The Digital Buddy House
The Buddy House and Data Science Lab jointly developed the app, in which Buddies can digitally connect and be paired together through intelligent matchmaking.
“After a call on LinkedIn about a digital buddy house, directly from our label Data For Good, we decided to work with the Buddy House to develop an app with digital matchmaking. We like to be socially involved and grant everyone a buddy,” said Boudewijn Gresnigt CCO at Data Science Lab.
“With the app we offer everyone, including the sicker patient who is housebound, the opportunity to reduce social isolation. The patient can now decide when they want buddy contact,” Riel said.
The Digital Buddy House consists of an App (Apple Store & Google Play Store), for secure buddy-to-buddy chat contact and intelligent match-making.
Intelligent Matchmaking
Previously, Buddies were matched manually, which is time-consuming. “The process has been replaced by intelligent matchmaking. A new buddy downloads the app and fills out the registration form. Based on this, multiple buddy matches are automatically made of which one buddy match is approved by someone from the Buddy House Foundation,” Gresnigt said. “Social control remains important so an extra check is performed by a specialized matchmaker who checks whether the buddies have enough common ground. For example, a young breast cancer patient with a desire to have children is less likely to be matched with an older buddy who does not have a desire to have children,” said Riel.
500 Buddies
Currently there are over 500 buddy sign-ups from the pilot group, (ex)breast cancer patients of the Sint Antonius Hospital in Utrecht. Everything in the app is scalable and we hope to add new patient groups as soon as possible. The wish of the Buddy House is that this psychosocial form of care becomes available nationwide for everyone who needs it. We are also busy filling the information platform in the app where patients can find reliable information tailored to their personal situation.
About the Buddy House
The Buddy House is an initiative of Femke Riel and Annemiek Doeksen. Femke Riel faced breast cancer herself a few years ago and Annemiek Doeksen was her treating oncological surgeon. Riel: “When you are told you have breast cancer your world collapses for a moment. While I was sitting in the waiting room a very cheerful woman came in wearing a hat, which made me know, she has it too.” That gave Riel great courage and asked her oncology surgeon Doeksen if she couldn’t be paired with that cheerful woman. The first buddy match was formed and this was the beginning of the Buddy House. Together they put their experiences, patient and medical perspective, to work so that anyone can find a buddy in an accessible way. Just as common as finding a new love partner.
