The system was presented to the trust by ANS Group and Quest Software, and will serve up to 2,000 users, enabling a more efficient hospital working practice, allowing medical staff to access patient records securely and efficiently at their desktop and at the bedside. The trust hopes will lead to both cost savings and improved security practices.
Computer Weekly reports that the SmartiD authentication solution has been developed by ANS Group, while the Virtual Access Suite was provided by Provision Network, a division of Quest Software. It will enable NPfIT card users to seamlessly access NHS national applications through the virtualized desktop. Using the NPflT card, staff will be able to access their corporate desktop from any terminal in the hospital, including bedside entertainment units.
The desktop can then automatically revert back to the generic workstation or entertainment system once the card is removed. To eliminate the risk of data theft, the terminals will not hold any patient data once the smartcard is removed.
Speaking to Computer Weekly, Russell Banks, head of IT at Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust said, The solution will allow medical and nursing staff to increase the time they spend on patient care, giving patients more of the individual attention they require by reducing the need to log in and out of numerous systems.
Other benefits include the reduction of the endless administrative paper trail, freeing up revenue which can now be invested into other areas of improving patient care.
The scheme has been high on the trust’s desirable developments list for some time and could dramatically transform current patient record systems if rolled out nationally, he added.
