OVLG hospital in Amsterdam has developed an app called “De Corona Check,” which has become available to everyone in the Netherlands today. The app allows users to estimate how likely they are to have contracted the coronavirus.

App-based diagnosis

Users of The Corona Check can upload their symptoms, and teams of doctors and nurses at seven control centres can assess them and provide advice. They decide how likely it is that the user has coronavirus based on their symptoms and, if necessary, contact the user within 24 hours. The user will then be referred to a hospital or advised to get in touch with their GP.

The Corona Check is based on the existing Luscii app, which provides guidance for sufferers of chronic diseases. “The Luscii app was already in use for the chronically ill at half of the Dutch hospitals, as well as in England, Sweden and Denmark,” said founder Daan Dohmen. “We have now made this app suitable for people with corona.”

The OVLG’s app was launched on March 16 and has already been downloaded by over 115.000 people. “There are now about 70.000 people who fill in their data every day,” Dohmen said. “Of those, some 4.000 have been identified as a COVID-19 suspect. Based on the app, it has been determined that these people are very likely to have corona.”

Human testing

Starting from this week, the OVLG will begin to physically test people who use the app to upload their symptoms as well as provide more intensive advice through the app. “While we can only express a high probability of coronavirus, for the time being, we are now switching to testing and more intensive supervision at home,” said Paul Bresser, a pulmonologist at the OVLG. “This offers more security for people with complaints.”

The OVLG will start by testing its own employees who use the app to upload their symptoms. The employees will be invited to be tested on location and will then receive additional advice through the app and through video consultations. Infected employees will be given an oxygen saturation meter to take home. “We start with that with employees of the OLVG, but if that turns out to work, we will make it available to a larger group," Bresser explained.