http://www.microsoft.com/mobile/enterprise/casestudies/cs-cambridge.asp

Cambridgeshire County Council Social Services

Solution Overview

Industry
Healthcare

Profile
The Social Services department gives people with social care needs in Cambridgeshire secure quality services through systematic assessment and the development of core services. As part of a wider government initiative, the department aims to build a greater overview on the individual’s needs and build better services through improved sharing of knowledge.

Situation
The department required a mobile data collection tool, which would allow social service and healthcare workers to gain knowledge about individuals who are in their care. Social workers needed to build a greater picture of patient’s requirements during the assessment process. Being able to scale this data collection and easily integrate it back into existing databases was also imperative.

Solution
Using a dedicated application from European Management Systems, workers are now able to take patient’s details in the field using Microsoft® Windows® Powered Pocket PCs. The devices run a questionnaire to collect information about an individual’s living conditions. Data can be shared across Social Services and through other departments securely and remotely.

Benefits

·         Single assessment process offers better work practice and consistency

·         Information can be shared securely across a range of government agencies

·         Fewer data input inconsistencies

·         Secure encryption over standard GSM connection protects sensitive personal data

·         Easier to use and less intrusive than laptop for healthcare scenario

Microsoft Software Used

·         Microsoft® Windows® Powered Pocket PC

Hardware Used

·         Compaq iPAQ 3630

Case Study

“One of the Pocket PCs greatest benefits is its ease of use. Some of our staff have a limited range of IT skills, but - half a day training is considered to be sufficient The familiarity of Windows software means that people can use it straight away. The other ‘ease of use’ factor is the iPAQs ‘instant on’ capability. The lack of ‘boot up’ time means that the Pocket PC is quick, easy and unobtrusive, which is a major advantage in this kind of interview scenario,”

Mark Howe
Development & Commissioning Manager
Cambridgeshire County Council Social Services

Mobile care, sharing knowledge

The social well-being of vulnerable groups of people in this instance elderly people at risk is a high priority for Cambridgeshire County Council Social Services. As such, and as part of a wider government initiative, the department has been working on a multi agency assessment process and the development of a Common Assessment Tool (CAT), which would gather accurate data about an individual’s needs that can be shared across various government and healthcare agencies This is essentially a way of helping professionals intervene more effectively, in order to prevent situations becoming cases of crisis managements such as emergency hospital admissions.

The goal of the project was to create a system where a doctor or nurse may see information which has been gathered by a carer, social worker or other agency. This allows various departments to share critical data about a patient so that they can understand more about the individual and gain wider knowledge about the local community. Mark Howe Development & Commissioning Manager [Older People] Cambridgeshire County Council Social Services outlines the advantage of having this kind of collective knowledge,

“We can react to the gathered data by providing new or improved services to our patients, or by passing data on to other agencies. An example might be to provide a meals service for a region which has a high occurrence of dietary issues or advising the local highways dept that there are specific areas of their district where the pavements are uneven causing elderly residents to fall and be admitted into hospital. Ultimately the use of this data will lead to providing better services for the local community, ” he says.

The project had been running for some time using a paper-based questionnaire. Care workers such as social workers, nurses on wards, district nurses, community psychiatric nurses and primary care teams previously used pen and paper to gather information related to living conditions, social well-being, health, and lifestyle. A paper-based questionnaire was found to have lacked in efficiency and professionals demanded an IT solution as Howe explains,

“There was an enormous duplication of processes and various data input inconsistencies. Different agencies needed to collect different information, and it was virtually impossible to configure this data to be shared across departments. Various technologies, such as laptops and handheld PC’s are currently under consideration in order that we secure a solution. The current view is that, laptops may be too bulky and take too long to power up during each visit. WAP phones were also considered, but offered limited security features.” he says.

Connected server, instant access

The department is about to pilot 20 Microsoft® Windows® Powered Pocket PCs to their staff running an application from solution provider European Management Systems called PocketAnalytix. The device chosen was the Compaq iPAQ 3630 with a GSM phone attachment, which is used to access corporate data as Peter Morrell Managing Director European Management Systems explains.

“Information that is stored on a server can be recalled to deliver SQL data to the device. The questionnaire is downloaded each time a patient is visited. This means that new questions can be added to the survey instantly. The worker can then conduct the interview off line, which allows them to spend ‘unhurried’ time with the patient. When the interview is complete the device gets reconnected to upload the data to the server, ” he says.

The server receives and processes queries and sends the result back to the Pocket PC in XML format. The XML results are incremental on the Pocket PC and all the query results in a session can be saved for off line review. Views of data can be saved on to the device allowing key information to be viewed offline. And the ability to colour-code data, means that it is easy to pin-point key questions. The iPAQ’s, touch-sensitive screen is used to pull down pre-selected answers from a menu. A user can also tap on a on a question to get more detailed information about it.

Security, scalability, and familiarity

“Obviously much of the personal data we collect is confidential and would be damaging if it fell into the wrong hands. It is for this reason that there are three levels of security on the device,” says Morrell.

The Pocket PC integrates with the organizations infrastructure to allow these kinds of security. Firstly, the worker carries a small ‘password-protect’ key fob, which interacts with the Windows® NT server software to issue a fresh password every thirty seconds. Once the user gains access to the network he or she still needs ‘username’ permission to download particular files. Thirdly, all data is encrypted using Microsoft’s Crypto API technology, which works effortlessly across a standard mobile phone network.

“One of the Pocket PCs greatest benefits however is its ease of use. Some of our staff have a limited range of IT skills, but - half a day training is considered to be sufficient The familiarity of Windows software means that people can use it straight away. The other ‘ease of use’ factor is the iPAQs ‘instant on’ capability. The lack of ‘boot up’ time means that the Pocket PC is quick, easy and unobtrusive, which is a major advantage in this kind of interview scenario,” says Howe.

The department is also looking to use the devices in a wider capacity and to incorporate more of the PIM functionality such as email and contacts. Being able to keep in touch with staff who work in the field is important for the safety of our staff. Howe is also confident that this tool takes a step closer towards finding a Common Assessment Tool (CAT) for related Department of Health initiatives.

“Mobile technology is key to empowering workers who are on the move. There is an enormous government initiative to gather and share greater information on the patients in order to build better customer service. Microsoft’s mobile offerings enable great opportunities for us to achieve this, ” he says.

For More Information

To learn more about Microsoft products or services, call the Microsoft Sales Information Center at (800) 426-9400. In Canada, call the Microsoft Canada Information Centre at (800) 563-9048. Outside the 50 United States and Canada, please contact your local Microsoft subsidiary. More information via the World Wide Web is available at the following Web sites:

·         Pocket PC enterprise page http://www.microsoft.com/mobile/enterprise

·         European Management Systems http://www.pocketanalytix.com

This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY. Companies, names, and/or data used in screens and sample output are fictitious, unless otherwise noted.

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