Calimex and Otava Offer Free Access to Health Questionnaire App that Speeds Up Blood Donation Process as Demand Rises in COVID-19 Pandemic
Secure, Compliant Application Dramatically Reduces Donor Time at Blood Centers
SAN FRANCISCO and ANN ARBOR, Mich., April 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Calimex, a leader in regulated software development and systems integrator for the healthcare industry has partnered with Otava, a global leader in secure and compliant cloud solutions, to offer free access during the height of the coronavirus outbreak to its donor health questionnaire application, eDHQ Lite.
The application for hospitals and blood donation facilities gives donors a way to save time by filling out their required health questionnaire at home electronically, before going to give blood. Communication through the remote app is safe and compliant, backed by Otava's hosted managed cloud solutions. eDHQ Lite helps blood and plasma centers and hospitals significantly reduce the amount of time an individual donor spends on site, which is important during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The global spread of COVID-19 has created a greater need for blood and plasma donations for those who regularly rely on blood products. In addition, convalescent plasma is now being used to develop serums recently approved for clinical trials by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in preventing the spread of COVID-19.
To respond to both needs, blood and plasma collection sites now have the opportunity to access the eDHQ Lite CASI Application to share with their donors, free of charge through December 31, 2020.
"The traditional process of completing a donor health questionnaire, or DHQ, includes about 30 minutes of paperwork at the donor center before the donation process even begins. Eliminating paper or kiosk-enabled forms minimizes donors' physical contact with surfaces to help reduce their risk of exposure," said Calimex CEO Sam Waran. "The eDHQ Lite application is easy to use and lets donors click a link to fill out the DHQ form electronically from anywhere with little or no training."
Calimex's eDHQ Lite is a Cloud Access Security Inspection (CASI) application using an enhanced security profile backed by Otava's secure, compliant managed cloud solutions. Otava was the first cloud solutions provider in the U.S. to meet HIPAA compliance standards and has passed its independent HIPAA audit with 100 percent compliance against the latest Office of Civil Rights HIPAA Audit Protocol every year.
"The coronavirus pandemic has created a real need to encourage and support donors of blood and plasma," said Brad Cheedle, CEO at Otava. "Working with Calimex, we are simplifying the process and minimizing the time it takes to donate blood or plasma while providing the security and compliance required of the health care industry."
The FDA has provided updated guidance to address the urgent need for blood products during the pandemic, and the American Red Cross estimates that someone in the U.S. needs blood every two seconds.
"Ultimately, our goal is to help health care providers meet patient needs and give researchers the tools they need to innovate new treatments," said Waran.
Blood and plasma collection centers do not screen for COVID-19. Only healthy individual should donate blood and plasma. Hospitals and blood centers interested in subscribing to eDHQ Lite can visit www.edhq.net for more information.
About Calimex
Calimex USA Corporation, based in San Francisco, is a leader in regulated software development and a systems integrator for the healthcare industry. Calimex provides specialized automated healthcare solutions designed to ensure the highest level of safety, security, efficacy, effectiveness and efficiency. Calimex manufactures medical devices and owns several FDA 510 (k) approved software medical devices. Learn more at www.calimex.net.
About Otava
Otava provides the secure, compliant hybrid cloud solutions demanded by service providers, channel partners and enterprise clients in compliance-sensitive industries. By actively aggregating best-of-breed cloud companies and investing in people, tools, and processes, Otava's global footprint continues to expand. The company provides its customers in highly regulated disciplines with a clear path to transformation through its effective solutions and broad portfolio of hybrid cloud, data protection, disaster recovery, security and colocation services, all championed by an exceptional support team. Learn more at www.otava.com.
SOURCE Otava
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