UW Medicine was one of the first health systems to encounter and treat COVID-19 patients in the United States, starting in late February 2020. Recently, the organization published its IT experience with COVID-19 in the journal, Applied Clinical Informatics.

Within the article, the rapid roll-out of capabilities by UW Medicine  Information Technology Services (ITS) is described to support its clinical response to the COVID-19 pandemic and provide recommendations for health systems to urgently consider, as they plan their own response to this and potentially other future pandemics.

Recommendations:

Establish a hospital incident command structure that includes tight integration with IT

Create automated dashboards for incident command, optimizing emergency communication to staff and patients

Prepare human resources, security, other policies, and equipment to support the transition of all nonessential staff to telework

Expand telemedicine capabilities to include most primary care providers and increasing numbers of specialty providers.

Manage expedited change control processes to quickly update electronic health records (EHR) with new COVID-19 laboratory and clinical workflows.

Integrate new technology such as tele–intensive care (ICU) equipment and improved integration with teleconferencing software into  EHR

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