Supporting regional pandemic management by enabling self-service reporting-A case report

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Informatics
• Public Health Systems
• Software Architecture

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for improved research, care, and management collaboration.
• Initial broad data collection evolved to require localized data and customized tools for timely information.
• The DISPENSE project in Saxony aimed to predict hospital bed capacity but faced scalability issues due to its monolithic architecture.

Observation:

• Analysis of the DISPENSE tool revealed data processing steps and user-specific metrics and dashboards.
• Workshops identified diverse user group needs and constraints, leading to content-related service area clustering.
• Functionalities were categorized into service groups: data processing, storage, predictions, visualization, and user management.

Findings:

• The monolithic application was successfully modularized into specialized services.
• A new system architecture enabled self-service reporting and evaluation for expert groups.
• The revised system demonstrated improved adaptation to user needs and increased efficiency.

Implications:

• Modularization addressed challenges of rapidly changing requirements and information demands.
• The system now offers greater flexibility, efficiency, and reduced administrative effort.
• Self-service functionalities empower expert groups and specialized applications.