4 September 2020 - - Canada-based healthcare connection and communication software provider Verto Health is partnering with Canadian non-profit organisation McMaster HealthLabs to contribute its digital twin software platform to support MHL's COVID-19 study of international travellers arriving at Toronto Pearson International Airport, the company said.

MHL, a non-profit organization that develops COVID-19 research initiatives and testing solutions, is conducting the study with support and resources from Air Canada and the Greater Toronto Airports Authority.

The study will collect information from volunteer passengers on international flights to determine the effectiveness of different quarantine periods.

Participation requires travellers to provide a sample to MHL researchers before leaving the airport and supply two additional samples that will be self-collected seven and 14 days after arrival.

Verto Health's solution, which solves the decades-old problems of healthcare platform interoperability and care coordination, is being leveraged by MHL to provide data connection and data collection technology, workflow and forms automation.

Verto Health's software will connect data from the passenger testing data collection point to the lab, and communicate results back to the participant.

The company's workflow and forms automation will allow passengers' data to be made anonymous, and for them to be notified of their results within 48 hours of taking the test.

Integrating workflows from different healthcare systems typically takes months and involves moving data from various sources.

Because Verto's digital twin platform leaves information where it already resides, and links to it instead, the software can establish information workflows between systems within weeks.

The highly scalable solution, which currently integrates with more than 75 hospitals and healthcare organizations, can be implemented without disrupting existing EMR or legacy systems.

Through the use of MHL research protocols and a highly secure platform, participants' data will be collected anonymously and managed in accordance with the same security and privacy regulations as hospitals and other healthcare organizations.

Personal information of the study participants will be processed and stored in Canada at all times and protected from disclosure.

Verto is fully compliant with PIPEDA, PHIPA and HIPAA regulations.

McMaster HealthLabs is a non-profit organisation that develops COVID-19 research initiatives and testing solutions to keep Canadians safe and to get them back to work.

MHL works with scientists and doctors from McMaster University, the Research Institute of St. Joe's Hamilton, and other Canadian universities and research organizations.

MHL is focused on curbing the human, economic and social costs of COVID-19 by creating scientific research initiatives that help Canadian leaders make evidence-based decisions. 

Verto Health is a team of passionate healthcare informaticians and technologists working to use digital twin technology to revolutionise interoperability, health delivery efficiency and cross-sector collaboration with the ultimate goal of dramatically improving patient outcomes and the patient experience, all while significantly reducing administration and healthcare organisation costs.