CarePalm – A Computerised Patient Charting System

Tracy O’Neill, B.Sc. (Hons.)M.Sc. Research Project Presentation (COM-865-

M4)Faculty of Computing & Engineering

University of Ulster, Magee

Introduction

Current System

Adoption of a Portable Computer Based Charting System

Benefits Offered by Computerisation of Patient Records

www.patientsafetyalliance.scot.nhs.uk

Aims and Objectives

Develop application for handheld device

Provide ease of access to patient charts

Enable modifications through the handheld device

Incorporate XML to store patient data Security

Background Pervasive Healthcare

XML and Interoperability

Security

The Modified Early Warning System (Mews)

Joos and Whiteman (2006)

Kreps and Richardson (2007)

Al-Salqan (1998)

Thorpe et al. (2006)

Requirements Analysis Questionnaires

57% said current system was either good or very good 71% had issues with deciphering various handwriting

on patients charts Over 50% of respondents said they would feel

confident in using PDA’s to assess patient charts

Informal Interviews To gain knowledge on existing method To gain understanding of particulars held on patient’s

chart

CarePalm Architecture

CarePalm Implementation

Designed within Visual Studio

Code developed in C#

Data represented in XML files

Modified Early Warning System (MEWS)

Evaluation and Testing

Functionality Testing Conducted during all stages of development Test cases completed on each form to ensure

CarePalm’s functionality

Usability Testing Nurses enlisted to test CarePalm 100% said they could update patient records easily 75% stated that CarePalm’s usability is very good

with the remaining 25% saying it was good

Relation to Other Work

Clinical Care Classification (CCC) Bedside Computer proposed by Saba and Feeg (2005)

Pyxis Patient Station is implemented at Holy Name Hospital in New Jersey, USA

Nurse.com (2005) www.utmb.edu

Conclusion and Future Work

Successful prototype Factors hindering implementation

within the UK National Health Service

Incorporate data mining software Implement on tablet PC

Kreps and Richardson (2007)