The Covid-19 pandemic has made an indelible mark on almost every country in the world. The rapid spread of Covid-19 across the globe, coupled with limited scientific understanding about the virus has caused healthcare agencies to rethink how to best care for patients. The Covid-19 pandemic has set up 3 major areas of concern that can be quickly tracked and understood more completely and more rapidly by implementation of patient registry software.
1 – Patient Registry Software Tracking Migration of Disease Spread
In the United States, a major challenge continues to better understand transmission of Covid-19 among different populations. In just over 4 months, health policy has been modified and changed dozens of times to prevent or limit disease transmission. From orders by the US Surgeon General to not wear a mask, to the most recent recommendation to wear face shields – significant healthcare guidance and recommendations change frequently. The implementation of patient registry software programs allows real-time data collection and offers a critical advantage to better understand what actions truly support mitigation of Covid-19 disease spread.
2 – Impact on prevention and treatment of non-communicable diseases (NCDs)
According to an article published by commonwealthfund.org, since Covid-19 stuck the US, “the number of visits to ambulatory practices declined nearly 60 percent by early April. Since that time a rebound has occurred, but the number of visits is still roughly one-third lower than what was seen before the pandemic.” Treatment centers for Cancer and other NCDs has been down dramatically as well. The final impact of these types of declines is not yet known. Patient registries can quickly be implemented to better ascertain the full impact of limitations of NCD treatments due to Covid-19. Further, there is the opportunity to collect and analyze from both the practitioner/clinician and the patient via registry survey mechanisms.
3 – Psychological impacts of Covid-19
Prior to March 2020, it is fair to say that the term “coronaphobia” would sound like a made-up term. Even if you have never heard this term before, you can quickly infer what the term means. A research paper published in the Global Journal of Obesity, Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome, and featured in the National Institute of Health discusses the seriousness of the situation. The paper states that “nationwide lockdowns can produce acute panic, anxiety, obsessive behaviors, hoarding, paranoia, and depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the long run. These have been fueled by an “infodemic” spread via different platforms of social media.” Trying to calculate long-term psychological impact will take years to fully appreciate. The use of patient registry software can allow practitioners and patients to better understand these impacts and more importantly, what actions can take to mitigate psychological effects.
A patient registry system is a secure database that allows practitioners, patients or both can enter information to track outcomes. The benefit is that data can be analyzed and trended in real-time.
