The Club welcomed Dr. Phil Olla on Monday, May 25th, a Digital Health specialist with over 20 years' experience working at the leading edge of innovation discussed the importance of COVID testing, contact tracing technologies and re-opening the workplace. Dr. Olla, is the CEO of Audacia Bioscience, a Biotechnology company incorporating breath biomarkers, Artificial Intelligence, and smartphone technology to develop innovative solutions. 

 

Dr. Olla and his team have developed a 3-step process to keep the doors of small and medium-sized businesses open. It starts with an app – where most companies are manually keeping track of their employees, Audacia Bioscience has developed an app that allows employees to self-assess before starting their shift. Each self-assessment generates a rating green, yellow or red advising both the employee and the employer of the likelihood that they are infected by the virus.

 

A big part of mitigating the transmission of the virus is maintaining a safe distance. The functionality of the app tracks the distance between employees with a reporting dashboard. By passively monitoring (no beeps, dings or buzzes) physical distance, only at-risk staff is notified when someone they have been in contact with has tested positive for COVID. When employees infringe on another employees' personal space (within 6 feet), it gathers that data and lets the encroaching employee know that they need to maintain a greater distance. This is a great learning tool for employees and employers.

 

 

Dr. Olla explained that the two biggest concerns that employers face today are how to respond to a positive test and how to protect employee confidentiality. The solutions offered by Audacia Bioscience help the employee monitor their health and their risk of exposure and, in turn, safeguard the operations of the employer. The phone app collects the information employers think they need as well as the clinical information to determine risk accurately. All while protecting the confidentiality of the employee.

 

A question and answer period then followed the presentation led by Dr. Olla.