The Challenge

In any mass disaster situation (the definition being that the local health structures are overwhelmed and unable to cope with the number of victims) resource management is of paramount importance – and the Covid-19 pandemic no exception. However, it is also necessary to take steps towards rapid intervention before situations quickly deteriorate (it is easier to stop a single ball of snow than it is to stop a full-blown avalanche).

The Concept

This concept is called: Vital Signs Radar – Mobile App.

This App aims to help monitor the health status of Covid-19 outpatients (those who are not hospitalized) and articulate with the existing healthcare infrastructures to insure proper case management.

The patient has access to a Mobile App that requests certain clinical information be introduced at regular intervals - ex. The patient must answer certain questions: has he taken the medication? Temperature measurements? Other relevant clinical data to be defined. Then the patient is assigned a risk status and a communication protocol implemented.

Example – the patient shows no sign of the fever diminishing after X amount of time / or X iterations. The App triggers an alarm and the patient is contacted via phone call or integrated chat by a healthcare professional.

The App can also notify the healthcare services to expect a patient whose health is deteriorating and begin immediately to take that into consideration when considering resource management.

The Value

• Rapid Intervention – as soon as the first warning signs appear, the healthcare systems is made aware of this situation. The patient´s treatment can be adjusted before major deterioration occurs.
  
  
• Resource Management – Real time tracking allows for the healthcare system to respond more effectively, knowing what to expect, when and where – and being able to plan accordingly.
  
  
• Real time, traceable data – which will allow for scientists to have a much deeper understanding of the progression of this disease, further down the line.

The Obstacles

• Data Privacy and User Identity – make sure the data being collected belongs to the right person (use credential systems such as in e-banking) and that all clinical confidentiality / data privacy best practices are followed.
• Digital Literacy – the use of this App requires a moderate amount of digital literacy, that may be outside the grasp of some of the demographics most affected by Covid-10, and that could most benefit from this solution (elderly people). User Experience / User Interface should be a consideration here – as well as some possible alternative solutions (the role of a proxy, or caretaker – a third party responsible for inserting the data).

Extension Possibilities / Other Applications

This App can easily be converted into an all-purpose health monitor for chronic patients suffering from various conditions, simply by changing the clinical parameters associated (data the patient has to insert, triggers and alarms) – it could be integrated with video a call functionality with healthcare professionals to discuss symptoms or adjust medication. The medical prescriptions themselves could then be sent via the mobile device and in person appointments scheduled and prepared if necessary.

This would allow for better chronic patient care and management – specifically in a time where local healthcare structures are strained and saturated.

Technical Features

This solution will be divided in three working areas: the mobile app, the web app and the backoffice web app:

• Vital Signs Radar mobile app – the mobile app used by the patients and where they add the measurements according to the necessities. The app will also include an alarm feature to remember the patient to introduce the values.
• Vital Signs Radar web app – web app accessible by medical staff (doctors, nurses, aid health professionals) and where they can access the medical information of each patient that is using the mobile app. Furthermore, this web app also manages the alerts sent by the mobile app by providing them in the platform and by sending alert emails to the person/people responsible for each patient case. The platform will also prepare a webservice so that the information of the patients could be synchronized with other existing software.
• Backoffice web app – platform only accessible by people with an administrator role and where all the platform’s configurations are set, including:
• User’s creation and edition
• Medical information to be asked for each patient/medical condition
• User’s emails to whom the alerts of each patient should be sent to

The Team

We are a team of professionals from the OutSystems partner: Outfit – Tailored Agile Solutions, aiming to give our contribution to mitigate the public health, social and economic impacts and consequences of the Covid-19 crisis in our society in both short and long term.

https://www.outsystems.com/partners/PartnerProfile/54622/OutFit/