Pharst Care - Ending The Drug Search Hustle
What is Pharst Care Solution?
Pharst care solution is an application created by The PywE Team to solve a huge challenge, especially, in Ghana and it's neighbouring countries.
In Ghana (and some parts of West Africa), people with drug prescriptions are at a complete loss as to where to get the drug; they resort to going from pharmacy to pharmacy in search of that particular drug.
The application was developed to solve this problem. It works using the individual's location and shows the one where exactly to get the drug.
It is to assure that person that, when they go to some particular pharmacy at a particular time, they will surely get the drug they search for.
How it works:
The application is very simple. Visit the app using https://pharst.pywe.org and type the drug you want. You are free to use the local name (for example, para for paracetamol) or technical name of the drug. For the user's convenience, suggestions pop up as you start typing. Click 'enter' or the search button and that is it.
Just in case you do not want to type, voice search is available, click on the mic button and tell the app your drug, it will handle the rest.
If the drug is available, the necessary information which may include how far the pharmacies with the drug are from you will be provided, with a touch of advice from the app telling you if you could just walk based on the distance or if you need to take a car. Whether the pharmacy is opened at the time or not and some other useful information.
You can also call a pharmacy right from the app in case you need to confirm the last drug was not just bought.
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The app also offers you a click to find the pharmacy on your Google map.
Just in case you decided to deny the app your location, do not worry much, you will still get pharmacies with the drug you are looking for and will still be able to call or find those pharmacies from the app.
It's that simple
Is it on the play store?
No (Actually a good news). The app is a progressive web application.
What is a Progressive Web Application?
“Progressive Web App (PWA) is a term used to denote a new software development methodology. Unlike traditional applications, progressive web apps are a hybrid of regular web pages (or websites) and a mobile application. This new application model attempts to combine features offered by most modern browsers with the benefits of mobile experience.”
This is what wikipedia says about PWA. Well, this might seem a bit vague or even contentious. So let’s look at PWA in an informal way.
If ever the best of web and the best of apps had a baby child — it is PWA. Or else, it’s just that the web page has taken all the ‘right vitamins’ so that it can behave more like an app downloaded from the App Store/ Play Store. It starts as a normal web page in a browser, and as a user explores the webpage, they get the prompt if they would like to “Add to Home Screen”. Once the user gives the thumbs up to this prompt, VOILA! PWA gets added to their home screen. Once open from the home screen, it can even hide the browser UI controls and appear as an app.
This means no space is required to get the app to your phone. No hustle of frequently updating when new features are added by the development team.
Does it cover every drug?
Well, good question. The app does not have every drug on board but of course, it has a way out for that too. In the case where you do not find your drug, the app will give you the contacts of pharmacies far and near your current location to call and find out if they do have your drug or not.
Offline Usage
The app has offline support, this means you can still search for drugs when you do not have any internet connection at the moment. Note that, you would have to open the app at least once with internet connection for this feature to be enabled.
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How About Delivery?
Delivery is currently available for pharmacies who already do delivery. The team however, is working hard to include delivery for every pharmacy that is signed up on board. The application is still in its early stages and has greater expansions to look forward to in the near future. Your support in any way is warmly welcome by the team.
How sure is Pharst Care?
Wondering how the app is sure the drug is available or not? Don't worry a second, we are working hand in hand with the pharmacies, so we have taken care of it, in fact, that is the problem we are solving.
Wider Coverage
The PywE Team which is known for their awesome Teaching platform for programming is however still appealing to individuals who can help them in anyway to get to pharmacies across the country in order to achieve a country wide coverage and help people all over the country. The application offers both English and French versions, this is because Ghana's neighbouring countries such as Togo, Benin, Burkina Faso, among others speak French, and the application is for all of these countries as well.
If there are opportunities outside the country for the app, the Team is also opened to suggestions which can be sent to them directly on their email pythonwithellie@gmail.com.
Contact Us
Get in touch with us in case you have a pharmacy to register, a suggestion to make, a criticism, funding to support us, anything at all related to the application, or any more information required.
Platform Support
The App works well on all platforms, mobile devices, Desktops, Laptops, and Tablets. It also works on all platforms and can be installed on any platform. It takes no memory during installation because it is a progressive web application. No updates are needed as well, any changes made to the application by the developers will automatically reflect on your already installed app. Visit the website at https://pharst.pywe.org
Why The Name Pharst?
After some deliberation, the team decided to name the application Pharst Care, being a name coined from two words, Pharmacy and Fast. Self explanatory I think. Get to your pharmacy, fast.
