iPads And Other Tablets Could Replace NHS Written Patient Monitoring Charts

Trial taking place at Oxford hospital

Handwritten medical observation charts could become a thing of the past in UK hospitals with the development of an iPad-based patient monitoring system.

Developed in Oxford hospitals, the iPad-based early-warning system, developed with EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council) funding, is one of the projects funded by the £260 million "Safer Hospitals, Safer Wards" NHS Technology Fund to improve patient safety.

The £1.1 million Oxford funding will allow the team of biomedical engineers and clinicians from the University of Oxford and the Oxford University Hospitals (OUH) NHS Trust to roll out the system across all adult wards in the trust’s acute hospitals.