MARTA gets an “A”

In 2021, a development team of the medical chatbot from Mariupol ‘Open Data Lab – Ukraine’ won the competition of civic tech instruments ‘Act to connect’ from the Eastern Europe Foundation (EEF), funded by the EU. The prize fund was used to develop new features of the Marta chatbot. The chatbot had operated successfully since 2018, but a need arose to expand its functionality. The prize fund was used to resolve two extremely important issues at the time: to answer questions about the COVID-19 vaccination and to remind people of the need to re-sign a declaration with the doctor.

The new features expanded the already extensive functionality of the chatbot, which from the start ‘made appointments’ with a doctor, sent reminders about planned vaccinations, provided quick communication with the call center (registry) of selected hospitals, answered questions concerning patients’ rights and free medical services.

Marta was launched in Mariupol in 2018 even before the start of the reform of medicine. The doctors and patients liked the chatbot and the geography of its users spread beyond the Donetsk oblast up to the Healthcare Ministry. Now, it holds the title of the first Ukrainian medical chatbot, while the developer of the medical bot Serhiy Serheyev assures that in the future Marta will communicate practically as a real person.

This was in peacetime. The world is aware of the tragedy of Mariupol due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, meaning Marta is unlikely to be available there now. However, the team that created the Ukrainian product responded to the challenges of wartime, adapting the project to the current needs as the circle of the chatbot users became wider, their geography changes and their needs are somewhat different.

Now, Marta includes a new feature to self-diagnose medical conditions among the medical society and volunteers. This is important for people who do not have free access to medical facilities and doctors, particularly for internally displaced people who are abroad or due to hostilities cannot fully access medical facilities within the country. Marta not only helps peoples with their medical concerns, but is also used as a communication instrument for the Healthcare Ministry as it informs users on changes in the medical system, particularly on the provision of medical care to migrants, the work of the ‘Affordable Medicines’ Program, etc.

The team at ‘Open Data Lab – Ukraine’ plans to launch additional service opportunities for Bucha, another city that has also become tragically known to the entire world. After a full rebuilding of livelihoods in Bucha, Marta will also be launched here through integration with the medical information system ‘MedAir’. It is possible that this will be a pilot project and the team will prepare a similar one for free in Mariupol.

About the competition

The Act to Connect competition is held with the 3D Project (Development Despite Disruption: Resilient Civil Society in a time of COVID-19 and beyond), which is implemented by the East Europe Foundation with funding from the European Union, supporting the empowerment of Ukrainian civil society to confront the effects of COVID-19. The project lasts from October 2020 to April 2022.

The East Europe Foundation (EEF) is a Ukrainian non-profit charitable organisation established in 2008. Since it was founded, EEF has directed close to $30 million into national programs and local initiatives aimed at the development of civil society, stronger communities and effective government.