Background: Patients with Covid-19 are under great psychological stress, which can lead to the development of various psychiatric symptoms and maladaptive responses, such as anxiety, fear, depression, and insomnia. Psychiatric and psychological support can play a fundamental role in the general control of the disease. During the pandemic, whenever possible, services must provide help through telemedicine approaches. Digital solutions such as “PLANO-A-SAÚDE-C19” that allow to evaluate and to monitor the signs of infection of the SARS-CoV-2 while monitoring the states of mind, allow to maximize the capacity of the services without compromising on the quality-of-service provision.
Objectives: To present and describe a digital platform that is being developed to remote monitoring Covid-19 patients and their mental health status at different points of the infection, from diagnosis to recovery.
Methods: A set of sensors, coupled with a small low-cost device, is used to acquire biometric data according to different profiles. The device is connected wirelessly to a patient's smartphone, which transfers the acquired data to a central platform. Doctors can remotely access the data to assess the patient's condition and make decisions. The application running on the patient's smartphone can generate alerts (such as medication time) and alarms in case of dangerous biometric signals. In the case of Covid-19, the monitored parameters include blood pressure, heart rate, weight, body temperature, peripheral oxygen saturation, blood glucose, and the respiratory cycle. Validated psychiatric scoring tools are also used (the Montgomery–Åsberg Depression Rating Scale, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, the Insomnia Severity Scale, and the World Health Organization Quality of Life - BREF).
Results: In this work, we would like to provide some preliminary data related to the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on the mental health of individuals infected during the course of the disease. We will describe the signs and symptoms of the virus, highlighting its relevance in changing the infected person's mental health status. Through the use of the digital platform, we hope to guarantee the quality of health services, proactively and continuously, following the fluctuations in the conditions of each patient, and contribute to the Proximity of Health, through the easy access between the patient and the provider of health.
Conclusion: Healthcare services are facing a dramatic change in demand related to the effects of COVID-19. Scarce resources have mandated maximal operational efficiency and productivity to ensure timely patient access to best-suited treatment. Many hospitals have already telemedicine and launched hotlines to provide some help to people in need. Digital solutions that allow a double control of the state of organic and mental health can benefit the long-term economic, social and clinical results. The translation of therapeutic strategies that improve coping responses to stress following the needs of infected patients, contributes to the relief of related signs and symptoms. Apart from the Covid pandemic, distant mood follow-up monitoring promises a lot of others benefits.
No conflict of interest