When language fails, clinical care fails
A patient arrives at a GP clinic or ED unable to communicate in English. The clinician has a protocol to follow and no way to ask it. Phone interpreters take time. Family members may not know clinical vocabulary. The gap between arrival and communication costs minutes that matter - and in chronic disease management, it costs accurate history altogether.
For New Zealand's South Asian communities this risk is compounded: a 5-6x higher rate of Type 2 Diabetes and cardiovascular disease developing 10-15 years earlier than in the general population. Getting history right at first contact matters more, not less.
What MyVaak does
Open myvaak.co.nz on any device. Select the patient's language. MyVaak speaks each clinical question aloud using the device's built-in speech engine. The patient nods yes or no. The clinician taps YES or NO. A formatted clinical note builds in real time. No app download, no login, no data sent to any server.
Speaks the question
Text-to-speech in the patient's language. No English reading required.
Yes or No only
A nod is all the patient needs. Binary responses remove the language barrier entirely.
Live clinical note
Structured note builds as you go - ready to print or hand to the treating team.
Works offline
Install as a PWA. Works when clinic Wi-Fi is unreliable or absent.
Zero data retained
No patient data reaches our servers. Session clears when the tab closes.
Any device
Tablet at reception. Link on the patient's phone. Same experience, any screen.
Why clinical teams and PHOs use MyVaak
Under the Health and Disability Commissioner's Code of Rights, every patient has the right to effective communication. MyVaak helps clinical teams meet that obligation in the first minutes of contact - before an interpreter can be arranged.
The clinical and equity case - New Zealand data
GP Clinics and PHOs
Place a tablet at reception with MyVaak open, or send a link to the patient's phone before the appointment. Structured history gathered before the GP enters the room - without a third party in the consultation.
ED and Urgent Care
Built for the acute first-contact window. A triage nurse runs a full ABCDE assessment in under three minutes. Time-stamped clinical note ready for the treating team immediately.
Community Pharmacy
Structured medication and symptom questions in the patient's language. Reduces errors caused by miscommunication at the dispensing counter.
Cardiology, Endocrinology and More
Specialist question modules on the roadmap. South Asian patients carry disproportionate cardiovascular and metabolic disease burden - the settings where structured language access matters most.
Starting with South Asian. Built for everyone.
MyVaak launches with 8 live South Asian languages - the largest clinically underserved non-English-speaking population in New Zealand by census volume and disease burden. The platform is language-agnostic: any language with reliable device text-to-speech support can be added. Each question set is reviewed for clinical accuracy before going live - not just grammatical correctness.
South Asian
Hindi, Gujarati, Malayalam, Tamil, Urdu, Telugu, Marathi, Bengali
South Asian+
Punjabi, Fiji Hindi
East Asian
Mandarin, Cantonese, Tagalog, Korean, Japanese
Pacific
Samoan, Tongan, Te Reo Maori, Cook Islands Maori, Niuean
Other
Arabic, Nepali, Sinhala, Vietnamese, Afrikaans and more
Community members and clinicians can contribute to a new language. Contact us to sponsor or contribute.
Who built MyVaak
The idea for MyVaak came from watching communication fail in clinical settings - a clinician and a patient with no shared language and no tool to bridge the gap. That moment should not exist.
- 11+ years at the Ministry of Social Development - direct service to vulnerable and disabled communities
- 5+ years at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment - accessibility and UX in public services
- 35+ years in Graphic Design, Web Development and UI/UX Design
- CPD Certifications in Social Work Skills, Special Educational Needs, and Disability and Inclusive Practice
Part of the MyMate family
Connecting families, caregivers, and support workers navigating disability and care needs in Aotearoa.
Digital care diary for families supporting someone with a disability, dementia, or chronic illness.
Medical triage language interpreter. Free, offline-capable, clinician-driven.
Ready to use MyVaak?
Open on any device. No login. No download. Select the patient's language and start immediately.
Open MyVaak