Utilisation of mobile handheld devices for care management at an Australian aged care facility

This paper reports on research into the implementation and evaluation of a wireless hand-held clinical care management system at an Aged Care Facility in Launceston, Tasmania. This socio-technical trial involved the use of handheld computers connected to an 802.11 wireless network itself linked to an ADSL broadband connection and Oracle server. Following system implementation, research was conducted to evaluate the usefulness of the system for the collection of care management data. This evaluation was conducted through the use of qualitative techniques that analysed the impact of this wireless system holistically to produce insights from three perspectives: technical, organisational and end-user.More broadly, this trial generated insights for the development of ‘next generation’ mobile technologies to support health care. These developments are one of the foci of the Smart Internet Technology Cooperative Research Centre (www.smartinternet.com.au). At this broader level the paper indicates that potentially significant benefits may be generated by enabling ‘live’ two-way transmission of clinical information to the point of care. It is anticipated that a future trial will investigate the suitability and feasibility of using voice activation and other modalities to support patient care.