MEDLOK - Medical technology products and their localisation for needs-based use in crisis management

The current decentralised management of medical devices in healthcare facility databases leads to aconsiderable delay in the ability of the federal and state governments to respond in the event of a necessary redistribution of medical resources in the event of a crisis. Basic medical care in Austria is defined by comprehensive care planning, but crises repeatedly show that planning instruments can only be used well and adapted to a situation if the required data is available and provides the necessary information in a suitable form for users and decision-makers. The present research project "MEDLOK - Medical technology products and their localisation for needs-based use in crisis management" deals with the scientific questions of a possible distribution of medical devices in crisis situations or in the event of the failure of individual supply regions. The methodological approach of centralised management and use of existing equipment data from different hospitals in Austria is intended to show whether and to what extent added value in terms of resilience can be achieved for patient care in times of crisis. The assessment of the location and accessibility of the hospitals, the geographical proximity of the affected regions and the risk profile of the population in the catchment area of the hospitals are essential in order to provide decision-makers with a solide basis for decision-making. For this reason, geographical data should be used to collect and visualise this information. Geographic information technology and geospatial artificial intelligence also make it possible to simulate alternative courses of action and demonstrate their effects. From a scientific and technical point of view, it would be desirable to use these IT technologies in the event of a crisis. This would make it possible for decision-makers to see what quantity of equipment is available in what geographical proximity to a crisis area. It could also show how gaps for a supply area can be avoided if medical equipment is moved from hospitals to facilities in a crisis area. In addition, the creation of a central data repository for the most important medical devices in the event of a crisis also offers the possibility of introducing a standardised nomenclature for medical devices. This could ensure a standardised data structure in the area of medical device management, which does not yet exist and is not yet practised in Europe. Finally, a demonstrator of the MEDLOK system will be validated and tested by the participating project and healthcare partners in a proof-of-concept. In a test environment, previously defined fictitious crisis scenarios will be handled and processed using newly developed user-friendly interfaces. The results will provide important findings for the further development and future implementation of the MEDLOK approach and are an important part of the dissemination of the project results. Overall, the project offers a pioneering approach to improving crisis response in the healthcare sector and ensuring the efficient supply of life-saving medical technology products.