Rapid response to COVID-19: health informatics support for outbreak management in an academic health system

Abstract

Objective: To describe the implementation of technological support important for optimizing clinical management of the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and Methods: Our health system has confirmed prior and current cases of COVID-19. An Incident Command Center was established early in the crisis and helped identify electronic health record (EHR)-based tools to support clinical care. Results: We outline the design and implementation of EHR-based rapid screening processes, laboratory testing, clinical decision support, reporting tools, and patient-facing technology related to COVID-19. Discussion: The EHR is a useful tool to enable rapid deployment of standardized processes. UC San Diego Health built multiple COVID-19-specific tools to support outbreak management, including scripted triaging, electronic check-in, standard ordering and documentation, secure messaging, real-time data analytics, and telemedicine capabilities. Challenges included the need to frequently adjust build to meet rapidly evolving requirements, communication, and adoption, and to coordinate the needs of multiple stakeholders while maintaining high-quality, prepandemic medical care. Conclusion: The EHR is an essential tool in supporting the clinical needs of a health system managing the COVID-19 pandemic.

Telehealth transformation: COVID-19 and the rise of virtual care

“…The EHR can play a role here; most already allow patients to privately and securely obtain laboratory and imaging results, and recent reports of EHR-based clinical decision support and reporting tools are encouraging. 19 Of note, a full assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of each type of encounter requires further study of clinical outcomes, financial return on investment for payers and society, improvement in patient experience, and provider wellbeing when the immediate crisis ends.…”

Perspective on COVID-19: Finally, Telemedicine at Center Stage

“…14 Specific tools to support outbreak management, including triaging, electronic check-in, standard ordering and documentation, secure messaging, real-time data analytics, and telemedicine capabilities are required, while maintaining high-quality prepandemic medical care. 15 There are a number of clinical conditions in which telemedicine has been used or suggested during the COVID-19 pandemic. These include the elderly population, 16 dermatology, 17 orthopedics, 18 urological cancer, 19 emergency colon and rectal cancer patients, 20 primary care, 21,22 telepsychiatry, 23,24 podiatry, 25 global emergencies, 26 and management of migrains.…”

Radiation therapy during the coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19) pandemic in Italy: a view of the nation's young oncologists

“…Promising results have been obtained from AI applications for CT imaging-based diagnosis, and several e-health applications (eg, multidimensional data collection apps, video consultation platforms, virtual meeting tools) are spreading to ensure cancer care continuity, avoiding unnecessary physical contacts between patients and healthcare professionals and other hospital personnel (box 1, bullet points 8). 14 As young oncologists working in several different frameworks, we are all implementing these recommendations in order to keep cancer care as safe as possible for both patients and healthcare providers (box 1). Depending on specific directives of the single institutions, in order to warrant ethical and effective treatments, a high level of homogeneity of protection against covid-19 strategies should be harmoniously implemented across Italian oncology centres.…”