An Australian diagnostic microbiology surge response to the COVID-19 pandemic

Sparks, Rebecca; Balgahom, Rifky; Janto, Catherine; Branley, James; Samarasekara, Harsha

doi:10.1016/j.diagmicrobio.2021.115309

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…In effect, this was a similar approach as to the sub-national governments described previously, except the collaboration took place horizontally, that is across governmental departments and agencies. This policy has similarities to the recommendations successfully followed in other settings, where a rapid surge in capacity was needed (Carenzo et al, 2020;Sparks et al, 2021). Particular mention needs to be made to the contribution of sub-national governments who were able to mobilize, train and mentor additional laboratory staff and community volunteers for data input, tracking and tracing (MoH Indonesia, 2020e).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Building on health security capacities in Indonesia: Lessons learned from the COVID‐19 pandemic responses and challenges

Aisyah

Mayadewi²,

Budiharsana

et al. 2022

Zoonoses and Public Health

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As an active member country of the WHO's International Health Regulation and Global Health Security Agenda, Indonesia, the world's fourth-most populous and largest archipelagic country has recorded the second-highest COVID-19 cases in Asia with over 1.8 million cases in early June 2021. This geographically and socially diverse country has a dynamic national and sub-national government coordination with decentralized authorities that can complicate a pandemic response which often requires nationally harmonized policies, adaptability to sub-national contexts and global interconnectedness. This paper analyses and reviews COVID-19 public data, regulations,

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Building on health security capacities in Indonesia: Lessons learned from the COVID‐19 pandemic responses and challenges

Aisyah

Mayadewi²,

Budiharsana

et al. 2022

Zoonoses and Public Health

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“…4 Some basic research laboratories in academic institutions, especially those associated with hospitals and those that had already developed expertise and infrastructure, built systems to run RT-qPCR diagnostic or screening tests to overcome the overall test shortages. 1,[5][6][7][8] In Japan, institutions (other than hospitals, clinics, or institutions designated by the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare or MHLW) must obtain registration from the prefectural governor with jurisdiction as an external clinical laboratory (ECL) to perform clinical diagnostic tests. 9 COVID-19 was first classified as a "designated infectious disease" in February 2020, then in February 2021 as "the Novel Influenza and other diseases category (equivalent to Class 2)" under the Act on the Prevention of Infectious Diseases and Medical Care for Patients with Infectious Diseases (hereafter the Infectious Diseases Control Law) in Japan.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using a Systems Engineering Approach to Build a PCR Testing System at a Medical School During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Oba,

Toriya,

Uwamino

et al. 2024

RMHP

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Background During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was an increasing need to expand diagnostic testing in hospitals. At Keio University Hospital (KUH), clinical staff were concerned that the demand for PCR testing might exceed the capacity of the Clinical Laboratory. In response, basic researchers at Keio University School of Medicine (KUSM) set out to build a new, collaborative, PCR testing system. To be authorized to perform such diagnostic PCR testing, KUSM registered its core laboratory as an external clinical laboratory (ECL). Methods In the pandemic, there was a pressure to build the PCR system quickly. Speed required discussions that developed a shared understanding of the unprecedented, new KUH/KUSM PCR system. To design, construct, and archive the new PCR testing system, we used a systems engineering (SE) approach. This included diagram visualization of functional flows and application of the Unified Architecture Framework (UAF), both of which are often used in system building. We considered daily demand for PCR testing at KUH and KUSM, and daily COVID-19 infections in Japan. Results We operated the collaborative PCR testing system from August 2020 to June 2022. Given public health insurance reimbursement policies, KUH focused on individuals with suspicious symptoms, while the ECL at KUSM screened samples from asymptomatic individuals. KUSM performed about half as many tests as KUH. Interviewing KUH staff revealed that diagrams helped promote a better understanding of the KUH/KUSM PCR testing system. Conclusion When designing temporary systems that may be repurposed in the future, we suggest using an SE approach with diagrams and UAF perspectives. This approach will enable stakeholders to understand what is being proposed to be built, and facilitate achieving an informed consensus on the proposed system. We suggest that SE approaches should be widely used in projects that involve building and operating complex, collaborative systems, and documenting the process.

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“…Health agencies and healthcare institutions in several countries have described the experience of increasing diagnostic capacity for testing in response to the COVID-19 pandemic ( Grotto et al, 2020 , Huh et al, 2021 , Sparks et al, 2021 , Yang et al, 2020 ). However, the experience of implementing large scale laboratory testing for SARS-CoV-2 in the United States has yet to be described.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Implementation of large-scale laboratory-based detection of COVID-19 in the Veterans Health Administration, March 2020 – February 2021

Sharma

Oda

Icardi

et al. 2022

Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease

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Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) presented numerous operational challenges to healthcare delivery networks responsible for implementing large scale detection of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), the infection caused by SARS-CoV-2. We describe testing performance, review data quality metrics, and summarize experiences during the scale up of laboratory-based detection of COVID-19 in the Veterans Health Administration, the largest healthcare system in the United States. During March 2020 to February 2021, we observed rapid increase in testing volume, decreases in test turnaround time, improvements in testing of hospitalized persons, changes in test positivity, and varying utilization of different tests. Though performance metrics improved over time, surges challenged testing capacity and data quality remained suboptimal. Future planning efforts should focus on fortifying supply chains for consumables and equipment repair, optimizing distribution of testing workload across laboratories, and improving informatics to accurately monitor operations and intent for testing during a public health emergency.

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An Australian diagnostic microbiology surge response to the COVID-19 pandemic

Cited by 5 publications

References 12 publications

Building on health security capacities in Indonesia: Lessons learned from the COVID‐19 pandemic responses and challenges

Building on health security capacities in Indonesia: Lessons learned from the COVID‐19 pandemic responses and challenges

Using a Systems Engineering Approach to Build a PCR Testing System at a Medical School During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Implementation of large-scale laboratory-based detection of COVID-19 in the Veterans Health Administration, March 2020 – February 2021

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