Innovator of the Month - Parity on a par with the best

Parity is helping a healthcare centre to keep patient records more efficiently by creating a unique mobile wireless terminal.

Electronic patient records are often mentioned when IT providers look around for ways to use wireless technology.

But when Clatterbridge Centre for Oncology started to look at how it might be able to access and amend data at the patient's bedside, it soon discovered that what it needed was not available off the shelf.

What nurses wanted, according to Sheila Stewart, head of project management and business support at the Centre, was a flexible system.

"They wanted something they could move around, that was wireless and they could put near the bedside if they wanted to or move away, but to have the full functionality of a basic PC," she said.

Data used to be taken down on the ward manually and entered into the computer later. But having access to data by the bedside and being able to enter data there as well would save a great deal of time, as well as reduce errors.

Mobile and tablet PCs were looked at as options but dismissed for a number of reasons.

"We looked at a couple of mobile units, and we have trialled tablets, but were not particularly thrilled by them. They are not that robust. They are also quite expensive for one with a good battery life," said Stewart.

Located close to the Clatterbridge Centre in the Wirral area of Cheshire, Parity Computers ICT is a long-standing supplier.

It had been talking to the Centre about the potential for using kiosk systems that it had already deployed in local museums, schools, estate agents and other organisations.

It was only when someone suggested adapting the kiosk to meet the needs on the ward that the idea for the mobile solution arose.

Steve Wood, managing director of Parity, said: "They were thinking of using it to provide basic information to people around the hospital.

"Then someone said, 'Wouldn't it be good if it was on wheels, had no wires, could run all day and had the patient records on it?'"

Taking this suggestion on board, Parity looked at how different technologies could be adapted to meet the Centre's needs.

This was not easy, because they wanted the system to be secure, very easy to move, have no wires and never run out of power. This would mean developing an entirely bespoke mobile system.

Special circuitry had to be designed by Parity because there was no space within the unit for a PC-sized box.

In addition, power consumption needed to be extremely low. The unit itself, which Parity calls a mobile wireless terminal (MWT), is housed on a special trolley and all the circuitry and the battery is encased in a small unit on the base with a thin film transistor flat screen and keyboard provided on the upper shelf.

The height of this upper shelf can be adjusted so staff can use it when standing up or sitting down.

Wireless networking is also built into the system. Clatterbridge already has an 802.11 network, which provides connectivity on most wards.

Microsoft Windows XP is embedded and Citrix Terminal Services are used to link up to the electronic patient records system and provide security for patient data in the event that the unit is ever lost, stolen or removed from site.

Parity has also customised the battery unit, using an industrial-class pack to provide 24-hour operation and easy recharging.

Parity wrote software to manage the power, and to do this in such a way that ward staff don't need any training to operate the system.

The result of all this is the Clatterbridge MWT, which at present is a prototype and working well. Stewart expects to go live with the terminal shortly and extend its use to other wards. She believes the benefits will be considerable.

"On the wards it will cut down on a lot of the paperwork. At the moment they do so many assessments, and it is all paper-based. The fact that they can do it only once and it is then available for everybody to see without going back to the paperwork is a huge benefit," she said.

Wood said that the skills to deliver such a solution have been developed by Parity over the years, partly as a result of the company's background in fairly technical networking projects, and partly out of necessity.

"If you do the same thing you end up doing the same thing as everyone else and competing on price," he said.

The company is now looking for partners working in the NHS on electronic patient records systems which might be able to make the MWT a part of their solution. Parity is also looking at the potential in other sectors, such as manufacturing.

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The Approved Technology Innovator of the Month award is sponsored by IT financing specialist Syscap and supported by both CRN and its sister title Computing.

This year there are 11 monthly Innovator awards and the winners will be put forward as candidates for two annual awards that will be presented at the Channel Awards in November.

You can enter your supplier or your own company for the awards by completing the form found by visiting crn.vnunet.com and clicking on the Innovator button.