Ido Rosenblat, who oversees technology development at Magen David Adom (MDA), Israel’s paramedic and Red Cross service, was named Chief Information Officer of the Year by the online magazine “People and Computers,” the second time in three years he was so honored.
In naming Rosenblat as one of its honorees, “People and Computers” cited his work this past year developing technology to help Magen David Adom cope with the onslaught of challenges the organization faced addressing the coronavirus pandemic in Israel.
In addition to being MDA’s chief information officer, Rosenblat is also a medevac paramedic, enabling him to bring his real-world experience to the technologies he develops for Magen David Adom. The technological achievements Rosenblat oversaw this past year included:
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Creating vaccine tracking software that enabled MDA to verify the identity of patients scheduled for vaccinations, schedule them for their second dose, and forward confirmation of their vaccinations to Israel’s Ministry of Health and the patient’s HMO. This program, in particular, was cited by “People and Computers” for its role in enabling Magen David Adom to vaccinate every nursing home resident in the country and, in turn, protect the country’s most vulnerable residents and make significant inroads in breaking the chain of infection in Israel.
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Developing a system that enabled paramedics at MDA’s National Operations Center to remotely monitor blood oxygen saturation levels and other vitals of Covid patients while they were being transported by ambulance to hospitals. By remotely monitoring the patients, the system enabled EMTs to avoid unnecessary exposure to Covid while enabling MDA to detect the early stages of patient medical crises, including dangerous drops in blood oxygen levels and developing heart attacks. The system was cited by Magen David Adom in saving dozens of patient lives.
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Expanding Magen David Adom’s call-taking system, which typically handled 6,000 calls on a normal day, so it was capable of fielding the 80,000 calls that poured into MDA’s call center at the early, critical stages of the pandemic.
“The award is not for me,” said Rosenblat. “It’s for Magen David Adom — the IT guys, the coders, all the people who for months worked nearly 24 hours a day to provide MDA with the ability to continue working without interruption in the middle of a national medical crisis.
“No one in MDA’s technology department shied away from the difficult challenges we faced,” he added. “And, as a result, our ability to respond to medical emergencies — whether they were Covid-related or everyday events like heart attacks and strokes — was never interrupted.”