COMPASS

Assessing the current situation and managing the pandemic requires a digital solution that is as technically low-threshold as possible, which can be used quickly and easily by the population on the one hand, but can also be used independently by individual players in the healthcare system on the other. For a better understanding of the pandemic, it is crucial that the data is collected and made available in a way that is compatible with research. Mobile pandemic apps have been developed at many university hospitals in a very short space of time. This applies, for example, to questions about how the pandemic is spreading and what consequences this has for patients with different clinical pictures. At the beginning of the pandemic, many of these COVID-19 apps existed as stand-alone solutions, but there was no way to collate and use the data collected via these apps for COVID-19-related research.

In COMPASS, scientists from a wide range of disciplines from the university hospitals joined forces with partners from science and industry in an interdisciplinary project to jointly develop a coordination and technology platform for pandemic apps. This was to become an integral part of the Network University Medicine, complement the research data platform and provide guidelines and methods for using health apps to combat a pandemic as effectively, efficiently and research-ready as possible. In addition to best practices and guidelines, app components such as interfaces and questionnaires as well as templates for terms of use and privacy policies were developed. The network achieved the necessary speed in processing the content through appropriate preparatory work and synergies with other projects. Initially, the COMPASS project pooled the expertise and experience in the use of pandemic apps from nine university hospitals and external partners. With the help of this experience, a joint solution was created at short notice, which on the one hand takes into account the legally compliant use of pandemic apps, but on the other hand also makes it easier to integrate the apps into existing solutions for better data exchange. The project combined existing pandemic apps that are already in use in an open source modular solution and a corresponding modular development (NUM app), which can either be used directly by other partners in its existing form or adapted within the framework of defined guidelines to take account of local particularities or new issues.

By coordinating the collection, processing and evaluation of pandemic apps and drawing up recommendations for action, the nationwide network of partners from science and industry helped to anchor the development and use of digital solutions in pandemic management in the long term. Through the coordination and consensus of best practices and the joint development of software components for pandemic apps as an open source solution, duplication of work could be avoided, health apps could be developed efficiently and deployed in such a way that they effectively support healthcare, research and society in managing pandemics. The interoperability and research compatibility of the apps developed in this way means that the data collected can be better compared and combined in the medium term. The more information that can be jointly analysed, the faster and more reliably new outbreaks of infection can be detected nationwide, risk factors identified and those affected informed in a more targeted manner. Interoperable and research-compatible pandemic apps, such as those developed in COMPASS, can therefore make a significant contribution to understanding and managing COVID-19 and, in the long term, future pandemics.