We each fight the coronavirus infection in our own way. These four students didn't think it was enough to wear face masks and wash their hands, and so they decided to take the battle with the invisible enemy a step farther. They combined their knowledge and coined a plan to help the Královské Vinohrady University Hospital with an application that reduces the risk of infection between patients and healthcare professionals to a minimum.
The application is currently in the pilot phase. It is a new control system that checks people at the entry into the hospital. The triage of patients, which is part of the coronavirus measures, is intended to be facilitated by a web application called Smart Triage.
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The authors of the project are CTU student Tomáš Trejdl and students of medical faculties of Charles University Vasil Kostin, Ľuboš Repka and Tom Kuna. The project is sponsored by Charles University and the 3rd Faculty of Medicine at Charles University.
Custom QR code
"The application allows the patient to fill in the intake questionnaire for the hospital in advance. The patient then receives a QR code that contains personal data, symptoms and an epidemiological history. After confirmation by a healthcare professional, the patient has information about who performed the triage, when, as well as the value of the measured temperature on their phone. All this without unnecessary contact, without sending personal data over the Internet and completely secure,"
said FNKV (Královské Vinohrady University Hospital) spokeswoman Tereza Romanová, stating that the main aim was to limit the patients' waiting in the hospital premises and their contact with healthcare professionals to the shortest possible time.
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Do nemocnice s QR kódem. Source: archiv FNKV
Now, patients come into contact with each other while waiting in line for triage before entering the hospital and they also come into contact with the healthcare professional, who helps them fill in the questionnaire and measures their temperature.
"During this time, the infection can spread between the healthcare professional and the patient, as well as between the patients themselves. The healthcare professional has to disinfect the folder and pen after each patient, thus extending the time he could spend on the next patient,"
Romanová explained.
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Čtveřice studentů vyvinula aplikace Chytrá triáž.Source: archiv FNKV
Free for all hospitals
According to the application developer Ľuboš Repka, the ongoing results in the hospital show a threefold acceleration in triaging patients compared to the original situation. He also believes that future possible reduction in the number of staff engaged in triage could be another positive effect. The students themselves are helping in the hospital as volunteers, but now they have to start preparing for exams and they won't have as much time to volunteer as they used to, so the acceleration of the process thanks to the application is a huge relief for everyone.
The students are planning to offer the application to other hospitals in the future, free of charge. The possibility to print a confirmation on site and implementing the application in the hospital information system are also in the works.
