COVIDCare: A Digital Solution for Follow-up of Individuals with Suspected or Diagnosed COVID-19 (Preprint)
BACKGROUND The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has generated unprecedented and sustained health management challenges worldwide. Healthcare systems continue to struggle to support the needs of the majority of infected individuals that are either asymptomatic or have mild symptoms. OBJECTIVE To rapidly and safely address gaps in the healthcare support available from initially, and repeatedly, overwhelmed providers and systems. We sought to create a digital healthcare solution that could appropriately monitor and manage needs of individuals requiring self-isolation due to suspected or diagnosed COVID-19 with mild to moderate symptoms. METHODS A theoretically grounded multiplatform digital healthcare application was created to safely monitor and support this group of affected individuals based on rapidly emerging scientific guidance. The solution – COVIDCare – was designed to address this need and to be flexible enough to adapt to the evolving management requirements of various stakeholders to reduce COVID-19 infection rates, acute hospitalizations and mortality. RESULTS The COVIDCare multiplatform solution provides a hybrid model of care that includes mobile and online platforms, paired with direct clinician input. The patient mobile application includes four program components: 1) symptom management, 2) patient education, 3) wellbeing support, and 4) communication with healthcare providers. The clinician web-based portal includes secure, bi-directional, chat communication between the patient and clinician. CONCLUSIONS COVIDCare can flexibly address strategic needs of strained healthcare systems and is customizable to meet the needs of employers and public health stakeholders who continue to manage the lasting impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.