MedGuide

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Inspiration

We were inspired by the fact that many people leave doctor appointments with medical documents they do not fully understand. Discharge papers, lab results, and prescriptions are often filled with confusing terms and unclear instructions that feel overwhelming so we wanted to build something that makes healthcare information easier to understand, especially for people who may not know what every medical word means or how to organize their next steps.

MedGuide was created to help users feel more informed and prepared after receiving medical documents.

What it does

MedGuide helps users upload medical documents such as lab results, prescriptions, and discharge papers. It then translates the information into plain and simple language so users can better understand what their documents are saying.

The website also lets users ask follow-up questions about their uploaded documents. Additionally, it generates non-medical wellness suggestions such as helpful recipes, exercise ideas, and daily habits that can support users as they follow their care plan. These options are meant to support healthy habits, not replace prescribed medication or professional medical advice. It also creates a medicine reminder calendar based on prescription instructions. Users can download the reminders as an .ics calendar file or open them in Google Calendar allowing them to be notified when they need to take their prescribed medication. MedGuide is not meant to replace a doctor. Instead, it helps users better understand their documents and stay organized while still encouraging them to follow their doctor’s instructions.

How we built it

We built MedGuide as a web app using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. The app includes a simple login screen; document upload sections; a chat page for follow up questions; a wellness plan page including recipes, exercise, and daily habits; and a medicine calendar tool.

We used AI to help analyze and explain uploaded medical content in plain language. For PDFs, the app extracts text from the document, and for images, it can send the image content for analysis. The wellness section uses the document information to generate supportive lifestyle suggestions, while the calendar section turns prescription instructions into reminders that can be exported or imported into a calendar.

We also focused on making the design feel clean and easy to use because medical information can already feel stressful.

Challenges we ran into

One challenge was figuring out how to handle different types of medical documents. People may upload PDFs, images, or paste text directly, and each format needs to be processed differently.

Another challenge was making sure the app stayed safe and responsible. Since MedGuide deals with health-related information, we had to be careful not to present anything as medical advice. We added reminders that users should always follow their doctor’s instructions and contact a medical professional with serious concerns.

We also worked through technical challenges with the medicine calendar feature, especially making sure reminders could repeat for the correct length of time based on the prescription instructions.

We also had difficulty making chat history persist after the page refreshed, but we eventually figured out how to save previous conversations so users could return to them later.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud that MedGuide combines several useful features into one simple tool. Instead of only explaining medical documents, it also helps users ask questions, plan healthy habits, and organize medication reminders.

We are also proud of the user experience as the app feels approachable and easy to navigate. It has separate sections for uploading documents, asking questions, generating wellness plans, and creating medicine calendars. We are especially proud that the medicine calendar connects with a commonly used tool like Google Calendar, making the reminders more practical for everyday use.

Most importantly, we are proud that the project addresses a real-world problem. A person's health is often their highest concern and people often receive important health information but do not always have the tools to understand it clearly. We are beyond grateful to be able to come up with a tool that helps people improve their lives and understand the medical information they receive.

What we learned

We learned that building AI tools for healthcare requires more than just making something technically impressive. It also requires clear boundaries and thoughtful design.

We learned how important it is to explain information in a way that feels human and understandable. We also learned how difficult it can be to work with inconsistent document formats, since medical information can appear in many different layouts.

This project helped us better understand how AI can support people by making complex information easier to access, while still respecting the role of doctors and medical professionals.

What's next for MedGuide

For our next steps, we want to make the medication calendar more useful. Instead of only creating basic reminders, MedGuide could help users build a full medication routine with refill reminders, dosage timing, repeated events for the correct number of days, and warnings when instructions seem incomplete or confusing. Users would still be responsible for confirming their instructions with a doctor or pharmacist, but the app could make it much easier to stay organized.

Another important direction is accessibility. In the future, MedGuide could support multiple languages, voice explanations, and different reading levels so that users can understand their health information in the way that works best for them. This is especially important because medical confusion affects people differently depending on language, age, health literacy, and access to care.

Long term, we see MedGuide becoming a bridge between medical paperwork and everyday life. The goal is not to replace doctors or give diagnoses, but to help people leave appointments feeling less overwhelmed and more prepared to follow their care plan.

Our goal is for MedGuide to become a simple and helpful tool that supports people after medical visits and helps them feel less confused about their health information.

Built With

• css3
• html5
• javascript
• npm
• openai