines. The new MDLink platform will also allow for in-home/hotel-room COVID-19 testing and doctor visits.

“This not only provides confidence for the tourist to feel safe returning to our island, but it will also flatten the curve and keeps our nationals safe as our much- needed tourism returns,” he said.

“As we reopen the economy and learn to live with the coronavirus, this free tool will be very beneficial to Jamaican nationals; and it will also help to boost the health and tourism industries,” he said, pointing out that the technology would be the first to be brought to Jamaica and the wider Caribbean region.

Mr Nation also revealed that MC Systems has created a COVID-19 Business Kit, which is created to assist businesses to navigate the challenges presented by the pandemic. The business kit, he said, entails technology tools to support business buoyancy.

These tech tools include audit and analytics, IT infrastructure, payroll and payments. The business kit can be accessed at https://www.mcsystems.com/covid-19/.

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