CSC Smart Business October Edition - Healthy APPtitude
Healthy APPtitude
New app puts NHS healthcare information on the iPhone
The NHS is just like any other organisation. It runs on terabyte upon terabyte of data which it makes available to healthcare professionals internally as well as to the public, externally, through the NHS Choices web site. It provides details of illnesses and symptoms and, with more than 9 million users per month, is one of the country’s most popular web sites.
With the rise of the smartphone, the key challenge is how a data-driven organisation can present a vast warehouse of information to mobile users through a service which is easy to navigate on the move. For an enterprise this may be a question of keeping a sales force in the field up to date with the latest changes to appointments, prices and offers. On the fulfilment side, it may involve mapping delivery vehicle positions while updating stock levels and processing new orders and returns on the fly.
With NHS Choices, CSC identified an opportunity to provide an app which packs in the site’s comprehensive medical information with the addition of new mobile features.
The CSC PocketHealth app was developed in collaboration with the NHS and soft-launched in August before being officially announced in September. It combines the easy-to-understand medical content published through the NHS Choices web site with a ‘find your nearest’ service and a one-touch feature to call the NHS Direct phone line or the emergency services. An In Case of Emergency (ICE) record can also be set up by the smartphone owner to list critical information, such as blood type, existing conditions, allergies and next of kin. This is stored on the smartphone but a possible future upgrade to the app could allow this vital data to be transmitted to doctors before they begin emergency treatment.
The rich graphic experience on the iPhone (or iTouch and iPad) is utilised through an interactive map which allows users to tap a part of the body to find out more information. Alternatively, an A-Z listing of parts of the body and medical conditions is offered. The ‘Service Locator’ allows users to enter an address or use their current position to receive a map showing the nearest doctor, pharmacy, optician, walk-in centre, hospital or dentist, complete with contact details and driving directions.
Health volunteers
For the Head of Design and Innovation at CSC in the UK, Simon Beniston, the project has been a labour of love to provide the NHS with a free application as well as showcase mobile technology.
“It struck me that the NHS Choices web site is a huge hit with the British public but it didn’t have a mobile application,” he says.
“You can’t be sure you’ll always be in front of a PC when you want medical information and so it seemed like the obvious candidate to showcase what’s possible with mobile technology. The key is to put all the data behind an intuitive graphic user interface which keeps the great look and feel of an iPhone app but has lots of great information behind it.”
Positive reception
The NHS has been impressed with the app. Head of Digital Media and Partnerships at NHS Choices, Lee Appleyard, believes it will help to empower more people to take better control of their health.
“NHS Choices, as the UK’s biggest healthcare website, is committed to providing users with the ability to connect to this wealth of information from where ever they are, which is vital to continue to deliver on our promise of providing patients with the ability to make an informed choice,” he says.
“Healthcare in your Pocket delivers content from NHS Choices in an innovative, intuitive and easy to use format. Mobile technology is very important for the delivery of modern healthcare and this app is another example of patient empowerment, helping to put them in control of their own healthcare.”
Future plans
For the immediate future the CSC team is hoping to add further mobile platforms so the app could run on Android and BlackBerry smartphones. Another high priority is to improve the incorporation of diagnostic information within the app so users can better initiate enquiries by selecting their symptoms before receiving relevant content with advice, provided by NHS Choices.
In the longer term, the most far-reaching upgrade to the application could come through the addition of CSC’s OmniLocation technology. This combines location with patient data and, if installed by the ambulance service, would allow a user to send their position to an operator. This would enable somebody who doesn’t know where they are to guide an ambulance to the position where they, or a third party, is injured.
At the same time a user’s emergency ICE record could be passed on to the ambulance service with a telephone call so paramedics arrive with relevant information. Next of kin contact details could similarly be automatically transmitted so a hospital can alert relatives. Consideration is also being given to adding themed information on the service, such as men’s health, and pregnancy – roughly half of the traffic going to the NHS Choice site is pregnancy or infant related.
This development of the app is likely to mirror the advances data-driven organisations can achieve from mobile technology. While the PocketHealth project deals with health data the technology could as easily be used, Beniston believes, in enterprises. Any business which needs to organise data so it is available to sales staff and executives in the field would benefit from similar technology allowing a two way flow of information.
In particular, OmniPresence technology, which combines technology and data, could be well used to let sales executives and account managers in the field map their position and routes against local clients and prospects so they can be better served. By having access to a central repository of constantly updated data, managers on the move could check latest prices, new offers, stock levels, among many other features, to ensure being out of the office does not mean they are out of the loop.
Learn more about CSC’s work in: Mobility