Young Scientists target GP delays with smart triage website
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Conor Galvin, chief executive officer of Ornua – owners of the Kerrygold brand – presenting the Kerrygold Social & Behavioural Award to Delvin student, Seán Murphy, Coláiste Mhuire. Chris Bellew / Fennell PhotographyImage 2 of 2
From left, Conor Geoghegan, Ballinea and Calum McHugh, Delvin, who with teammate Hugh Kennedy, devised ‘VisitWise’, an AI-powered symptom checker to reduce GP visits.Coláiste Mhuire TY students Conor Geoghegan, Hugh Kennedy, and Calum McHugh have developed an AI-driven triage platform titled ‘VisitWise’ to help combat the crisis of GP waiting lists.
The project was born out of frustration with long delays for minor medical issues, Calum recalling an instance where a teammate waited weeks for a consultation only to be prescribed a simple over-the-counter cream.
“He could have just looked that up with this app, and it would have saved him time,” Calum said.
The website functions as a digital gatekeeper, advising users on whether symptoms require a professional consultation or can be managed at home.
“The problem we’re trying to address is the waiting lists for GPs,” Conor said. “Our website works like a triage system and recommends whether to visit a GP.”
By filtering out non-urgent cases, the trio hope to free up appointments for patients in critical need of care.
Technically, the platform relies on a sophisticated mix of static data and live intelligence. Hugh said the system utilises a CSV file containing recommended over-the-counter medications alongside a backend API.
“That’s an AI system which gets results from the web,” Hugh said.
The system personalises its advice based on user background. “You put in variables and fill in your medical history. For example, if someone has asthma, the answer is curated for that.”
Hugh stressed that the platform is a guide rather than a doctor: “It never diagnoses; it just tells you what you should do, like whether you should stay at home or seek further help.”