Case study: A digital diagnostic support tool for Long COVID

Even though the COVID pandemic is officially over, experts estimate that between 6-10% of those infected suffer from debilitating long-term health effects called “Long COVID” or diagnosed as the “Post-COVID Syndrome”.

Healthcare systems globally are poorly equipped to handle Long COVID. The current diagnostic process is made complicated by the fact that affected individuals can present with unique constellations of 200 different symptoms, some of which persist over time and others which may appear and disappear as the condition progresses.

Moreover, primary care doctors are not always able to make a diagnosis: they may or may not be aware of Post COVID Condition as a diagnostic possibility, may not be trained in Long COVID, and often have difficulty making time to understand the complex disease presentation.

More often than not, patients are engaged in arduous diagnostic journeys, consulting with many specialists, undergoing numerous tests, and experiencing long wait times. Lengthy patient journeys deteriorate the condition and complicate the treatment.

Within Germany, an estimated 2.4 million people are affected by Long-COVID creating a €21.6 billion burden on the economy. HealthHero’s Long COVID Service offers a comprehensive digital diagnostic process for the German healthcare system. The service is online, user-friendly, and accessible for patients regardless of geographic location; providing a considerable advantage to patients suffering from the debilitating symptoms of Long COVID.

Since January 2024, the Long-COVID Service has been made available free-of-cost to members of four statutory health insurances in Germany. In a similar project funded by the senate of Berlin and in partnership with the Charité hospital, HealthHero is testing a hybrid version of the CDSS by sharing outcomes of the digital anamnesis with local GPs using KIM (Gematik) technology. Together, these efforts strengthen the ability of digital health solutions to address the needs and serious issues faced by healthcare provision in rural and underserved regions. 

The basic idea of the project is to provide access to a digital diagnostic service for individuals who suspect they may have Long COVID. It is made up of two parts:

• A digital Symptom Assessment tool that is a Clinical Decision Support System and uses algorithms based on Bayesian logic and covers pre-existing medical conditions, medical history, demographic information, Quality of Life, work capacity and 12 symptom areas (number of symptoms and severity), which are based on standardised questionnaires that have been validated in the German population. It generates a suspected diagnosis and provides treatment recommendations.

The algorithms are developed by our expert clinical team and undergo extensive clinical governance reviews to validate the clinical content. Furthermore, the algorithms are based on up-to-date research and established guidance, such as the Long-COVID-Richtlinie and regularly reviewed. The Symptom Checker is a certified medical device (MDD class I, in transition to MDR class IIa) and performed better than all other on-the-market systems in a peer-reviewed study.  

• The video consultation is an online conversation between the patient and a doctor trained in Long-COVID. It is used to discuss symptom severity, to confirm or rule out the suspected diagnosis, and to share specific treatment recommendations. It is conducted by a specialist doctor who has undergone several training sessions in Long COVID and clinical diagnosis of the Post-COVID-19 Condition.
  
  

HealthHero’s Long-COVID Service is the first step to a standardised digital health treatment pathway. Pairing the results of our digital symptom checker with an online consultation with doctors brings diagnostic expertise quickly, affordably, and directly to patients.

HealthHero is simplifying healthcare, improving lives.