We help – and support the research project Diabetes and Covid-19

The current coronavirus pandemic poses new challenges for many people. Diabetics are among the Covid-19 risk patients, as diabetes can lead to a severe course of disease. The Austrian Diabetes Society (Österreichische Diabetes Gesellschaft / ÖDG) has therefore launched a research project to collect important information on Diabetes Mellitus and Covid-19.

Kapsch BusinessCom, Microsoft and HybridForms/icomedias support this project and provide bundled know-how and innovative technology free of charge – for the mobile collection and analysis of data in digital questionnaires on tablets and smartphones.

Success Story: Research project Diabetes and Covid-19
Success Story: Research project Diabetes and Covid-19

Digital questionnaires for secure data in healthcare and medical research

The project was implemented within a very short time by all project partners involved – with HybridForms as the software for the mobile form processes, Microsoft Azure as the platform and the implementation of the digital questionnaire by Kapsch BusinessCom. For the clinical study, anonymized data is collected from patients who have diabetes and need in-patient treatment in a hospital due to a Covid-19 infection. The medical staff record the relevant parameters on tablets and smartphones, so that all the data collected can be used immediately for further evaluation and analysis. Strict hygiene regulations can also be observed, as all mobile devices can be wiped clean, and data are transferred to research partners quickly, »contactlessly« and securely via the cloud.

Clinical study at nine hospitals in six federal states

»Diabetes mellitus is a very heterogeneous disease and it is very difficult with the current data situation to say which concomitant diseases and characteristics are decisive for a severe course of Covid-19«, explains Univ.-Prof.in Dr.in Susanne Kaser from the University Clinic for Internal Medicine I of the Medical University of Innsbruck and President of the ÖDG, and adds: »that is why the ÖDG started a research project on Diabetes and Covid-19 in Austria in April in order to quickly gain these necessary insights«. This project is being carried out at nine large hospitals and university clinics in six federal states.

»After fast implementation was of central importance for the project, we are pleased that Kapsch BusinessCom, together with its partners icomedias and Microsoft, took on the implementation of the electronic data collection tool and database without hesitation. The system was ready within a few days, so that data collection could be started quickly once the ethics committee votes had been received,« explains Assistant Professor Dr. Harald Sourij from the Clinical Department of Endocrinology and Diabetology at the Medical University of Graz, who is also First Secretary of the Austrian Diabetes Society.

»In the current Covic-19 situation, quick action is required. We thank Kapsch and its partners for the fast and professional support,« adds Kaser.

Move data – not paper: Digitization and Smart Collaboration

Christian Ekhart, CEO of icomedias/HybridForms, about the cooperation in this time-critical and exciting project: »The danger of Covid-19 restricts us – even though we at icomedias as a software producer have always worked virtually and location-independently. However, the current situation is specifically dangerous for people with diabetes. It was therefore perfectly clear to us that we would support the project of the Austrian Diabetes Society together with Kapsch BusinessCom and Microsoft free of charge through our software HybridForms, licenses and services.
According to our motto “Move data – not paper”, we focused on the security of medical data and the best mobile usability for data capture.

I would like to thank all doctors and the teams of the partners. Stay healthy!«