Mobile technology to record patient observations v1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Using mobile technology to record patient observations: impact on patient care management and clinical practice
IRAS ID
299883
Contact name
Alison Bullock
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Cardiff University
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 6 months, 3 days
Research summary
Hospitals in the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board have been recording patient observations (e.g., heart rate, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation) using CareFlow, a software installed on mobile devices. This information, collected at the bedside, can help medical teams to make well-informed decisions about patient care. It can give hospital management staff up-to-the-minute information which can assist them with bed management by tracking patient-flow through the system. Thus, mobile technology has the potential to improve patient care management and clinical practice.
The purpose of this Health and Care Research Wales-funded study is to identify whether this technology makes any difference to the management of patient care and how it impacts on professional practice and relationships in the multidisciplinary team. The study will look at four participant groups to gather a holistic perspective of this method of patient observational data: the recorders i.e., those that input the data into the devices, the clinical decision makers, the ward organisational decision makers and the hospital management decision makers.
At the present time, very little research has been conducted to confirm the impact of CareFlow in different areas of clinical practice including how it can aid decision making both clinically and organisationally, therefore affecting the way the hospital is governed from the micro to the macro level. This research has the potential to identify benefits and areas of improvement to the new system and the way it has been implemented. This can provide an insight into the digitalisation of the healthcare arena in Wales.
REC name
North West - Greater Manchester Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/NW/0117
Date of REC Opinion
21 Apr 2022
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion