through its purchase of the Merlon and Questek IP and wireless nurse call systems as well as Hospital Television Rentals (HTV). What Lincor says differentiates it from some of the other players on the market is that it has a fully integrated solution that does not involve meshing different software and hardware solutions together. “The most critical thing to say about Lincor is that we’re a software company first,” Mr Byrne said. “Our intellectual property is all our own software. What we want to get to is that we become totally hardware agnostic. “Right now we can put our software onto a multiplicity
of devices, and those devices consist of a bedside terminal, a flat screen TV, on the wall, a nurse station or a clinical station in the room, and ultimately to a tablet and iPad for bring your own device.” In the future, the company is looking at how to transform clinical data into something that can be read and understood by the patient both in and out of the hospital. Currently, clinical data can be displayed to the patient in an easy to read format – for example, colour-coded test results or vital signs – but the company also has a patient portal product that can be used both preadmission and following discharge as an educational
tool for both the patient and their families.
Clinical dashboard to help monitor peak flow for asthma
“And the other area that we’re looking at is the whole area of checklists,” Mr Byrne said.
The developers behind the Breathe Easy asthma management app are currently building an online clinical dashboard that will allow GPs and patients to monitor the results of peak flow testing and other symptoms and let patients adapt their action plans accordingly.
“Before a pilot takes a plane up into the sky the first thing he goes through is a checklist, but if you ask a surgeon to do it before an operation, he won’t, and that’s where errors are made. Simple things are forgotten. “So what we’re trying to do is develop checklists at the point of care. We have the device … and a screen in front of them so they don’t make those errors. That’s the kind of stuff that we want technology to do.”
The Breathe Easy app was developed by Asthma New Zealand in association with John McRae, CEO of promotions and app development firm VADR, who has had asthma since childhood. The Breathe Easy app was developed for the iPhone and launched in 2012. It allows users to monitor peak flow levels and create action plans to share with their GP. It also offers reminders to take medication as well as links to important information and support from Asthma New Zealand. Asthma New Zealand says it is essentially a digitalised system that improves on, and will eventually replace, current paperbased asthma management plans. A key feature of the app is its ability to remind users to use their inhaler or preventer. While a wide range of asthma medication is available, as Mr McRae says, “If you don’t take it, it doesn’t work.” The app also contains an asthma control test that allows users to record, compare and share results with practitioners. VADR is now developing an online clinical dashboard, which will provide GPs with an overview of their patient’s symptoms. Asthma New Zealand said it would give GPs a greater understanding of the condition for individual patients. The app is available from iTunes for free and has also been adapted for Australian and US users.
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