Newcastle Anaesthetist, Dr Billy Drew and Lawyer/Engineer Tony Singh recently launched CoverMe Medical, a web and app-based service designed by medical specialists for the medical and health workforce.

The technology allows medical professionals to find not only a colleague to cover a shift at work, but the opportunity to seek out shifts at more suitable times or in an area of interest.

The platform also allows for individuals to communicate with each other on important details relating to their work.

CoverMe Medical isn’t limited to just individual medical professionals, it also allows practice and hospital managers, who often manage large teams, to ensure all shifts are covered in their departments.

The service is the only one of its kind on the Australian market that caters to the more than 600,000 people in the medical and allied health industry across 14 different professions.

Tony said the platform meets the needs of Australia’s changing workforce.

“Contingent or temporary skills shortages occur on a regular basis, but systems to communicate and handle connections are currently very poor,” Tony said.

Billy said that in his work in the medical field, he knows first-hand the challenges of finding necessary cover or seeking out new opportunities.

“CoverMe Medical allows those working in the medical profession to fit their work commitments in with their lifestyle or seek out more work if they wish,” Billy said.

Billy and Tony formed their company Mobito, based in Newcastle West, in 2012.

The team of five Novocastrians found that there was plenty of support locally to get their idea of the CoverMe Medical digital platform to the national market.

The organisation engaged with a number of local companies and talented Novocastrians, such as Craig Wilson from Sticky Advertising and Josh Doolan of Mudbath Digital, to assist in developing the platform.

“We were keen to ensure that we were able to tap into the resources of other Newcastle-based businesses to contribute in some part to the growing local digital tech sector,” Tony said.

“Our team attended Newcastle’s DiG Festival last year in support of Newcastle’s shift to digital innovation, where we were inspired by the wealth of experience locally in the industry. Our company’s growth plans include keeping development of our digital service local and assisting not just Newcastle but the Hunter region in growing its digital talent.”

Medical and allied health professionals can register their interest in the CoverMe Medical platform at www.covermemedical.com.