The COVID-19 pandemic: How predictive analysis, artificial intelligence and GIS can be integrated into a clinical command system to improve disaster response and preparedness.

Europe's second wave of coronavirus infections has struck well before flu season even started, with intensive care units filling up again. Making matters worse, authorities say, is a widespread case of “COVID-fatigue.” Record high daily infections in several eastern European countries and sharp rebounds in the hard-hit west suggest Europe never really flattened the COVID-19 curve as hoped after springtime lockdowns [1].

There is social pressure to provide timely and effective responses to COVID-19 along with the potential for unknown crisis that can seemingly lurk around the corner, such as flooding, earthquakes, and other climate induced disasters. Technology has enabled businesses, governments and society to function in a transformative capacity with unprecedented expediency due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Data driven decision making is increasingly regarded as an important characteristic of a successful response to any crisis [2]. When disaster strikes, governments are responsible for the safety and well-being of the citizens they are sworn to protect. Readily available and credible information that is easy to access and interpret is crucial for a timely and effective response [[3], [4], [5]]. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is a framework used for gathering, managing and analyzing data. In a disaster and crisis management context GIS is used to highlight the relationships, patterns and associations that can be difficult to extrapolate due to the complexity of data. Geospatial analysis tools can be used to improve planning, response times, collaboration and communication in an overwhelming complex and turbulent environment [6,7].

European governments should to evaluate investment in GIS frameworks that are standardized so that information can be readily shared across the European Union. Over 500 hospitals globally have partnered with GE Healthcare to implement clinical command centers that are high tech solutions to improve patient care coordination using artificial intelligence and predictive analysis [8].

An integrated command center provides decision support for staff that monitors patient flow, tracks delays and provides this information in real time using both strategically located large LCD screens throughout the hospital and mobile applications that are available to hospital staff. GE’s Command Center ecosystem was used during the COVID-19 pandemic at more than 150 hospitals and in Oregon’s statewide system for managing real time bed and ventilator inventory [9].

Integrating GIS into the software ecosystem of a clinical command system would generate a much more precise response and improve operational capability and collaboration throughout the healthcare system during a disaster or crisis event. For example, crowd-sourced geographic data could be used to improve situational awareness and improve data reliability in cases where standard mapping is either unavailable, or outdated [10,11]. GIS data can also be utilized in emergency departments with their response to pandemics and concurrent disasters by reporting real time data concerning staffing and resource allocation including ventilators status. Coordination across hospitals and healthcare systems regionally through visual dashboards would help to manage a surge of patients requiring admission in an effort to achieve load-balancing and prevent overwhelming local resources [12]. European governments are urged to invest further in applying geospatial thinking to improve the speed, scalability and insights provided by GIS technology. This should be integrated into clinical command centers to help achieve a collectively more secure and prosperous European continent.