Mobile Platform
Solution

Mobile Information Access is our mobile platform for configurable mobile apps that benefit community workers who need to work offline and online

The problems

Without digitising paper records inefficiencies like losing data, observations being illegible, wasting time tracking down health records, duplicating work and therefore wasting money all make for a very inefficient service. With the NHS under ever increasing pressure to do more work with less resources, inefficiency is not an option.

The challenge

We realised that most of these inefficiencies occur in community care, where there are all of the inefficiencies of a paper process, plus additional time wasted travelling back and forth to base to copy up or collect paper notes, for example. One of the biggest challenges for our customers was online/offline working due to mobile signal blackouts, as well as interoperability between different systems.

Our approach

The MIA mobile platform enables organisation to rapidly design and deploy secure clinical mobile apps. MIA apps support NHS workflows and improve efficiency for better patient care. The platform already has all the components common to apps, such as authentication, secure data storage and transmission, offline working and data sync as well as common functions like patient search, appointment scheduling and GPS mapping.

Features

Security

MIA requires the NHS Smartcard to authenticate using a smartcard reader sleeve on an iPad or using NFC on other tablets, alternatively the Isosec Virtual Smartcard can be used to make the process even more efficient. Removing a smartcard will automatically logout or lock the screen. All patient information on the device is encrypted and dual authenticated as per all NHS standards.

Connectivity

The MIA mobile platform transforms existing processes into an intuitive, gesture-driven, streamlined app. This means MIA contributes to a paperless NHS and is easy to use across acute and community settings. MIA works seamlessly offline, synchronising information when a connection is available. When online, GPS location is used to organise appointments by proximity for increased efficiency.

Information Governance

MIA electronically captures data so managers can see real-time views of individual and team performance. Inputs are geotagged and digitally signed for a clear audit trail which cannot be edited, only added to when necessary. Forms are digitised, so they can no longer be lost or misplaced. Configurable time-critical actions (e.g. NBST) are monitored with a colour-coded alert system.

Team and Patient Management

The MIA mobile platform includes a module to provide a comprehensive facility for managing user registration and task allocation. MIA Manager shows real-time status updates of when users were last online. Patient workflow tracking ensures that forms have been submitted and shows the discharge status and historic notes for each patient.

Agile Implementation

We don’t just take the current paper process in the organisation and shoe-horn it onto a digital tablet device. Instead our product experts spend time understanding the process and reengineering it until it is as productive as possible. This normally takes about 12 weeks to meet, understand, redesign and deliver with an iterative feedback period between the project teams.

Patient Portal (Optional)

Users are allocated access with their NHS number and get a view of their patient journey. As they go along the pathway their information stays up to date with each visit. They also have access to trust-complicit information sheets, so all approved leaflets and guidance is accessible to them, encouraging them to be reading NHS standard information, rather than searching for information online. Smart features can be included, for example we have a built in mood-monitor that patients can click on each time they sign in and if it detects consecutive severe low mood it will prompt them to fill in a PHQ9 – the result of which can then be seen by the medical team.

Benefits

Increased Efficiency

MIA reduces administration and travel time by approximately 5 hours a week per user. MIA does this by removing duplication of administration, such as re-keying handwritten notes into an EPR, and reducing travel time. Time saved can be spent on improving patient care and seeing more patients per day.

Financial Savings

A MIA app will typically pay for itself in under 4 months by lowering agency spend, removing administration tasks, reducing waste and minimising travelling expenses. One example of how we do this is forms like Payment by Results are digitised, so they can no longer be submitted late or lost, meaning more accurate costs are recovered for the level of care delivered.

Improved Data Quality

Data quality is improved with codified menu options within MIA apps, and of course the removal of handwritten paper notes also contributes to a Paperless NHS. By coding in the selections and ensuring user-friendly input options on the device the data collected at each use will be guaranteed delivery into the organisations internal digital system and will also be easy to input.

Staff and Patient Satisfaction

At one Trust with the work they did around delivering a smart digital service their Bradford Score results showed staff satisfaction increased by 74%! Friends and Family response rates also improve on average by 26%, showing that patients are happier with care delivered through MIA.

Best Practice

With a digital solution like MIA, gold standard practice can be hard-coded into to process. So if your discipline has certain guidelines to follow to meet specific criteria we can optimise the workflow to deliver that. For example, MIA Maternity contributes to the objectives of the National Maternity Review and meets UNICEF’s Baby Friendly Initiative criteria for breastfeeding. Plus all NICE and Perinatal Institute guidelines are also supported in the workflow.

Support and Training

MIA apps are designed to need minimal training, we like to think most users who are familiar with smartphone/tablet devices can use a MIA app without the need for any training at all. The apps are gesture driven and intuitive, with simple menus like drop downs and sliders. Dictation and freeform notes are also supported.

Case Studies

Our Maternity Department was facing real problems and an innovative solution was the only way to address them. We knew a mobile device would be part of the answer and as we are a teaching hospital the iPad was the obvious choice. We then needed software that could exploit the gesture driven capabilities of the iPad, would work on and offline and was also very secure. We had worked with Isosec in the past and found them to be very customer focussed and always prepared to modify their software to do what we needed it to; when they said they had a solution to our problems we had to take a look. And we are very glad we did!

Kathy Lanceley - Deputy CIO - Imperial College Healthcare NHS

My ability to be out and about for the most part of the day certainly benefits my patients. Rather than having to come back to pick up information, to get addresses or phone numbers etc. I can be more responsive. If I get a call from a patient or a colleague whilst I’m out and they ask me something I can check it out using the app by looking back at my care plans or previous notes recorded for the patient. So MIA just allows me to be freer out in the community. I could maybe fit in a few more patients to my day and I don’t have to worry about getting back to the office to type up reports or book appointments because I can do them on the app.

Daniel Baptiste - Enteral Feeding Specialist Dietician - Oxleas NHSTitle

MIA is a fantastic app and has proved very useful in helping to tackle some of the problems we face in community practice. It's extremely user friendly, allowing observations to be added easily whilst visiting women in their homes. Our busy postnatal clinics used to pose issues as women would frequently forget to bring the old paper notes with them, this is no longer an issue using MIA. Notes are stored and readily available to whichever midwife is working, allowing them to be reviewed prior to the visit. Correspondence with women or other healthcare professionals can also be logged so the team always has the most up to date information.

Alice Lewin - Group Practice Midwife - Imperial College Healthcare NHS

Our consultant psychiatrists have fed back to us that when they’re meeting with their patients they do not like to sit in front of a computer and stare at the screen, disrupting the conversation, they’d much rather be sitting there using MIA on their iPad. The computer is a cumbersome issue for doctors and nurses when they’re in their clinical rooms. With MIA they can engage in the conversation and keep the eye contact - which is vital for good patient care.

Shannah Swainsbury - Project Support and Trainer for Mobile Working, Clinical Transformation - Oxleas NHS