Best use of mobile technology in healthcare

This category is sponsored by:

Winner:

Digital pens and BlackBerry smartphones - PaperIQ and Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust

The introduction of an electronic note-taking system using digital pens and BlackBerry smartphones has enabled community midwives to digitise notes during visits and update patient records remotely, without having to re-enter information later. This has halved their administration effort and is set to save £220,000 annually.

Finalists

Open access to hearing assessments - Milton Keynes Community Health Service

The adult hearing service in Milton Keynes introduced an open access route for people concerned about their hearing via drop-in assessment clinics. Central to this is the use of a Siemens handheld HearScreen device, which allows an instant decision to be made about whether somebody would benefit from a full NHS hearing test and whether they need fully moulded hearing aids. Only those people who need hearing aids are seen for formal appointments.

Digital pen project - The Royal Wolverhampton Hospital NHS Trust

More than 600 clinicians across The Royal Wolverhampton Hospital NHS Trust are using digital pens to record community contacts on patient activity records; these records are automatically entered into the electronic patient administration system. The project allows clinicians more time with patients and has reduced costs and improved data quality.

Connecting emergency care - East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust

Patients are sometimes admitted in hospital when they could be treated at home – an outcome that both inconveniences patients and increases costs. To improve the situation, the trust equipped its emergency vehicles with ruggedised laptops and wireless connections so they can access to NHS networks and IT systems.