Oracle builds CoVPN volunteer screening tool for NIH

Oracle and COVID-19

Oracle began developing and deploying cloud application systems targeting the coronavirus in its Oracle Cloud platform at the beginning of the pandemic.

Rebecca Laborde

The vendor collaborated with several federal agencies within HHS, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to build out the series of application systems.

The first cloud application Oracle released was the Clinical Trial Management System, which healthcare organizations can use to manage clinical trial data on drugs being tested to treat COVID-19. The system, which launched in April, enables healthcare systems to run clinical trials testing the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 treatments.

Later in April, Oracle released the Therapeutic Learning System, which enables physicians to record the daily progress of patients on drug treatments for COVID-19. The cloud application was expanded to include patient monitoring, meaning participating patients could input their symptoms via mobile devices. More than 1.5 million patient updates have been recorded in the Therapeutic Learning System, according to Oracle.

Finally, in July, Oracle launched the CoVPN Volunteer Screening Registry, which identifies and screens volunteers for NIAID's CoVPN. The goal of the CoVPN is to register millions of volunteers for clinical testing of COVID-19 vaccines.

Laborde said challenges can occur in clinical trials, including identifying and recruiting participants -- a process the CoVPN Volunteer Screening Registry aims to expedite. The screening registry includes data, such as basic demographic information and preexisting conditions, on those who want to participate. The basic information gathered during the screening process helps clinical trial sites prioritize volunteers for more rigorous clinical trial participation screening processes.

Laborde said the CoVPN Volunteer Screening Registry might be useful for healthcare CIOs as hospital systems get inquiries from patients asking to participate in clinical trials. The registry offers a streamlined way to get patients screened and registered as volunteers.

"With the clinical trials, this is a really expedited timeline to develop something like a vaccine," she said. "We're going to see a variety of different trials, and the ability to rapidly identify individuals that would be potential candidates for this is really critical to the success of these trials."