Cerner gets tablets boost

Tablet devices are increasing the use of the Cerner e-patient record system at Royal Free London NHS foundation trust, according to the trust's director of information management and technology. Will Smart told Guardian Government Computing that the tablets are enabling Cerner and other applications to be more widely adopted into clinical use and are improving the quality of data. They allow the patients' electronic healthcare records to be updated in real time, so that healthcare professionals involved in their treatment can immediately access the latest details about their care. "These devices are slightly more expensive than laptops or PCs, but what we are finding is that we have increased adoption of Cerner," said Smart. "We are finding improvements in the timeliness and depth of data being put into Cerner." "What we are now finding is that the sister will go around the ward and do a check - whether the lights are working and so on - and logs issues straight onto the tablet," Smart said. Ndumiso Ndebele, a junior charge nurse, said: "There are only so many computers on a ward so it's much easier to use the mobile tablets because you can take them with you as you go around. It's also so much quicker than writing everything down. "We have been so impressed that we have started to use them to speed up other tasks as well. Doctors are using them on ward rounds to view test results and request blood tests, rather than going away and having to find a computer to do this. "Nurses are starting to use them to record their handover notes, rather than doing this on paper and we're using them to access the trust intranet to contact departments, such as estates and IT." The introduction of the tablets began with a workshop in November last year. Rollout was under way by January and 26 devices went live shortly after that in three wards. Smart said the trust plans to roll out another 65 devices in in-patient areas, and to conduct two proof of concept trials in accident and emergency and in pre-operative assessments. Asked why these tablets, supplied by Mobile Computing, were chosen, Smart said: "We are a Windows site, but we did talk about iPads. They are not clinical devices though, whereas these are clinical grade computers and meet all of our requirements around portability, integration into our infrastructure, robustness and resilience. "Also because Cerner is our core application, that requires smartcards for access and these devices have got smartcard usability built in." Allison Burrell, change manager for the project, added: "Most importantly, the tablets are allowing nurses to use their time more efficiently, which has a positive impact on patient care." This article is published by Guardian Professional. For weekly updates on news, debate and best practice on public sector IT, join the Guardian Government Computing network here.