‘I’m Mobile’ – first app deployed

Informatics Merseyside has deployed its first bespoke app to a community health provider as part of its ‘I’m Mobile’ programme.

The health informatics service is developing a number of apps for clinicians to use on their smartphone or tablet devices when treating patients.

The organisation has formed a partnership with NDL, which has provided the software for Merseyside’s in-house development team to design and build bespoke apps for the nine NHS trusts it is responsible for in the region.

The first trust to benefit from the I’m Mobile is Liverpool Community Health NHS Trust, which has provided its community respiratory team with app access to its clinical information system, EMIS Web.

This also allows the team to view and share aspects of the primary care record, as long as the appropriate consent and data sharing agreements are in place.

Stephen Appleton, clinical informatics lead for the QIPP ICT programme at Informatics Merseyside, told eHealth Insider that the project was “clinically driven” and aims to mobilise information in clinical IT systems.

“As with any informatics service in the NHS, we have had an agile working theme across many of our organisations.

"Our agile working programme has grown to use a lot more of the newer, more innovative technologies and has been a success on varying degrees across the different provider organisations.

“One area we have focussed on over the past 12 months is trying to support community based clinicians with a lot more technology solutions.

"We are getting the clinicians involved and sitting down with the development team to identify areas where we can get what we call ‘quick wins’,” he explained.

Staff at the trust are using the apps on Samsung Galaxy Tab devices that are also loaded with NICE and BNF apps for use in clinical encounters.

Informatics Merseyside hopes to introduce iOS apps for Apple devices to access EMIS Web by the end of the year.

The organisation provides a fully managed service for the mobile programme from setting up the device to training the end users. The devices are secured by using mobile device management software from AirWatch.

Appleton said that a number of other apps are currently in development and will help staff across the region with issues from infection control to expenses.

“We have a number of trusts involved. There’s a lot of interest around mobilising GP information and we have a number of opportunities in secondary care around mobilising information at the bedside and mobilising the EPR irrelevant of the system,” he added.

The initiative was announced as the winner of the health informatics award for the NHS North of England as part of the NHS North West’s Informatics Skills Development Network.