The Montgomery County (Texas) Hospital District launched an online system that combines employee symptom screening, medical record keeping and automated contact tracing to allow infectious disease experts to analyze COVID-19 data in real time, according to Government Technology.
The online symptom screener creates medical records data on every hospital district employee before, during and after each shift. Once the employee arrives at work, they must use a digital thermometer to record their temperature, which is then saved in the tracking system. Employees must check their temperature every 12 hours. The system will advise employees on next steps if they become symptomatic.
"It all comes down to information sharing," said Shawn Henners, Montgomery County Hospital District electronic business process manager, according to the report. "And the best data you're going to get is in real time. The faster we can get that data, the faster we can share it with the health department, the faster we can get accurate information to the public and the faster we can provide it to our counties so the county judge can make informed decisions."
The hospital district partnered with software provider Laserfiche to help develop the system. Only the infectious disease specialists have access to data uploaded to the system.