Learning in a Time of Crisis: Creating a Canadian COVID-19 Registry

COVID-19 Research Area(s): Epidemiology & Public Health, Healthcare Delivery & Policy

This project will create a national registry of patients who present to Canadian Emergency Departments (EDs) with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 disease. 24 EDs across five provinces are already participating and the outcome will be a clinical decision-making resource that will help physicians make the best possible clinical decisions for their patients and ensure the best use of available resources. To do this, the team will increase the amount of data being collected in the ED including data from populations that are often underrepresented in studies impacting clinical management such as marginalized populations and women who are pregnant or breast feeding. They intend to track COVID-19 patients after they are discharged, as well as collect other important data for future work. Ultimately, this collected data will help characterize the burden, prognosis and resource allocation of ED COVID-19 patients in Canada, which in turn will have a significant impact on resource allocation and planning. By identifying early ED risk factors and treatments associated with poor or improved outcomes, this study will better inform clinical decision making for patients with COVID-19.