Becker's Hospital Review

39 INNOVATION University Hospitals partnership uses facial recognition for reopening public spaces: 4 details By Laura Dyrda U niversity Hospitals is working with a technology company on facial recognition tech- nology as part of the effort to return people to work and reopen restau- rants and entertainment venues during the COVID-19 pandemic. Four things to know: 1. The Cleveland-based health sys- tem is partnering with TensorMark, a cloud-based artificial intelligence technology and computer vision tech provider, to combine COVID-19 test results with facial recognition software that will allow employers, retail venues, sports arenas and concert venues to validate whether the person has tested positive for COVID-19 or not. 2. Consumers can opt in to the tech- nology, giving the health system per- mission to include their COVID-19 test information in a databank that would identify their COVID-19 sta- tus. "Working with TensorMark al- lows us to design an identity solution built around consumers' preferenc- es to safely, securely and efficient- ly validate a person's recent re- sults," said University Hospitals CIO Robert Eardley. 3. Participants would be able to validate their COVID-19 test sta- tus through mobile devices or by a device at the entrance of a specific location to identify individuals via fa- cial recognition. Then, locations can fast-track entrance by automatically unlocking or opening doors. 4. Employers can use the technol- ogy to validate that employees are healthy and can safely enter their office space. n 23andMe asks hospitals for help recruiting critically ill COVID-19 patients for study By Jackie Drees D irect-to-consumer DNA testing company 23andMe is asking hospitals to help recruit patients who have been hospitalized with COVID-19 to join its genetics study of the disease, according to STAT. 23andMe launched the study for its existing customers, which accounted for more than 400,000 participants from mid-April to mid-May. Of those participants, 6,000 had tested positive for COVID-19. The company surveyed participants about their symptoms, experiences of their family members and whether they work in healthcare. 23andMe wants to recruit up to 10,000 new participants for the study, specifically individuals who have been hospitalized with COVID-19. The study aims to ana- lyze their data to detect genetic differences that could explain why some infected patients end up in critical condition while others have mild to no symptoms. Robert Green, MD, medical geneticist and physician at Harvard and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, told the publication that while he supports consum- er groups' initiatives to combat COVID-19, the studies won't get very far without data available through an EHR. Study participants pulled from hospital records present a different, more precise pool of participants. "The more numbers you get, the more questions you can ask," Dr. Green said. "Is there a genetic predisposition for not only who's more severe, but once you get on a respirator, who gets off faster? Is there a predisposition for who's more tuned to renal failure?" The wave of 23andMe's COVID-19 study will be limited to individuals who are not already customers, according to the report. n Providence spinout launches COVID-19 screening, testing tools to help employers bring staff back to work By Jackie Drees A yin Health Solutions, Renton, Wash.-based Providence's population health management company, launched a COVID-19 toolkit that offers health screening, symptom assess- ment and testing services for employers looking to bring staff back to the workplace. Providence established Ayin in 2019 to assist payers, providers, employers and government organizations with population health management services. Four things to know: 1. Employees can record daily symptoms directly online or in the mobile app, dubbed COVIDReady, as well as respond to health screening questions. 2. e mobile population health app can also be used to collect an employee's body tempera- ture to help identify new infected and symptomatic employees. 3. COVIDReady uses COVID-19 tests that have been granted emergency use authorization from the FDA. e app features a cloud-based data platform that networks testing labs and clinicians through employer- and employee-only interfaces. 4. Ayin's care management teams will work with healthcare providers and labs to support screen- ing questions, testing services and social distance monitoring provided through the app. n

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