Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has deployed a cloud-based app from DXC Technology which improves mobile access to health records.

Clinical Aide sits on top of the trust’s electronic patient record (EPR) and allows clinical teams to view and use patient information from the medical record from anywhere via a tablet or other mobile device.

Having mobile access to a patient’s allergies, problems, observations, medication, results and other documented information reduces the need for staff to enter higher-risk hospital areas to review and update medical records directly on workstations. It also removes the need to transfer paper-based detailed patient information in or out of the hospital’s Covid-19 wards.

Dr Alastair Pickering, the trust’s CCIO, said: “There is a significant safety gain in making this information mobile, as some staff are not now required to go into high-risk environments like intensive care units or other wards with Covid patients. Pharmacists and the dietetics team, for example, are now able to review and act on referrals that have come through to their mobile device from any location, meaning they are less likely to expose themselves to infection or need to use the trust’s personal protective equipment.”

Clinical Aide also provides a flexible approach to accessing the trust’s locally designed forms to supplement Covid-19 guidance for hospital bereavement teams. Clinicians can add detailed patient notes from Clinical Aide into the EPR, for nurses and bereavement team members to access on their mobile device when talking to patients and relatives.

Colin Henderson, director of healthcare and life sciences for the UK, Ireland, Israel, Middle East and Africa (UKIIMEA) at DXC Technology, added: “This is a good example of quickly deploying a helpful cloud-based utility, giving the users a seamless, secure way of seeing vital information in a mobile form. Speed and ease of deployment was an important factor given the climate we were in, and it’s great to receive such positive feedback from the front line.”