Ambulance service

Registering the ambulance service

Have ready the operating authorisation, legal identifiers (RCCM, NIF, ID Nat.), the dispatch phone number, the list of vehicles (type, registration) and the area served.

Installing Bokono on an Android phone

1. Open Chrome and go to bokono-rdc.net/en/download.
2. Tap Download for Android and wait for the download to finish (about 50 MB).
3. Open the downloaded file. If Android asks, tap Settings → Allow from this source, go back, then tap Install.
4. Open Bokono. Choose the language at the bottom of the screen (Français or English), then tap Get started.

On "Who are you?", tap Ambulance service.

The 7 steps of registering an organisation

The form is filled in by the organisation's manager, or in their presence: the manager signs the declaration at the end. Fields marked with an asterisk () are required; tap Next* at each step.

1. Organisation: type of organisation, official name, trade name, acronym, ownership (public, private, faith-based, NGO, other) and legal status.
2. Authorisation: authorisation or licence number, issuing authority, legal identifiers (RCCM / NIF / ID Nat.), legal name of the operating entity, and the technical leads specific to your activity. These numbers are checked with the competent authority before any activation.
3. Address: province, city or territory, commune and neighbourhood, address (avenue, number), GPS coordinates (optional), phone, email and website.
4. Services: the services, hours and information specific to your activity (detailed below). Only tick what is really available: everything is checked.
5. Managers: the manager (surname, middle name, first name, role, phone), the medical director if there is one, then 2 to 3 contact persons.
6. Documents: photograph each legal document requested, legible and in full. Documents are encrypted and seen only by the verification team.
7. Account: email address and password for the organisation's account, acceptance of the terms of use, then the signature: the manager's full name (the same as declared in step 5) and the two certification boxes. Tap Create an account.

Specific to ambulance services (Services step): dispatch phone, vehicles (type, registration), area served, capabilities (seated or lying, stretcher, oxygen, crew), days and hours.

Ambulance service form

Rest of the form

Signing in and protecting the app

Once your account has been created, you sign in with your email address and password. After that, a 6-digit code (or your fingerprint) is enough to reopen Bokono.

1. On the Sign in screen, enter your email address and password, then tap Sign in. The eye icon on the right shows or hides the password.
2. "Protect your app": type a 6-digit code, then type it a second time to confirm it. If your phone has a fingerprint reader, turn on Also unlock with my fingerprint.
3. Right after that, Bokono asks for access to the microphone (calls and teleconsultations), location (emergencies) and full-screen calls (answering even when the phone is locked). Tap Continue and accept.
4. Each time you open the app, or after one minute away from it, place your finger or type your code. After 5 wrong codes, Bokono signs you out for security: sign in again with your password.

Sign in

Protection code

Review of the organisation's file

After it is sent, the file goes for review. Until it is approved, the app only opens the file, help and notifications.

1. Open Profile → Facility file: the status is shown at the top (pending, corrections requested, approved).
2. If an agent requests a correction, the reason is shown: correct it, add the missing document, then tap Send for verification. Only the declared manager can sign.
3. Once the file is approved, the Verified account badge appears on the home screen and the organisation's tools open. The official name, registration number and status can then only change through the verification process.

Facility file

Rest of the file

Turning on two-factor authentication (required for professional actions)

Your professional actions — opening a record, prescribing, dispensing, validating, activating a membership… — require a second authentication factor. Until it is turned on, the professional space shows "Second factor required".

1. Install an authenticator app on your phone (an app that shows 6-digit codes renewed every 30 seconds).
2. In Bokono, open Profile → Account security (two-factor authentication).
3. Scan the code shown with the authenticator app (or enter the key shown below the code).
4. Enter the 6-digit code shown by the authenticator app, then tap Verify.

Bokono will then ask for this code when needed. The second factor can be turned on at any time, even before your file is approved. It is personal: one second factor per person.

The service's home screen

Top of the home screen

Rest of the home screen

Vehicles

Transport → Vehicles

1. Tap Add (New vehicle): registration, vehicle name, equipment level (Basic equipment, Advanced equipment, Transport only or Other) and the equipment actually on board (separated by semicolons).
2. Keep each vehicle's status up to date: Available, On mission or Out of service. Only available vehicles can be assigned.

Vehicles

Transport requests and missions

Medical transport (home → Transport). The View selector at the top shows My missions and requests or your service's missions (Service: …).

1. A request arrives (status Request received) with the priority set by the requester according to the local protocol (Immediate, Urgent or Scheduled), the pick-up location, destination, reason and the information available about the patient.
2. Assign the mission: choose the vehicle and crew (Assign vehicle and crew), then Assign. If no vehicle is available, the screen says so: let the requester know.
3. The crew moves the mission forward: Crew en route, On scene, Patient on board, In transport, Handed over, Completed. Each status is time-stamped in the history.
4. The crew's care record (observations, vital signs, care given, incidents) is passed to the receiving facility at the patient handover.
5. Cancel the mission requires a reason.

Medical transport

Emergencies and the team's paramedics

The service's account manages the fleet and transport missions. Emergency alerts are received by the paramedics themselves, each with their own verified professional account: they turn on I am available for emergencies in Interventions, and the first to tap I take it becomes the responder (see the "Paramedic" manual).

For a paramedic to be linked to your service, they give your service as their facility when registering; the review of their file confirms the link.

Reports

Reports & statistics (home → Reports & statistics)

1. Choose the period (today, yesterday, this week or another period offered). The figures only count what is recorded in Bokono; the i explains each figure.
2. Write the summary: the assistant writes a summary from the calculated figures, without adding any; you review it.
3. The PDF icon exports the report.

Institutional documents (facility sheet, list of departments, declared staff, document status, capacity and beds, periodic report) are generated in Facility management → Reports → Generate. Each document must be validated by a manager — someone other than its author where there is one — before being sent anywhere. The official format remains to be confirmed with the receiving authority.

Reports & statistics

Messages and calls: Bokono Connect

Messages

1. Tap Messages in the bottom bar (or the Connect tile on the home screen). Conversations are listed with the most recent at the top, messages grouped by day; the All and Unread filters and the search bar help you find an exchange.
2. New conversation: search for a registered person or organisation by name, profession or Bokono ID.
3. The name and photo of the person you are talking to appear at the top of the conversation. You can send text, photo, document or voice message. Without a network, the message waits on the phone and is sent automatically when the network returns; it is never shown as "sent" before then.
4. To call, tap the phone icon (audio) or the camera icon (video). The screen shows "ringing", "busy" or "unreachable". An incoming call rings even when the phone is locked: tap Answer in the notification. The call opens directly, with no intermediate screen and no Bokono code; the code is asked again after the call. No other window opens during a call. Calls are never recorded.
5. The Available switch at the top of the Messages screen tells others whether you can be called right now (green or red dot).

Subscription, notifications and help

Paying the subscription by mobile money

Payment is made directly in the app, by mobile money. It is only requested once the account has been approved.

1. Tap the Activate my subscription card on the home screen (or Payments, or Profile → Subscription and receipts).
2. Under Plans, tap Pay next to the plan that matches your account; the monthly price is shown.
3. Enter your mobile money number in international format (e.g. +243 81 234 5678), then tap Pay by mobile money.
4. Approve the payment on your phone (message from your operator and your mobile money PIN).
5. Return to Bokono and tap Check payment. Once the payment is confirmed, the subscription is active and your receipt appears in My receipts.

My balance and Makuta dossier

Patients' payments for your services go through Makuta, Bokono's payment provider.

1. Tap My balance: it is the first tile of your professional tools (or the Balance button at the top of the professional space).
2. Available balance: the amounts received for you and not yet paid out. Below: the Total received and the list of Transactions (payment received, payout), with their status: received, pending, payout prepared, paid out, refunded…
3. The icon at the top right opens My payments and Makuta dossier. This dossier is created automatically when you sign up, from the documents already provided to Bokono. The screen shows money received, payouts, the dossier status (in preparation, under review, sent to Makuta, payment extension active, to be completed) and the status of each document (being verified by Bokono, verified by Bokono then by Makuta, correction requested, rejected — to be replaced).
4. The To provide list shows missing documents. A rejected document or one needing correction is replaced in your professional application file: it is picked up automatically and goes back for review.

Notifications (bell at the top of the home screen)

• The list shows your notifications, most recent first; tap one to open the screen it concerns. Mark all as read clears the red counter.
• Show message text in notifications: when off, the notification only says "New message from …"; when on, anyone who sees your phone can read the text.
• If notifications are blocked on the phone, a banner says so: allow them in the Android settings.
• Required permissions: as soon as you sign in, Bokono requires running in the background. The "Required permissions" screen lists what to turn on: notifications, running in the background (tap "Allow"), auto-start on some phones (Tecno, Infinix, itel, Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, Huawei…), background data, full-screen calls, microphone and camera, location. Tap Turn everything on, then Turn on on each remaining line: the app opens as soon as everything is on. The Emergency button stays available. If a permission is removed later, the screen comes back. Calls then ring and can be answered directly, even when Bokono is closed or the phone is locked, with no code or fingerprint during the call.

Profile

Help and support (Profile → Help and support)

The Frequently asked questions cover common situations. For anything else, tap Contact Bokono support, choose the subject (My account, Payment, Technical issue, Other question) and describe your request: the answer arrives in Bokono Connect. You can also write to support@bokono-rdc.net or call +243 850 655 988.

Frequently asked questions