ePOC: Mobile clinical information access and diffusion in ambulatory care service settings

This paper represents a preliminary overview (work-in-progress) of a mobile e-Health research and development project and the intrinsic considerations which arise when designing such patient data management systems tailored to ambulatory care. Its purpose is to give an outline of the issues that allow technological enablement of electronic patient data management in the delivery of home-based medical care. While the replacement of more traditional paper-based patient data management using Personal Digital Assistants as a collection platform is technically straightforward, the organizational realignment of an electronic document management system requires careful study and deployment in order to maximize success. We outline the methodological considerations for document management diffusion within this e-Health setting and describe the issues, architecture and proposed rollout of an electronic Point-Of-Care (ePOC) system.