The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced the launch of a free app to coach clinicians on how to use personal protective equipment to prevent Ebola transmission.
The app, powered by San Mateo, Calif.-based Gamgee's 22otters platform, is speech-enabled and allows healthcare workers to access easy-to-follow directions for putting on and removing protective equipment and a powered air purifying respirator to ensure they are following the most recent CDC guidelines. After the initial launch later in April, 22otters will release a variant of the app that allows training progress tracking and content modules customized for the provider, according to a news release.
Designed to be just-in-time training, the app is not meant to replace traditional training but rather to supplement it. The process of donning Ebola protective gear is extensive and can be easy to forget, especially as it is not a common procedure in most U.S. hospitals, according to the news release.
"Since 90 percent of all healthcare providers use a smartphone, they can now be empowered to access protective equipment guidelines and review them as often as they like at their convenience as well as at the point of care," said 22otters CEO Bob Quinn in the news release.