{"id":7638,"date":"2022-09-13T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-09-13T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-06-12T04:31:20","modified_gmt":"2025-06-12T11:31:20","slug":"azure-api-for-fhir-and-microsoft-s-power-platform-help-universities-tackle-covid19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/azure.microsoft.com\/en-us\/blog\/azure-api-for-fhir-and-microsoft-s-power-platform-help-universities-tackle-covid19\/","title":{"rendered":"Azure API for FHIR and Microsoft\u2019s Power Platform help universities tackle COVID-19"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When summer 2021 ended, many organizations faced the formidable challenge of how to return to their places of work and school safely. Tuskegee University<\/a> (Tuskegee) was one of them\u2014not only was the safe return of students and faculty to school<\/a> a priority but since Tuskegee is in a community with no hospital, controlling exposure was essential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the time, Tuskegee encountered many challenges, including but not limited to a statewide shortage of testing kits, inability to handle the broadscale logistics of testing, contact tracing, and figuring out a simplified way to report on status and schedule tests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the help of industry partners like Microsoft<\/a> and Enabling Technologies<\/a>, Tuskegee was able to build and execute a successful strategy to allow students to return to school safely amidst COVID-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Public health specialist, Crystal James stepped up to address the challenge that Tuskegee faced. “We realized that to get back to face to face, we needed to have a strategy to protect the learning environment,” she recalled. She expanded her responsibilities as Department Chair in the College of Veterinary Medicine to include a new position: the Special Assistant to the President for COVID-19 Response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lack of testing kits<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The first hurdle faced was the lack of test kits. According to Crystal, the COVID-19 Recovery Management Center (CRMC) studied the test kits and decided to make their own kits. The Tuskegee CRMC is composed of laboratory scientists, policy specialists, nurses, and public health professionals. They made test kits for the faculty, staff, students, and the surrounding Black Belt Counties<\/a> who lacked access to tests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Handling the logistics of testing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

With their campus laboratories ready to make the kits, the industry came to Tuskegee\u2019s aid. Thermo Fisher Scientific generously offered the instrumentation for Tuskegee to do PCR testing on campus. In February 2021, Tuskegee University opened its own Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) certified reference laboratory and began PCR testing for COVID-19. They tied their testing systems to Thermo Fisher\u2019s for processing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

An easy-to-use app<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

With test kits and the ability to provide results on campus, Tuskegee University Health Disparities Diagnostic Center addressed the next step\u2014developing a mechanism to deliver the test results back to individuals promptly and contact tracing on campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tuskegee found Microsoft\u2019s offerings and solutions to be the right fit\u2014using Microsoft Power Platform, Dataverse & Azure API for FHIR, the institution had tools to schedule tests, send test results back, and attest to health status while on campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Building an app that was simple to use was paramount. The features in the app that was built using Microsoft\u2019s Power Platform allowed students and faculty to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n