Population Health

Monthly Update: HIMSS Media Editor in Chief Jonah Comstock recaps some of March's biggest stories, including digital health's wild funding month, big tech moves and how to sign up for a vaccine at three major pharmacy chains.

Space 95 – an IT services company in Seychelles – has launched "Contak", a contact tracing app that will enable users to register places they have visited. Contact tracers at the Public Health Authority can leverage the app to better track individuals who might have been exposed to COVID-19. Public Health Commissioner Jude Gedeon mentioned in a press conference that the Ministry of Health "welcomes this app and is working closely with the developers". HOW IT WORKS At present, the app can only be downloaded from Google Play through an Android phone. A version that is compatible with iOS devices will be released later. Personal information such as an individual’s name, contact number, and National Identification Number must be provided during the registration process.  Users of the app will need to scan a QR code at the entrance of a venue. Alternatively, a door attendant will scan the app-generated QR code of the user or the QR code of other individuals whom the user has frequent contact with. Once the QR code has been scanned, the information will be safely stored and encrypted on the smartphone. Only the user will be able to gain access to this information.  Those who do not own a smartphone can have another person register their personal details on the app and print a personal QR code for them. Similarly, a person can obtain a QR code ID card supplied by the PHA. Individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 can share their stsatus through the app to inform health authorities, and others who were at the same location as them will receive an alert. This allows for groups of people to be alerted much more quickly if they have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for the virus. WHY IT MATTERS Currently, Seychelles citizens will need to call the MOH to alert officials that they are a potential contact. Contact tracers will then evaluate the situation to determine if they were a close contact before letting them know what the next steps are. The app will be able to complement the Seychelles government’s contact tracing efforts.  Andy Noel, Chief Operations Officer at Space 95 mentioned that some of the problems encountered with traditional contact tracing include people being unable to accurately recall all the places that they have been to or people providing false information in visitors' logbooks as there is a lack of privacy. THE LARGER TREND To help mitigate the spread of this virus, many nations have developed contact tracing and warning apps. These apps have helped health authorities to swiftly isolate individuals who have come into contact with those who have tested positive for the virus. Healthcare providers have increasingly been developing ways to simplify the contact tracing process using technology, such as the Methodist Hospital of Southern California using an automated contact tracing system. ON THE RECORD "If you are found to be positive with COVID-19, one simply needs to go to the app and upload the diary to the health agency using Wi-Fi or internet data. This information is uploaded to a server at Department of Information, Technology and Communication, allowing the relevant authority to access the information. Someone who has scanned the same poster the same time as you will receive an alert, letting them know that they are potential contacts," Noel said.

The pandemic has made it clear that public health data must be accessible and supported across systems. But the question remains: How?

Here's a look at how it was created, what it offers – and how it grew to reach more than 38 million visits in seven months.

Built on Salesforce's Vaccine Cloud, the Vaccine Edge tool is aimed at improving the vaccination signup process when high demand tests website capacity.

The World Health Organization on Friday issued a warning about counterfeit and stolen COVID-19 vaccines being sold on the dark web.   Fake vaccination certificates are also being sold, as well as fake negative tests, aimed at those traveling abroad.   The WHO is "aware of vaccines being diverted and reintroduced into the supply chain, with no guarantee that [the] cold chain has been maintained," said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus during a press conference.   WHY IT MATTERS   Spiking demand for the COVID-19 vaccine has met inconsistent availability, with scams emerging as a seemingly inevitable result.     The WHO said several ministries of health and regulatory agencies around the world had received suspicious offers to supply vaccines, along with reports of "criminal groups" reusing empty vaccine vials. "We urge the secure disposal or destruction of used and empty vaccine vials to prevent them from being reused by criminal groups," said Ghebreyesus. According to the BBC, doses of AstraZeneca, Sputnik, Sinipharm and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are being offered for prices between $500 and $750 on the dark web.   Researchers at the cybersecurity company Check Point say they've seen a tripling in vaccine advertisements since January, with some sellers offering next-day delivery.   Other forums are advertising fake negative COVID-19 tests and forged vaccination cards for $150.   The WHO on Friday also alerted the public to a falsified vaccine detected in Mexico in February, which had been administered to patients outside of authorized vaccination programs.   "Falsified COVID-19 vaccines pose a serious risk to global public health and place an additional burden on vulnerable populations and health systems. It is important to identify and remove these from circulation," said the agency in a statement.   THE LARGER TREND Experts have warned about the security risks engendered by the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, including issues with the distribution pipeline and increased phishing dangers.   Last month, Invistics founder and CEO Tom Knight told Healthcare IT News that many instances of drug diversion are never detected, with a lack of oversight contributing to ease of potential theft.   "The fragmented controls are definitely a challenge and will lead to more diversion," said Knight.   ON THE RECORD   "We urge all people not to buy vaccines outside government-run vaccination programs," said Ghebreyesus. "Any vaccine outside these programs may be substandard or falsified, with the potential to cause serious harm."   Kat Jercich is senior editor of Healthcare IT News. Twitter: @kjercich Email: kjercich@himss.org Healthcare IT News is a HIMSS Media publication.

In a recent "un-meeting," a wide variety of stakeholders collaborated to discuss potential strategies for centering the virtual care needs of vulnerable communities.

European leaders have agreed to push ahead with plans for an EU-wide Digital Green Certificate as “a matter of urgency”.  The certificate will provide digital proof that a person has either been vaccinated, received a negative test result or recovered from COVID-19.  A statement of members of the European Council, issued after yesterday’s EU summit, says: “Legislative and technical work on COVID-19 interoperable and non-discriminatory digital certificates, based on the Commission proposal should be taken forward as a matter of urgency.” The certificate will be free of charge and made available either via a smartphone app or paper. Both versions will include a QR code containing essential information and a digital seal to make sure the certificate is accurate.   To protect users’ privacy, the certificates will only include a limited set of information that cannot be retained by visited countries. All health data will remain with the member state that issued the certificate.  Each issuing body (e.g. hospitals, test centres and health authorities) would have its own digital signature key stored in a secure database in each country.  The validity and authenticity of the certificate would be checked by verifying who issued and signed it. The digital infrastructure to facilitate authentication of the certificates is planned to be ready by Summer. WHY IT MATTERS The Digital Green Certificate is intended to facilitate free movement in the EU and prove the results of COVID-19 testing, which is often required under public health restrictions. It is not intended to be a pre-condition to free movement, which is a fundamental right in the EU. THE LARGER CONTEXT  Some EU countries including Denmark, Sweden, Iceland, have launched their own vaccine passports and France is trialling a month-long vaccine passport pilot for air travel. Estonia plans to roll out national digital vaccination certificates from April, which citizens can use both for travelling and in everyday life. The country is also working with the World Health Organisation (WHO) to create a ‘smart yellow card’ global vaccine certificate. Meanwhile, mainland Europe has been hit by a third wave of COVID-19 and roll out of vaccines in EU states has been sluggish. According to latest figures from Our World in Data, 14.84 doses of vaccine have been administered per 100 people in the EU compared with 46.79 in the UK.  The European Commission has proposed a COVID-19 recovery response programme called EU4Health, which aims to invest €5.1bn to build the resilience of health systems. ON THE RECORD European Council president, Ursula von der Leyen, said: “COVID-19 gives us the opportunity to take stock of this whole idea of a Digital Green Certificate - something we can work on together and take a common stance on. We’re going to be discussing this intensively over the next few weeks. How can we have something which will help people to continue to move more freely?”  

Virtual care and digital health tools can play a pivotal role – in both urban and rural areas – when natural disasters strike. 

This week's top stories include AstraZeneca being questioned over outdated information in its vaccine trials, Everlywell acquiring PWNHealth, and reports of problems with the VA's new Cerner EHR system.