Development and deployment of "In the field" computer supported

Development and deployment of "In the field" computer supported collaboration tools in Norwegian hospitals

Per Hasvold, Research Scientist Norwegian Centre for Telemedicine, University Hospital of North Norway

There is a growing interest in mobile computing and information appliances for professional use as well as use by the general public. In many companies, "value" is created on the factory floor, out on the construction site, in the meeting room, in the project team room and by the patient bed. Many jobs have become "office-jobs" because they require access to company information systems, documentation and reporting tools, etc. Decision-making is often not done "in-the-field", where the situation is.

Development of "in-the-field" information systems challenges developers and decision-makers in new ways, because these new systems often require a deeper understanding of not only the technical computing systems, but also organisation and how to make resources collaborate. Access, trust and organisations that are constructed independent of physical distance and, sometimes, time are new challenges for leaders and system engineers.

The presentation will look at some of the motivating forces behind the interest in mobile computing in healthcare in the Nordic countries, and then present a special case of development and deployment of an "in-the-field" computer supported collaboration tool for nurses in a surgical department at the University Hospital of North Norway.

The process of developing the application and the methods used to find the requirements will be highlighted and discussed with a brief demonstration of the system.

As part of the development and deployment process we arranged a number of workshops addressing issues like security and social aspects of mobile information appliances in healthcare. Highlights from these workshops will be presented.

Finally, the presentation will show some examples of how a design team at the Norwegian Centre of Telemedicine believe future wearable computers may look like.