Hillingdon NHS Foundation Trust - Using the MIG to support mobile working - Healthcare Gateway

Hillingdon NHS Foundation Trust – Using the MIG to support mobile working

The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has become the first in the UK to use a new mobile app, which allows clinical staff to access the GP record via the Medical Interoperability Gateway.

iPad minis are being used by some clinicians across the hospital departments including, A&E, paediatrics, elderly care, diabeticare and outpatients.

Background

Development of the app began in January 2015 with the first version available in May 2015. Work on MIG element of the application started in October and was up and running within five weeks.

The app is the first in the UK to allow access to the GP Record via a mobile application using MIG web services.

“We are pleased to be recognised as the first organisation in the UK to access the GP record via a mobile application using MIG web services. We developed our Digital Care Record 'The Hillingdon Care Record (HCR)' in-house, which clinicians can access via iPad devices. This makes the GP record even more accessible in secondary care, 24 hours a day and in any setting in the trust without the need to find a desktop machine or login to a separate application.”

How is the app used?

The app is now being used by junior doctors, consultants, allied health care professionals and nurses to pull in data from MIG, PAS and other systems to give them a real- time view of patient records.

Clinicians can set preferences within the HCR app to view lists based on ward, location, specialty, clinic and consultant. For example, if a clinician is working in A&E they will be presented with the A&E patient visit list.  They can then use that list to access the details they need.

''Clinicians were excited to be able to view the patients GP record out of hours which was not possible before. Point of care access to valuable information such as diagnosis, medications, adverse reactions and allergies via the MIG, allows clinicians to make better informed decisions, particularly when presented with an emergency patient."

The app has been particularly useful to emergency care and pharmacists.  The users have access to drugs and allergies which has proved extremely useful in improving patient safety and patient care.

“The MIG has helped with acute care by providing more comprehensive medical histories for our patients, ensuring we have a complete knowledge of what medicines a patient is already taking when they are admitted to the hospital and Improving safety by speeding up identification and treatment of patients.''

What next?

The trust hopes to develop their app by digitalising forms so that as well as being able to view data. Clinicians can also add data into the system, which will mean even better, safer care for patients.