ABSTRACT Governments worldwide are struggling to contain the spread of COVID-19 because many countries rely on outdated, non-digital response approaches and are thus far from exploiting the potential that digital technologies provide for pandemic response. Consequently, this study constructs a systematic approach to coordinate and manage digital pandemic response applications. To do so, the study reviews 210 peer-reviewed journal articles retrieved by querying scientific databases and searching for best-practice reports. To construct a strategic action framework, this study relies upon an organizational approach illustrating target setting and functional content in five strategic action fields. As a result, this study contributes to the current state of research by explaining how digital technology and applications may improve public pandemic response management. For practitioners, the comprehensive and action-oriented approach provides insights into the scope and the content of strategic fields of digital pandemic prevention and a roadmap to prepare digital society for pandemic outbreakes.