The Sustainable Health Prize (Replicability category) was awarded to the development of a COVID-19 risk scale developed by CINTESIS – Center for Health Technology and Services Research, the consulting company Winning and the Hospital of Ovar Dr. Francisco Zagalo.
The project is coordinated by Ricardo Cruz Correia, a researcher at CINTESIS and a professor of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto. It aims at developing a COVID-19 risk scale using a Monte Carlo probabilistic R&D analysis, in order to provide the Hospital of Ovar with contingency plans adapted to the pandemic case management.
According to Ricardo Cruz Correia, “this distinction is very relevant to pay attention to the need to create support tools in a context as complex and dynamic as COVID-19’s, as well as to highlight the ability to use research projects and methods in the rapid development of these solutions”.
According to Henrique Vasconcelos, a CINTESIS researcher who also participated in the project, there is still a clear “need to work, in parallel, on the interoperability of epidemiological information systems and decision support, whether it is a hospital or regional system”.
This same project had already been distinguished with funding of around 30 thousand euros awarded by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), under the RESEARCH4COVID-19 Call.
The next steps include the development of a new version for dissemination to other hospitals of the National Health Service (SNS) to support management in times of pandemic.
The 9th edition of 2020 of this Award was especially dedicated to distinguishing the “Good Practices in COVID-19 Contexts”, taking into account the pandemic caused by the new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.
The Sustainable Health Prize is an initiative of the Jornal de Negócios and Sanofi, aiming at the promotion and dissemination of good practices for health sustainability in Portugal.