COVID-19 recognition and digital risk stratification

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Informatics
• Infectious Disease Management
• Digital Health Solutions

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic created significant challenges for acute hospital patient care.
• Accurate case recognition, testing, acuity assessment, and deterioration monitoring were critical issues.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the implementation and impact of a digital COVID-19 assessment tool.
• To evaluate the tool's effectiveness in improving hospital-level reporting and risk stratification.

Main Methods:

• Introduction of a digital COVID-19 assessment tool and live dashboard in two acute National Health Service (NHS) hospitals.
• Focus on enhancing case recognition, testing confirmation, acuity assessment, and deterioration alerts.

Main Results:

• The digital tool facilitated accurate hospital-level reporting of COVID-19 cases.
• The system supported effective risk stratification of patients.
• Improved processes for testing requests and results confirmation were observed.

Conclusions:

• Digital assessment tools can effectively address challenges in acute care during pandemics.
• Implementation of such tools enhances hospital-level reporting and patient risk stratification for COVID-19.
• The developed system offers a valuable solution for managing infectious disease outbreaks in acute settings.