Healthcare and tech have partnered to tackle COVID-19. The effort, called the COVID-19 Healthcare Coalition, will operate with the singular goal of achieving a "shut down" of coronavirus. Led by Mayo Clinic, this private-industry partnership will combine the talents of healthcare organizations, technology companies, non-profits, start-ups, and academia to organize a coordinated response to coronavirus.
"Pandemics stress our healthcare systems," John Halamka, M.D. of the Mayo Clinic stated in his blog. Dr. Halamka identified the various mitigation techniques employed today, but he also indicated a need for improvement. "More targeted measures are needed, and that requires coordination," he said.
In the tech industry, Amazon's AWS has agreed to participate. This expands the efforts of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, who has already devoted a significant amount of time to address coronavirus. Microsoft and Salesforce have also joined this coalition.
In addition, numerous healthcare entities, including HCA Healthcare, Labcorp, and the University of California Healthcare System, have all joined the coalition. MITRE, a group that specializes in research and development, will handle the program management duties.
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Specifically, the coalition plans to use both data to aid the decision-making process and study efforts to slow the spread of coronavirus. They also intend to work to get diagnostic testing to those who need it and to better focus staff, space, and supply chain resources within the healthcare system.
"With top experts and industry leaders sharing plans and resources – and working collaboratively – we can deploy resources more effectively and offer better situational awareness to those at the front lines," the coalition states on its website.
The COVID-19 Healthcare Coalition also encourages other groups to join its efforts. Every company and organization involved will participate on a volunteer basis.
