Evidence-Based Health Informatics as the Foundation for the COVID-19 Response: A Joint Call for Action

Abstract

Background As a major public health crisis, the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic demonstrates the urgent need for safe, effective, and evidence-based implementations of digital health. The urgency stems from the frequent tendency to focus attention on seemingly high promising digital health interventions despite being poorly validated in times of crisis. Aim In this paper, we describe a joint call for action to use and leverage evidence-based health informatics as the foundation for the COVID-19 response and public health interventions. Tangible examples are provided for how the working groups and special interest groups of the International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA) are helping to build an evidence-based response to this crisis. Methods Leaders of working and special interest groups of the IMIA, a total of 26 groups, were contacted via e-mail to provide a summary of the scientific-based efforts taken to combat COVID-19 pandemic and participate in the discussion toward the creation of this manuscript. A total of 13 groups participated in this manuscript. Results Various efforts were exerted by members of IMIA including (1) developing evidence-based guidelines for the design and deployment of digital health solutions during COVID-19; (2) surveying clinical informaticians internationally about key digital solutions deployed to combat COVID-19 and the challenges faced when implementing and using them; and (3) offering necessary resources for clinicians about the use of digital tools in clinical practice, education, and research during COVID-19. Discussion Rigor and evidence need to be taken into consideration when designing, implementing, and using digital tools to combat COVID-19 to avoid delays and unforeseen negative consequences. It is paramount to employ a multidisciplinary approach for the development and implementation of digital health tools that have been rapidly deployed in response to the pandemic bearing in mind human factors, ethics, data privacy, and the diversity of context at the local, national, and international levels. The training and capacity building of front-line workers is crucial and must be linked to a clear strategy for evaluation of ongoing experiences.

Reinventing virtual care: Bridging the healthcare system and citizen silos to create an integrated future

“…COVID-19 has placed pressures on the healthcare system to advance virtual care, prevent citizen death, and protect the healthcare workforce from unnecessary exposures to the virus. 3 , 4 In addition to this, climate change and the need to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels has increased our need to reduce travel associated with healthcare activities. Virtual care could lead to significant reductions in fossil fuel emissions and the costs associated with travel.…”

Integrating real-world data from Brazil and Pakistan into the OMOP common data model and standardized health analytics framework to characterize COVID-19 in the Global South

“…There is therefore a need for data science ecosystems for data harmonization and related governance, standardized analytics and related capacity building, and evidence generation that is transparent, timely, and transportable across health settings. 7 The health informatics community has begun using trusted research environments and federated distributed data networks (FDNs), motivated by the need for accelerated knowledge mobilization and clinical translation in the COVID-19 pandemic. [8][9][10][11] The Observational Health Data Sciences and Informatics (OHDSI) collaboration 12 has led to the development of an open source FDN framework.…”