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CovidCare Tracker

CovidCare Tracker (CCT) is the ICT solution developed by the Office of the CIO (OoCIO), the Covid-19 Contact Management Programme and external partners in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The first case of COVID-19 was entered on the system within a week of development starting in March 2020.

The CCT solution which was developed on the Microsoft Dynamics enterprise platform supports over 2500 active users in Public Health Departments, Contact Tracing Centres, assessment hubs, acute hospitals and elsewhere to manage the flow of patients along the Covid-19 care pathway. The CovidCare Tracker now manages the Covid-19 electronic health records of over 1 million patients. This is a significant milestone for a system that just started development life in early March 2020 with the first release of software deployed within 10 days. There have been over 30 software releases since then, thanks to the highly agile methodology being used, to ensure the HSE can remain responsive to evolving requirements and fast changing priorities of this pandemic.

The solution manages Covid-19 incidents in settings, including flights and in schools & crèches, providing Public Health Departments with digital support to manage test referrals for large groups. It is now the central hub for Covid-19 communications as it:

  • manages all central Contact Tracing Centre processes;
  • issues over 20,000 communications each day to the public including reporting of Covid-19 test results and daily active follow up;
  • alerts close contacts via automated text message as soon as they have been identified
  • captures surveillance information on all positive cases and makes this available to the HPSC for analysis;
  • provides information for operational and management dashboards on the HSE's testing and tracing service.

 

CovidCare Tracker Team

The CCT team is small but highly motivated with proactive quality delivery and patient care at its core.

This new OoCIO team which started its formation back in March has largely remained unchanged since then with the core team being as committed today as they were on the first day they joined team. They are motivated by the desire to contribute to the ongoing management of the pandemic. This continuity and the willingness from the team to stay focussed and involved in the delivery and support of CCT for such a sustained and difficult period must be commended.

The team structure is broadly based on 2 pillars – Development & Operational with an overarching strategic focus. The team are also supported by a number of external partners such as Microsoft, Sysco, and Twilio/Kaptea who continue to play a key role in the delivery of CCT. Since the first release of software in March 2020 a release cycle process was put in place to manage overall strategic priorities and change requests for new system enhancements. The Change Request Register was set up on day one and has continued to inform the progression of the development path for CCT.  Priorities are identified and analysed. Analysis includes estimation of effort, quantification of overall benefit, the fit within the overall plan. Above all the analysis will have particular focus on the ongoing and changing requirements of the Covid-19 care pathway. In line with all health projects the patient remains at the centre and plans develop around their Covid-19 needs.  Specifications for identified priorities are developed and once approved these inform the development phase.  Once coded the new code must pass through a rigorous User Acceptance Testing cycle prior to deployment to the live environment.

CovidCare Tracker is continuously evolving and being enhanced to further support the Covid-19 care pathway. Some key developments planned for upcoming releases to include:

  • Digital forms to be made available for the entry of close contacts by positive patients
  • Digital forms to be made available to identified close contacts so they can self-refer for testing as soon as they are identified

 

Quote from Tom Laffan, OoCIO Delivery Director: 

“The reliance on digital technology and supporting teams within the OoCIO has better enabled the Health Service to respond to service demands in a Covid environment. I’m privileged to be working with such a great team who have delivered such an effective CovidCare Tracker solution. In very difficult times they have made such a positive contribution to our fight against Covid and they should be very proud of their work.”