E-Paper
What is Covid Severity Score? Govt's new software for better Covid-19 management
The software will calculate a Covid Severity Score —which is also the name of the software — based on an algorithm.
The Union health ministry on Saturday released information about a software that will identify Covid patients who may require ventilation. The current Covid-19 situation in the country is under control, but as experts are urging people to exercise caution, the third wave in India can't be dismissed. Preparations are going on in view of a possible third wave.
The software will calculate a Covid Severity Score —which is also the name of the software — based on an algorithm. "Sudden ICU and other emergency requirements during the pandemic have been a challenge for hospitals to manage. Timely information about such situations would help manage the health crisis better," the government said in a statement.
The technology has been developed by the Foundation for Innovation in Health, Kolkata, with the support of the department of biotechnology and IIT Guwahati. The algorithm, as said by the government, measures symptoms, signs, vital parameters, test reports and comorbidities of the COVID positive patient and scores each against a pre-set dynamic algorithm thus allocating a Covid Severity Score. The software has been tested at some primary health clinics, the government said.
While the software will identify patiemts who require serious intervention in advance, it will also identify those unlikely to require critical care support, and thus freeing more beds, the ministry said.
During the second peak of the pandemic, the overall health infrstructure of the country crumbled with the number of serious cases shooting up. Demands for ICU beds, oxygen beds increased suddenly as more and more patients required serious medical intervention.
