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Developing a Personal Protective Equipment Calculator During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 October 2022

Sina Abdollahzade
Affiliation:
Neurosurgery Department, Royal Preston Hospital, Preston, UK
Sima Rafiei*
Affiliation:
Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Research Institute for Prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases, Qazvin University of Medical Sciences, Qazvin, Iran
Peyman Namdar
Affiliation:
School of Medicine, Qazvin University of Medical Sciences, Qazvin, Iran
Ahmad Ghashghaee
Affiliation:
School of Public Health, Qazvin University of Medical Sciences, Qazvin, Iran
*
Corresponding author: Sima Rafiei, Email: sima.rafie@gmail.com.

Abstract

These days, because of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, we have faced a number of challenges and scarcities in Iran. Lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) is one of the most remarkable problems that can have damaging consequences on the health system. In this letter, we introduce software that can help hospitals manage their PPE in terms of purchasing, distributing, and predicting the future needs in different time intervals. The software has several distinctive features such as superior speed, cost management, managerial dashboard, a wide range of applicability, comprehensiveness, supply chain management, and quality appraisal. We hope that our findings can assist health authorities in planning and optimizing the use of PPE for the response to COVID-19, where the shortage of resources may occur due to supply chain issues.

Type
Brief Report
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc.

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