SBIR Phase I: Automated Medical Supply Dispenser to Decrease Spread of COVID-19 to Healthcare Professionals

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The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to protect healthcare workers and conserve personal protective equipment (PPE) through automated medication delivery. The healthcare system is facing an unprecedented emergency during the COVID-19 crisis. The US has just 3.3 hospital beds available per 1,000 people, and healthcare workers have accounted for 10% of COVID-19 cases in Italy. This project will decrease the frequency of direct contact with patients through a medication dispenser integrated with the Electronic Health Record (EHR). In the near term, it will lower the chance of transmission of the novel coronavirus, saving limited PPE supplies, and potentially alleviating mounting pressure on the healthcare system. In the longer term, it can be used for other medical conditions; for instance, it can enable a patient to self-administer pain medication in a device that provides reporting for EHR and the physician, potentially addressing the national opioid epidemic.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is for the design and development of a medical device managed by secure software and integrated with the Electronic Health Record (EHR) via FHIR (Fast Hospital Interoperability Resources), an emerging protocol and evolution of HL7 (Health Level 7) intended to radically simplify the data interface in the EHR system. The outcome of the project is to further the interface between the device and the hospital EHR through FHIR. The SBIR Phase 1 project is focused on defining challenges for this EHR-FHIR integration, including potential cybersecurity risks.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.