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Maintaining patient records
The BAPCO Journal looks at why Addenbrooke’s,one of the UK’s leading NHS hospitals use BlackBerry for mobile email to gain rapid and accurate access to patient records...
Addenbrooke’s is one of the UK’s leading NHS hospitals and an international centre for treatment,research and education.Its transplant unit is a regional centre for liver and kidney transplantation which in 2004 carried out 176 transplants.
In the health service,where consultants need to make accurate diagnoses and fast decisions,staff need immediate access to the latest patient records,whether they are onsite or out on call.Donor alerts come in without warning and the team has to react swiftly and with complete confidence in the accuracy of the data to hand.
Traditionally,Addenbrooke’s patient records were stored centrally on the hospital server,with transplant consultants and coordinators printing records as needed.However the mobile nature of the team meant that printed records were frequently out-of-date.
Transplant coordinators,who visit patients off-site,had to carry around bulky files amounting to hundreds of sheets of paper.
Addenbrooke’s transplant team realised that they needed a simple, streamlined system that would improve access to information without
incurring expensive development fees.The importance of the work of the transplant unit meant that they could not afford to allow the implementation to cause any disruption.They decided to develop a system in-house,enabling them to fully customise it to their needs.
Implementing BlackBerry Select staff at Addenbrooke’s already
used BlackBerry for mobile email,so the hospital could develop its custombuilt application on existing resources.
This meant that the implementation and set-up costs were virtually nonexistent.
Paul Jones,a co-ordinator within the organ transplant team with a technical understanding of web design was tasked with the development of the application.Jones created a set of functional web pages that could connect to the hospital database,allowing users to access real-time data over a secure connection via their BlackBerry wireless handhelds.
Jones wrote the whole system in around two days, and while it took a little longer to assess and enhance the programme,he claims they have not had to make any significant changes.
With its always-on wireless communications,Jones argues that the
BlackBerry was the only mobile device that could deliver the solution they needed.
"The unique benefit of BlackBerry," he says,"Is the access it gives you to live,real-time data on the host server,no matter where you are."
BlackBerry wireless handhelds link users directly to the hospital server via an encrypted connection through the 02 network.This means that authorised staff can get onto the NHS network no matter where they are – giving them immediate,secure access to live data held on the hospital server.
BlackBerry’s in-built high-level security measures mean the devices always ensure patient confidentiality with personal passwords and a unique PIN for each device.
Each BlackBerry mobile device can also be disabled remotely in the event of the unit being lost.
Once the system had been developed,Jones set up a trial to test its usability and efficiency.
Within a very short space of time it became clear that his solution was a huge success with the transplant unit.
"The great advantage of BlackBerry wireless handhelds is that they are extremely quick and easy," said Jones."Training was never an issue for us – if you know how to text message from your phone,you know how to use a BlackBerry."
Ten members of the busy organ transplant team – both consultants and coordinators – are now equipped with BlackBerry,giving them instant access to patients records.
BlackBerry has had a huge impact on the efficiency of the transplant unit. Jones explains,"Previously anything the consultants couldn’t physically carry wasn’t available outside the hospital.Now,if they need a different file they simply call it up on their BlackBerry device.This means clinicians can make correct decisions about patient care faster,from wherever they are,at any time of the day or night.The result has been more effective treatment for patients and greater efficiency for the unit."
Future plans
Jones claims that the system is the first of its kind in the NHS, although he sees no reason why other hospitals and practices shouldn’t follow suit.He predicts that a host of similar applications could soon be developed to improve patient care across the board and has already received queries from different units within Addenbrooke’s about the system.
"NHS employees are off-site more than you might think, and need fast access to patient records",concludes Jones."Take a GP on home visits for instance.On route to an emergency call,a doctor can’t always stop by the surgery to pick up files. He has to get there quickly, but equally he needs all the information to hand – whether that’s consultant letters,case histories or test results. If he can log
onto a server while out on the road and pick up critical information,it could make a huge difference to the quality of care he is able to offer.
T h e S y s t e m
Key Benefits:
System was easy to write, set up and implement
Cost-effective as it used existing resources
Low training requirements
Access to live data from the server
Patient confidentiality maintained
Technical Specifications:
BlackBerry Enterprise Server™ v3.6
BlackBerry 7230 Wireless Handhelds™
O2 SIM cards
Windows Server 2003 running SQL Server 2000 and internet information server
