How Technology Can Help Alleviate Covid-19 Crisis?

The current COVID-19 pandemic provides an opportunity for technology to help healthcare providers manage patients amidst an outbreak and ensure their health system is not overloaded. With technology, healthcare providers can facilitate the care of individual patients in a community and derive population-level measures, fundamental to understanding the state of healthcare needs and its corresponding resources.

- Dr Chris Hobson

The emergence of a global pandemic due to a new pathogen, SARS-CoV-2, is having a major impact on health systems around the world. Based on what we have seen in China, Italy and other countries, health systems need to prepare for the impact of massively increased load, especially on their hospitals. Demand for key items such as intensive care unit (ICU) beds, respirators, ventilators, and personal protective equipment will greatly exceed available supply. The disease is so new that we know little about its biology, and our interventions need to be agile to meet this rapidly evolving threat. This Interaction outlines key technologies health systems should consider combating this pandemic. Together these technologies form a complete package for health systems to use in managing an unprecedented threat to their sustainability and their ability to minimise loss of life.

Patient self-assessment to reduce the load

The first major step is to screen large volumes of patients, many of whom are anxious members of the “worried well” and will not require further treatment. Nevertheless, finding and enrolling those patients who will need additional medical attention is critical. A self-assessment website that considers all relevant factors of an individual and provides evidence-based recommendations to them is therefore desirable.