St. George’s Hospital’s Dynamic Response to COVID-19 Curbs Down Virus Incidence in Beirut, Lebanon

St. George’s Hospital is a highly active medical center dealing with the COVID-19 crisis in Beirut. Since the start of the pandemic, the hospital’s Infectious Disease Research staff shifted their efforts to respond to this unexpected public health emergency. Dealing with a fast spreading new virus meant that the unit needed a dynamic system to analyze data, track patient information and streamline staff communication. And there was no time to waste.

At a stressful time when every minute mattered, the hospital’s Infectious Disease Research unit immediately turned to Quickbase. The platform was the modern and robust solution that the team needed to get a strategy in place fast. With Quickbase’s committed support, the unit transitioned to a paperless environment in record time. This allowed the staff to create new services overnight and optimize them faster than they ever imagined.

With increased data availability and enhanced analysis capabilities, St. George’s Hospital has been able to deliver streamlined health services when the people of Beirut needed it most.

Challenge

• A rapidly spreading public health pandemic that required powerful data management
• Time-sensitive rollout of emergency medical services needed tracking and optimization amidst the pandemic
• The hospital’s dated system still relied on notes, spreadsheets and manual data input
• Lack of a unified database limited the ability to run real-time data analysis

Solution

• Custom-made applications built on Quickbase to manage data and promptly respond to unexpected changes
• Centralized database to trace patient contacts and help flatten the curve
• Paperless workflow for reliable data collection, sharing and reporting
• Dynamic analysis to build an effective public health strategy

Benefits

• Application customization means that the staff can react faster to an ever-changing environment
• Decision makers who need real-time data always have access to the most up to date and accurate information
• Responsive customer support from Quickbase to help build the right apps at the fastest speed
• Functional, user-friendly interface that allows hospital staff to spend more time with patients

Controlling the Pandemic

As a global health crisis, COVID-19 hit everyone by surprise. But when coronavirus struck in Beirut, the Infectious Disease Research staff at St. George’s found Quickbase as the software that their unit needed to study and fight the epidemic. From technology to communication, there were many gaps to fill for this research center and Quickbase was there to deliver.

With such a crucial task at hand, Quickbase offered the level of customization and adaptability that they needed to work through the pandemic. In a collaborative effort, the staff at St. George’s and the Quickbase team gave the unit’s information systems the necessary overhaul to handle the pandemic.

“It’s been amazing. The team is marvelous,” said Research Fellow, Omar Zmerli. “We had maybe only two calls and we were building. And a week after that, we had a very functional app that was easy to use.”

Fast Customization

When lives are at risk, time is of the essence. For the St. George’s Hospital Infectious Disease Research unit, tracing the contacts of patients who tested COVID-positive was urgent to halt the spread of the disease. Quickbase allowed the team to develop the workflows to do just that and made it happen quickly.

With only some minor tweaks to the software, researchers were able to accurately trace who their patients’ contacts were. They followed-up with those contacts to see if they were infected and avoid further spread of the disease. It helped the staff expand into the community and simplified in-hospital operations to manage the public health crisis.

Dynamic Analysis

To build an effective strategy, decision-makers need to collect, share and analyze data in real-time. When the team at St. George’s needed to act quickly and decisively, Quickbase was the reliable solution for them. It delivered the technology to centralize information, visualize data and optimize their services.

With Quickbase, this team of medical professionals cut the inefficiencies in their workflow. They said good-bye to inaccurate spreadsheets, notes and conversations while streamlining the sharing of information. They gained access to essential information that saved time and simplified communication.

“Quickbase and their marvelous team played an essential role in helping us navigate through this pandemic,” said Zmerli. “You gave us some really essential tools that enabled us to act quickly and that really was part of this mini-success in curbing our COVID incidence.”

In the face of a crisis, responsiveness is key. When the team at St. George’s Infectious Disease Research division chose Quickbase, they knew that the software would deliver. Thanks to this partnership, the medical professionals gained access to modern data analysis and efficient communication systems. With these tools under their belt, they were able to handle the pandemic and save the lives of many.