A new coronavirus preparedness app created by Epic Systems and healthcare innovation center OCHIN aims to support COVID-19 screening and triage care in emergency settings around the country.
The solution was created for deployment by the Washington State Health Care Authority, and officials say it “brings a new level of readiness, interoperability, and public health coordination to the frontlines of the current coronavirus pandemic nationwide.”
The COVID-19 Preparedness App was built to help the state of Washington be prepared for a surge in coronavirus patients, and it is now also being shared with other states. The mobile EHR app has the potential to support patient care in a growing number of ad hoc emergency triage sites, while reducing exposure by keeping screening outside of hospitals and clinics, and expanding capacity in rural areas where healthcare access is limited, according to officials.
Patients can use the tool to self-screen for COVID-19 symptoms and check in to a local emergency care site. Citizen volunteers can use their own smartphones to help trained providers triage and care for members of their own communities when resources are scarce. And state public health epidemiologists will be able to monitor the system's incoming data to track trends county by county and direct patient follow-up, officials noted.
What’s more, the tool’s integration with Epic's Care Everywhere interoperability platform means that patients who are assessed in these clinics will be able to link to their existing medical records.
And because the app is on a mobile device and portable, providers are enabled to reach and screen the most underserved and hard-to-reach patient populations, such as homeless and rural communities.
"A retired nurse, or any other volunteer or staff, with her own smartphone can be up and running in minutes. This allows states, counties, and health systems to increase capacity quickly, which will be helpful especially in hard hit and underserved communities. It has been meaningful to work with Washington state and OCHIN to help patients during this crisis," said Judy Faulkner, founder and CEO of Epic.
