IT & WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS
User-friendly app opens up treatment guidelines in Nottingham
Dr Adrian Kwa, project lead on the Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust Guidelines App, discusses how the new app is becoming an essential resource for doctors within the trust, and could be rolled out across the NHS.
In
an attempt to help newly appointed doctors access approved treatment
guidelines at Nottingham University Hospital NHS Trust (NUH) a new app has been developed by a local physician.
The downloadable app for smartphones and tablets – Android and Apple (iOS) compatible – replaces an old desktop system where hundreds of pages of online guidance documents were stored on the intranet.
Dr Adrian Kwa, project lead on the NUH Trust Guidelines App, told NHE that the old system had been designed by a non-clinical person and the layout was diffi cult to use – with the user expected to have some pre-existing knowledge of the system just to search the guidelines effi ciently.
“It wasn’t designed very well,” Dr Kwa said. “The old system was only accessible via a desktop computer, but if you have a sick person next to you it’s not ideal to leave the patient to go fi nd a computer, log on, wait for the system to load up, fi nd the treatment guideline, and come back to the patient. So we chose to develop the mobile and tablet app, as these devices are now pretty sophisticated computers.”
During the development phase, supported and funded (£20,000) by the Nottingham Hospitals Charity, more than 150 doctors and nurses were consulted to better understand the issues faced with the old system and how they accessed clinical guidelines.
User friendly
One of the app’s main benefi ts, according to Dr Kwa, is the user-friendliness of the technology – with users able to search for conditions as well as fi nd the information in multiple places.
With the new system doctors can access more than 600 guidance documents via the platform, with more than 1,300 ways of reaching them, all within three clicks on the intuitively-designed menu system.
Users can access all sections of the app from the home screen by simply clicking the buttons to access the corresponding section.
“For example, if a doctor is searching for a guideline on hyperkalaemia – high potassium – they click for the clinical guidelines from the home screen and can access the relevant speciality by clicking on a top row of letters that reveal the corresponding list of specialities.
“You can also click on ‘in case of emergency’, which takes you to the next screen with an A to Z keypad. Click ‘H’ and it would take you to the guidelines listed under this letter with a button for hyperkalaemia. Alternatively you could search ‘high potassium’, and it would come up.”
Every guideline expires within three to fi ve years, so every month there will be some requiring an update. But the app, which can be run on and offl ine, deals with this issue eff ectively. For instance, to ensure content is always up to date, it will automatically synchronise with the server on each start-up.
Where there is no internet connection it will function as normal, but if it is unable to synchronise with the server for more than 30 days, some functions will automatically disable until the synchronisation (and updates if available) is performed. The ‘in
case of emergency’ section, scoring charts and directories remain permanently available, however.
When there are updates available, users have been advised that they may want to do so at home, because it can involve large amounts of data.
Signifi cant take-up
Since its introduction on 31 July, there have been more than 750 downloads of the app – with 33% of users accessing it daily and 71% at least once a week.
Dr Kwa told us: “We’ve experienced a lot of organic growth, and word of mouth seems to be promoting the app.
“It was originally designed for junior doctors, but then I also thought it would be very useful for nurses, physiotherapists and other health professionals to access the guidelines. It really is designed for everyone in the trust.”
He is also confi dent that the app can deliver a great return on investments, time-savings and better patient care, not only at NUH but across other trusts.
“My feeling and hope is that we would like to take this to other trusts, especially as it didn’t cost a fortune to develop,” said Dr Kwa. “In eff ect, only 30p per person per year.”
The trust is currently exploring ways to make the app platform available for other NHS trusts. And the user-friendly app has been shortlisted in the inaugural East Midlands Innovation in Healthcare awards ‘Software & Telehealth’ category.
The awards, launched by the East Midlands Academic Health Science Network, recognise and celebrate the work of NHS organisations, universities, charities, councils and businesses to develop new and better delivery of healthcare services for local people.
FOR MORE INFORMATION W:
www.nuh.nhs.uk/nuh-guidelines-app
national health executive Sep/Oct 14 | 85
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