Background Hospital workers have been the most frequently and severely affected professional group during the COVID-19 pandemic, and have a big impact on transmission. In this context, innovative tools are required to measure the symptoms compatible with COVID-19, the spread of infection, and testing capabilities within hospitals in real time. Objective We aimed to develop and test an effective and user-friendly tool to identify and track symptoms compatible with COVID-19 in hospital workers. Methods We developed and pilot tested Hospital Epidemics Tracker (HEpiTracker), a newly designed app to track the spread of COVID-19 among hospital workers. Hospital staff in 9 hospital centers across 5 Spanish regions (Andalusia, Balearics, Catalonia, Galicia, and Madrid) were invited to download the app on their phones and to register their daily body temperature, COVID-19–compatible symptoms, and general health score, as well as any polymerase chain reaction and serological test results. Results A total of 477 hospital staff participated in the study between April 8 and June 2, 2020. Of note, both health-related (n=329) and non–health-related (n=148) professionals participated in the study; over two-thirds of participants (68.8%) were health workers (43.4% physicians and 25.4% nurses), while the proportion of non–health-related workers by center ranged from 40% to 85%. Most participants were female (n=323, 67.5%), with a mean age of 45.4 years (SD 10.6). Regarding smoking habits, 13.0% and 34.2% of participants were current or former smokers, respectively. The daily reporting of symptoms was highly variable across participating hospitals; although we observed a decline in adherence after an initial participation peak in some hospitals, other sites were characterized by low participation rates throughout the study period. Conclusions HEpiTracker is an already available tool to monitor COVID-19 and other infectious diseases in hospital workers. This tool has already been tested in real conditions. HEpiTracker is available in Spanish, Portuguese, and English. It has the potential to become a customized asset to be used in future COVID-19 pandemic waves and other environments. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04326400; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04326400

BACKGROUND Hospital workers are the professional group more frequently and severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Innovative tools are required to measure in real-time the symptoms compatible with COVID-19 and the spread of infection and testing within hospitals. OBJECTIVE We aimed to develop and test a feasible easy-to-use tool to identify and track the symptoms of suspected COVID-19 in hospital workers. METHODS We summarize the development of HEpiTracker, a new App to track COVID-19 epidemics in hospitals, and describe its pilot study. Hospital staff in nine centers in five regions (Andalucia, Balearics, Catalonia, Galicia, and Madrid) in Spain were invited to upload in their smartphone the App via https://www.hepitracker.com, and to enter daily their body temperature, COVID-19 compatible symptoms and scoring of their general health, plus any serological test results with dates. RESULTS From 8 April to 2 June 2020, a total of 477 hospital staff participated. They were 323 (67.5%) female, with age 45.4±10.6 years, with 13.0% current- and 34.2% former-smokers. There were no significant differences by age (p=0.192) or sex (p=0.107) within centres. All sorts of health (n=329) and non-health (n=148) related professions participated. The daily report of symptoms was highly variable from the source population in each hospital, with a decline in adherence/participation after an initial peak in some hospitals, while in others participation rate was regularly poor. CONCLUSIONS HEpiTracker is a feasible, and already available tool to monitor COVID-19 and other epidemics in hospital workers, and already tested positively in real conditions. It is available in Spanish, Portuguese and English and may be a customized asset to be used in future COVID-19 pandemic waves and other environments. CLINICALTRIAL NCT04326400