Safe in COVID-19: A platform to support effective monitoring of incidents during a pandemic

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: The ongoing coronavirus pandemic is affecting the lives of millions of people, changing society by enacting new rules for social life, business and travel. The world community (i.e. international organizations, public administrations, businesses, and citizens) has conducted a huge effort in delivering digital solutions to properly address the challenges imposed. A multitude of approaches have been followed, towards achieving a wide spectrum of side goals.

OBJECTIVES: This work presents a platform, designed for public health authorities, to effectively track suspect, probable and confirmed incidence cases in a pandemic by means of a mobile app used by citizens to provide immediate feedback.The aim has been to better support human tracers, and the platform must not be confused with proximity tracking apps.

METHODS: The outbreak response tool was developed based on official information and guidelines, on top of an already existing personal health record app which has been extended, to properly accommodate specific needs that emerged during the crisis.

RESULTS: The developed platform provides the framework to support return to the “new normal” in less time, with reduced stress and more security for individuals, more direct and safer management of patients by physicians, and better possibilities for monitoring the epidemic by public health authorities. Issues relevant to privacy concerns, and interoperability with available patient registries and data analytics tools were also examined to better support public healthcare delivery and contain the spread of the infection.

CONCLUSION: In order for the foreseen benefits to be realized, there is a need to respect safety and security regulations, while at the same time conform to international standards and widely accepted medical protocols. Cross-border interoperability and the availability of appropriate links (i.e. publicly available interfaces) to relevant open data and national registries is considered to be of paramount importance.