HLTC-4 - Pandemic Response
Product Use Case Summary
| ID | HLTC-4 |
|---|---|
Name | Pandemic Response |
Sector | Health |
Version | 1.0 |
Status | Published |
This use case profiles digitalizing pandemic response operations and management systems in a country to ensure effective control of the pandemic. Accurate and real-time data is central to any pandemic response. Having a digitized pandemic response system could entail utilizing robust data science, interactive dashboards, and analytics tools to better understand pandemic impact across the country - where cases are concentrated, coordinate and track treatments and implement preventative measures in communities. This can support emergency operation centers and other coordination response efforts to make quick and informed decisions during disease outbreaks or pandemics.
Digitalizing pandemic response can facilitate rapid information sharing of accurate data (number of cases, deaths, geolocation, testing and vaccinations, among others) to assist with outbreak response and public health decision making. Governments are increasingly digitizing this process to inform their pandemic response action effectively and efficiently. This promotes a streamlined process for the coordination of disease control measures such as testing, vaccination and lockdown, as well as for the support to frontline health workers and public health responders in their pandemic response efforts.
Stakeholders
Ministry or national government body in charge of disease surveillance and epidemic/pandemic response.
Health professionals - general practitioners, public health responders, frontline health workers, health system managers, emergency operation officers, surveillance officers etc,.
Population at exposed to epidemics and pandemics.
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being
Building Blocks
Source Documents
Steps
1 - Coordination and Operation
The government body in charge of Public Health and emergency operation response efforts, should agree on streamlined decision making and coordination processes pertaining to pandemic preparedness and response. Governments should assess and evaluate gaps in the health system, ensure they have up to date map of regions and districts - for mapping locations of clusters in a country to guide emergency response efforts, and decide where to prioritize monitoring and other systems that are essential during a disease outbreak. As a next step, they can identify the most strategic opportunities to adapt digital tools at different phases of a pandemic to monitor, detect and manage spread of disease as well as screen and track suspected infected persons. The output can be manuals and/or e-learning courses which give response staff guidance.
Once a disease outbreak has been declared in a country, i.e., the emergency operation centers can then rapidly leverage the digital tools to acquire real time data on situation on the ground, put in place adequate disease control measures and share accurate information/messaging with the population.
Workflows
Content Management for the development of manuals and/or e-learning courses which give response staff guidance
Data Analysis and Business Intelligence for analyzing data to make informed decisions on how to respond to pandemic and aid population. Data from screening tools can also be assessed and used to inform national decisions that may restrict travel from certain countries or regions
Data Collection and Reporting for collecting data on epidemics and pandemics, and to report this data to all relevant stakeholders
Building Blocks
2 - Outreach Communications
Staff from the Ministry of Health and/or public health agencies responsible for surveillance and epidemic/pandemic management organizes outreach communications and trainings for frontline healthcare workers and emergency operations response teams - about a new digitized and streamlined process of responding to epidemics and pandemics. The staff are then trained on digital tools and standards to gather/input real-time data during pandemic responses.
Communication outreach should be facilitated often to improve public awareness of facts and best practices for disease prevention and encourage treatment-seeking behaviors. Subsequently, once a disease outbreak occurs, staff from the Ministry of Public Health and the frontline healthcare workers can launch an information campaign to: inform population about the outbreak, counter/address misinformation, advise on disease control measures to control the outbreak, explain what to do in case symptoms appear, and locations of testing and treatment facilities. The campaign is conveyed using all available communication outlets - via television/radio, official government websites, mobile messaging and in person at local healthcare facilities and hospitals.
Workflows
Client Communication to facilitate real-time and accurate information on epidemic/pandemic, preventative measures, self-reporting mechanisms and treatments. SMS and other digital tools can be used to share information with the community about a potential outbreak of a new disease or renewed outbreak of a disease already well known to a community
Client Education for educating population about the epidemic/pandemic, safety measures and available support
Identification and Registration (along with GIS) in mapping and locating households and individuals in affected region/area
Building Blocks
3 - Enrollment
In this use case, enrollment is the process of collecting and documenting data of infected and exposed persons during a disease outbreak. Citizens can be provided with means to electronically self-report exposure to the disease. Data can then be collected to facilitate testing, track/map exposure location, designate treatment and to easily be able to follow-up and track infected/exposed persons in the health system. Exposed and infected pesons' can register by contacting their local emergency operation center or via representative frontline health workers that can register affected individuals and schedule testing. *** These individuals can also opt to receive automated contact notification and follow-ups.
Workflows
Client Case Management for creating user records - managing clients who are suspected and/or infected. Also, to appropriately document health visits, follow-up needs, and treatment protocols
Data Collecting and Reporting for capturing infected persons health related data, collect information on others they could have passed the disease to, monitor all testing and clinical interactions across facilities
Identification and Verification for enrolled person and enabling permissions
Building Blocks
4 - Data Verification and Validation
In this step, registration data needs to be verified and validated. The person's data can be verified with local digital identification or census database. **Permission should be granted from each person to anonymously use this data for sharing and comparing data between the states and territories, to track real-time data - infection rates and facilitate treatment/vaccine rollouts. And to help national government body in making informed decisions to improve pandemic operations on an on-going basis.
Workflows
Client Case Management used for verifying and validating patient data
Data Analysis and Business Intelligence / Data Collection and Reporting for administrators and front line healthcare workers to monitor and track infections and exposures.
Building Blocks
5 - Supply Chain
In a pandemic situation, an effective supply chain and logistics management system can support allocation of resources to aid in response - ensure that testing kits, therapeutics, and other treatment commodities, as well as essential supplies like gloves, cleaning agents, etc., are ordered, tracked, and delivered on time at health facilities. I.e., governments can use forecasting tools and built-in data visualizations and analytics at the point of an outbreak, and report any delays in supply through supply chain systems. This can also help ensure accuracy of ordering and timeliness of shipments, and should there be a delay, provide visibility into data insights around the supply chain. Robust analytics, artificial intelligence (AI)/machine learning (ML), and other data science tools can support countries to ensure their supply chains are working effectively.
Workflows
Client Case Management to provide support and track supplies are being utilized effectively to aid infected/exposed persons
Identification to easily be able to track pandemic aid supplies and testing
Supply Chain Management: for capturing, managing and evaluating supplies during a pandemic
Building Blocks
6 - Ongoing Case Management
Depending on the type of pandemic there will be a need to track infected individuals to manage and reduce spread of disease. Ongoing case management entails coordination of patient data throughout a country, allowing health providers to appropriately document health visits, follow-up needs, and treatment protocols. Contact tracing tools can also send alerts to exposed persons.
It is also essential to deploy some type of contact tracing tools to track the cases and anyone who has been exposed to the disease by that case. Digital contact tracing tools deployed at this stage can enable authorities to track and slow the spread of the disease by imposing isolation measures on infected and exposed persons and to understand geographically where clusters of cases are located. Data aggregation should also be prioritized to help public health professionals analyze, track and visualize the complex data used in infectious disease control.
Workflows
Data Collection and Reporting for capturing data on cases and contacts, testing outcomes and treatments received
Client Case Management for identifying and recording cases with health care providers/worker and capturing reported cases on grievances
Building Blocks
7 - Ongoing Monitoring and Evaluation
Administrators at the Ministry of Health and/or public health agency in charge of surveillance and epidemic/pandemic management conduct ongoing M&E to incorporate feedback on better ways to develop e-learning solutions in pandemic responses, and more effective ways to help the population. In addition, they can use data analytics to identify better techniques that can help preempt outbreaks through real time surveillance to identify early onset of cases, and more effective ways to deploy preventive measures early.
Workflows
Client Case Management for ongoing monitoring and tracking of frontline healthcare workers feedback as well as population feedback
Data Analysis and Business Intelligence/ Decision Support / Data Collection and Reporting - to analyze, update, and report output/ information
Building Blocks
Contributors
Wesley Brown, GovStack Product Owner, Digital Impact Alliance
Sarah Farooqi, The Exchange Product Owner, Digital Impact Alliance
Pilar Hernandez, Director, SORMAS (Surveillance Outbreak Response Management & Analysis System) Foundation
Sainabou Jallow, Business Analyst, Digital Impact Alliance
Margus Mägi, GovStack Project Lead for Estonia
Julia Niklewski, Advisor Digital Health, GIZ
Dr. P. S. Ramkumar, GovStack, International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
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