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Deployment of a computerized ward visitor registration system in coronavirus disease 2019 epidemic: Experiences of a large academic medical center in Taiwan

Background: Visitors to hospitalized patients during an epidemic might themselves be carriers and are therefore likely to spread the disease in wards. Although measures were taken to restrict hospital visits, traditional paper-based registration is insufficient to screen and monitor the numbers of visitors to a large hospital. Methods: Throughout March 2020, during the coronavirus disease 2019 crisis, a computer system was deployed in the 2800-bed Taipei Veterans General Hospital (Taipei, Taiwan) to register, screen, and monitor inpatient visitors. This system comprised three parts: online registration form, entrance check-in interface, and registration database. The early utilization of this newly deployed system was then analyzed. Results: A total of 22,336 visits were recorded between March 11, 2020, and March 31, 2020, with 1064 a day on average. Out of these visits, 18.1% (n = 4049) had made online reservations within 48 hours. On the other hand, of all 4941 online reservations, 18.1% (n = 892) were no-shows. In the last 12 days of the study period, eight prospective visitors were identified as ineligible by the computer system, and so their visits were denied. Conclusion: Using a computer system, the hospital was able to enforce restrictions on hospital visits. Although the online registration system had not been fully used yet in the early phase of adoption, its superiority from the standpoint of disease control should enable hospital managers to consider abolishing on-site visitor registration.