Trialling wireless handheld devices in a clinical setting: a Queensland case study

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of a recent trial undertaken, in the domain of wireless handheld devices, to ascertain the clinical decision making through technology by the University of Southern Queensland in conjunction with Queensland Health. Specifically the research project sought to address the research question: 'will the decision making algorithms that are built on a handheld devices improve the clinical decision making analysis by Queensland nurses?' Both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods were utilised, with the qualitative methods consisting of initial focus groups and a field test, while a quantitative questionnaire was distributed to trial participants to endorse the in-depth qualitative findings. Overall, the trial provided substantial information relating to time saving, patient safety, and training of graduate and student nurses all of which should be taken into consideration when moving forward with this health care technology in the future. Additionally, areas for improvement in the technology were identified through conducting this trial in a clinical setting. These areas involved such things as the size of the PDA, the information loaded onto these handheld computers, possible linkage into hospital’s main computer systems, transportability between hospital wards, the possibility of touch screen kiosks in patient rooms, and finally the usage of the technology in nursing education within the University’s courses