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Note Taking Evolves at Evelina London Children's Hospital

2019/11/26

In our Co-Creation Summit in China, Dr. Peter RG Bak, CIO of Humber River Hospital, mentioned that 1 in18 patients who are admitted to hospitals suffer from potentially preventable injuries. Hospitals today need to increase quality of care and drive down costs. Feeling unsafe in a hospital may seem ironic as that is where we seek professional healing, but the reality is that these newer hospitals embracing technology are becoming more reliable and safer for patients.

ECA Health, the dedicated medical division of ECA Services, is an OEM integrator and systems specialist with distinguished experience in digital healthcare and medical computing. Drawing from more than 100 years of combined experience in the sector, ECA provides a truly untapped resource that can help make digital transformations a reality. ECA positions themselves as a value-added solutions provider, building, customizing,and deploying precision engineered applications that can drive innovation, deliver first class care, and transform the lives of those in need.

Evelina London Children’s Hospital

Evelina London Children’s Healthcare is part of Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and is the second largest provider of children’s services in London.They provide comprehensive health services from before birth, throughout childhood and into adult life. Evelina London Children’s Hospital’s community services care for children and families in Lambeth and Southwark. Their children’s hospital not only cares for local families but also provides an extensive range of specialist services for children with rare and complex conditions from across south London, Kent, Surrey and Sussex.

ECA Health has worked with Guy’s and St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust (client) over the last 10 years,and understands their unique requirements for medical-grade devices. After the Client decided they wanted to replace note taking at the bedside with a software alternative, ECA Health knew the solution to propose – a lightweight non-powered cart with Advantech’s iPS-M100 hot-swappable power system and a POC-W213 system with integrated Wi-Fi.

Addressing the Problems

For the Client, there were many issues that must be addressed for all projects, and one of these was flexibility. While a fixed solution would require hardwiring, a mobile solution would require downtime for charging – both of which proved restrictive to Evelina Children’s Hospital. Evelina is one of two specialist pediatric hospitals in London and has an environment for high-demand critical care. Overall, they needed a platform to be truly wireless; not just for power to run the hardware,but also connectivity to maintain operational readiness.

Picture source: Australian National University Website

Another issue, like many hospitals face today,was sourcing a cost effective solution. Many clients understand that the overall costs of technology integration goes beyond just the implementation of products. There are multiple facets of implementation from the longevity/reliability aspects to services and maintenance that play roles in the overall decision. In this case, our replacement batteries in particular offered a unique solution. The fact that we offer batteries with a 500 cycle capacity, was critical in the decision to choose Advantech, as knowing they will have consistent dependability over a specified period speaks volumes.

Flexibility, Performance and Wireless

In this hospital, and any hospital for that matter,it is important to select the correct solution with the required certifications. Evelina Children’s Hospital knew Advantech offered rugged reliable solutions based on their historical use of the medical computers and support directly from ECA.

To fulfill the requirements and certification for Evelina Children’s Hospital bedside note taking, three objectives needed to be achieved – flexibility, performance, and a completely wireless connection. As the unit was intended to support both bedside use and portability, ECAHealth mounted the battery onto a lightweight, versatile,and medical-grade cart. The system could easily be maneuvered around without any disruption to on-board power and connectivity

POC-W213

ECA Health then proposed Advantech’s POC-W213, a widescreen Full HD Point-of-Care terminal equipped with Intel® i7 processors, flexible expansion capabilities,and wireless connectivity. Fanless, certified, and fully configurable, this platform delivered high-performance computing, fully connected and completely wireless,all within a certified and fully compliant footprint. The requirement of becoming completely wireless, was a bit of a challenge in the last phase. ECA Health had to focus on the power first. By incorporating Advantech’s iPS-M100 and its dual mounted hot-swappable Lithium-ion batteries, the workstation can remain wireless and fully powered with zero lag, interruption, or downtime for charging. The batteries are simply replaced and charged via a base station when required, resulting in a perfectly powerful, completely wireless, operational mobile unit.

The Mobility Era

ECA Health and Advantech’s solution was designed for quick and seamless deployment upon delivery - no retrofitting, no hardwiring, seamlessly integrated, and fully supported. As a result, improvements in efficiency were seen shortly after deployment thanks to a stable and uninterrupted Wi-Fi connection. With an increase in digital real estate, this solution provided a more dynamic workplace for single and multi-task workflows including:charting, staff communications and ward monitoring. “As a fully mobile solution offering a consistent UX, system proficiency quickly improved, reducing downtime,increasing productivity, and allowing for a more consistent approach to care.” Graeme Smith, ECA Sales Manager.

As more and more hospitals undergo complete digital transformations and reach a level of becoming “High Reliability Hospitals”, the data will surely speak for itself.With the help of IoT and IoT enablers, we look forward to less errors, preventable injuries, and easy uninterrupted accessible data, that will ultimately shape the future of hospital care and save more lives.