Ask anyone who is working on the frontlines of COVID19 or managing bureaucratic processes to enable access to basic healthcare to COVID19 patients, they'll collectively attest to their understanding of the current situation - this is wartime. Sure, it's not war-like in our imagination of the term but COVID19 is a war against humanity in every sense. It has wreaked havoc in our lives for over a year and half now, and shows no signs of abating. As India reels under an unrelenting second wave, healthcare and frontline workers struggle to cope with the rising cases and critical resources like beds and oxygen cannisters are in short supply. In a community spirit that will be remembered for years to come, good samaritans have mobilised their time, skills and energies to crowd-source supplies for those in need. Technology has played a vital role in making this happen - several open source projects, conversational bots on Whatsapp and Twitter, message boards and online support groups have materialised and sprung into action during this hour of need. 

The Power of Collaboration

However, this professional camaraderie and strategic coordination was set in motion in the state of Kerala over a year ago, when India first reported cases in early March. Relying on their learnings from 2020, this network of professionals are now running operations out of Ernakulam's JLN Stadium Metro Station, managing the barrage of requests for beds and ambulances through a centralised control room that's driven by volunteer-built open source software called CoronaSafe Network.

Kerala's healthcare system has always garnered international acclaim. With a population exceeding 33 million, Kerala has consistently delivered positive health outcomes, has a robust healthcare infrastructure that include Primary Healthcare Centres and boasts of an advanced outlook on mass vaccination programmes. The strides in technology and entrepreneurship seen across India reflects in Kerala too, which houses some of the nation's leading incubators and technology experts. This mature outlook to manage healthcare, technology talent and playbooks of handling other mass casualty events like the floods in 2018 brought together a motley crew of entrepreneurs, software programmers, data analysts, philanthropists, NGOs, hospitals, paramedics and government officials voluntarily to mobilise their efforts to manage the pandemic using technology. The tech talent, led by Kerala Startup Village's Sanjay Vijaykumar, built the open-source public software. This software has various elements including telemedicine call management, directory of ambulances, blood banks, food delivery services, hospitals, number of beds and oxygen supply points. The dashboard provides realtime analytics of beds, ICUs and ventilators, realtime oxygen monitoring, capacity visualisation for load balancing, facility management with inventory tracking, triage, telehealth facilities, integrated ambulance shifting, patient management and clinical data visualisation. Alerts and notifications are sent in realtime. 

In Kochi, schools, colleges, places of worship, and auditoriums were identified and earmarked as Corona Care Centres. These would function as tertiary care centres for those with mild to moderate symptoms so that they can isolate and recover. In addition to allocating public utilities, curbing the spread of misinformation and ensuring the most updated information on COVID-appropriate behaviour is broadcast to the public, the CoronaSafe Network embarked on a Corona Literacy Mission. A team of volunteers worked on translating information from the WHO official website into Malayalam and posted the content on this site, with the accuracy of content vetted by a team of teachers, overseen by Dr. Usha Titus IAS, Principal Secretary, Department of Higher Education, Govt of Kerala. 

A crucial element that has been factored in is data privacy - patient data is securely stored on cloud service providers empanelled with MeitY and server access resides with state-appointed health departments. In addition, APIs have public and private end points with appropriate authorisation for system and cross-device integration. All the tools are free and open source software, with the source code available on GitHub. 

"Prepare For Numbers with Numbers, And Use Technology To Augment Healthcare"

Dr. Usha Titus IAS believes that a mass event like COVID19 requires an exceptional level of coordination across departments and a mature, data-driven approach is the only way to manage the fallout of a pandemic. "Leveraging technology to drive effective hospital management hasn't yet become the norm in Indian healthcare, even in Kerala. We have a lot of manpower and this has hindered faster adoption of technology. When COVID happened last year, Kerala was one of the first states with a rising caseload. A group of volunteers came together, with ideas on building and leveraging technology to map out essential medical resources and supplies. There was belief in numbers, and it was a unanimous decision to plan for contingencies based on mathematical projections and data analysis." 

This coordinated effort was a success in Kochi and Ernakulam. In June 2020, Chief Secretary Vishwas Mehta ordered that CoronaSafe Network be implemented in every district under the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA). Titus adds despite official approvals, this model hasn't yet reached other districts in Kerala, and colludes to a probably lack of support from district level officials in making this programme a statewide success. "This is one of the most exemplary examples of a homegrown crowd-sourced effort that was supplemented with technology talent, volunteer networks and government support. To manage a crisis like COVID19, it is absolutely imperative to call on everyone with required skillsets, this isn't just upto some sectors to sort out." 

The role of technology is pivotal in COVID19 relief efforts, as huge amounts of data is being generated everyday and can be used effectively to build future disaster management models. "This isn't the first crisis Kerala or India has seen, and won't be the last. Unlike in the past, we now have homegrown talent, technology capabilities and even remote work facilities. This kind of control room can be managed from anywhere. India is prone to all kinds of natural and manmade disasters, and we have to be prepared for large numbers - infections, fatalities, emergencies of any kind. This is the moment for India to truly ramp up healthcare infrastructure, and using technology to drive it to the next level of efficiency."