The transplant team previously had to rely on paper records to match donors and recipients, but now they are using a dedicated smartphone application to access all the information they require, whenever and wherever they need it. The surgeons no longer have to remember to print out copies of the patient records each day as the latest information is automatically pushed out to their BlackBerry smartphones.
"Searching and viewing the records is very convenient and much faster than in the past when we were relying on sorting through paper printouts," explains Dean Grinham, Programme Delivery Manager at UHB. "Moreover, since the surgeons carry their BlackBerry smartphones at all times, they always have the list with them, so can respond quickly to emergency situations, which occur frequently within the organ donor team."
The solution, developed by Airpoint, enables the team to use their BlackBerry smartphones to query the waiting list using agreed search criteria. The waiting list is stored securely on a central server and is synchronized with the surgeons' smartphones so that any time the database is modified an update is automatically pushed to the surgeons' handsets. End-to-end encryption of the list and password protection of the devices ensures the confidentiality of the information being sent Additionally UHB are able to remotely lock and wipe data from a device in the unlikely occasion of a device going missing.
Grinham continues: "We needed a reliable, scalable method of information delivery that provided top-level security and the ability to see real time information. Thankfully, the hospital had already deployed BlackBerry smartphones to the Trust's managers to provide them with mobile email, calendar and contacts. After testing, the application was installed over the air straight onto the devices. By automating the delivery of this vital information, the team and surgeon's time is free for their first priority - patient care."
Due to the success of this deployment, UHB is now looking to roll out the BlackBerry solution to other transplant teams. The Trust is also examining the possibility of replacing the hospital paging service with BlackBerry smartphones and is planning to integrate the BlackBerry solution into its emergency preparedness plans.
About University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB)
University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB) is the leading university teaching hospital in the West Midlands. It is one of the most consistently high performing trusts in the NHS and has been rated "excellent" for financial management and "excellent" for quality of clinical and non-clinical services by the Healthcare Commission.
On 16 June 2010 UHB’s new £545 million Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham opened, with A&E and inpatients transferring from Selly Oak Hospital and other services moving from the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. More services will transfer during phased moves through to October 2011, with Selly Oak Hospital eventually closing and some services remaining at the old QE, adjacent to the new hospital.
The Trust employs around 6,900 staff and provides adult services to more than half a million patients every year, from a single outpatient appointment to a heart transplant. The Trust is a regional centre for cancer, trauma, burns and plastics, and has the largest solid organ transplantation programme in Europe.