Abstract
BackgroundClear guidelines for a patient with suspected COVID-19 infection are unavailable. Many countries rely on assessments through a national hotline or telecommunications, but this only adds to the burden of an already overwhelmed health care system. In this study, we developed an algorithm and a web application to help patients get screened.ObjectiveThis study aims to aid the general public by developing a web-based application that helps patients decide when to seek medical care during a novel disease outbreak.MethodsThe algorithm was developed via consultations with 6 physicians who directly screened, diagnosed, and/or treated patients with COVID-19. The algorithm mainly focused on when to test a patient in order to allocate limited resources more efficiently. The application was designed to be mobile-friendly and deployed on the web. We collected the application usage pattern data from March 1 to March 27, 2020. We evaluated the association between the usage pattern and the numbers of COVID-19 confirmed, screened, and mortality cases by access location and digital literacy by age group.ResultsThe algorithm used epidemiological factors, presence of fever, and other symptoms. In total, 83,460 users accessed the application 105,508 times. Despite the lack of advertisement, almost half of the users accessed the application from outside of Korea. Even though the digital literacy of the 60+ years age group is half of that of individuals in their 50s, the number of users in both groups was similar for our application.ConclusionsWe developed an expert-opinion–based algorithm and web-based application for screening patients. This innovation can be helpful in circumstances where information on a novel disease is insufficient and may facilitate efficient medical resource allocation.
Highlights
MethodsOn March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization officially characterized COVID-19, a disease caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, as a pandemic [1]
The algorithm was developed via consultations with 6 physicians who directly screened, diagnosed, and/or treated patients with COVID-19
We evaluated the association between the usage pattern and the numbers of COVID-19 confirmed, screened, and mortality cases by access location and digital literacy by age group
Summary
MethodsOn March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization officially characterized COVID-19, a disease caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, as a pandemic [1]. Many countries, including South Korea, rely on individual assessments and advice provided by a health care worker This could be carried out by calling a national hotline or one’s local clinic, or by means of telecommunication that assesses and advises people on what to do in the event of a suspected infection [2]. This often results in overwhelmed call centers with long waiting times and untimely response to emergency patients. Viral pandemics such as COVID-19 can place extraordinary and sustained demands on public health systems and essential community service providers [3]. We developed an algorithm and a web application to help patients get screened
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