Introduction – University of Limerick Graduate Medical School

The Graduate Entry Medical School (GMS) in the University of Limerick provides graduate students with a complete medical education. The GMS is renowned for using cutting edge teaching techniques such as Problem Based Learning in order to provide a world class education to its students.

Problem – Provide Improved Access to Web Application

In 2009, Action Point implemented a web application for the GMS called the Logbook. This application is used by students on work experience with medical practitioners to record their interactions with patients. See the case study “GMS – Logbook App” for more detailed information on this application.

The Logbook is an ASP.Net web application and was well received by students and staff alike. The only complaint was that students often found themselves with no internet connectivity by the patient’s bedside and also could not carry a laptop with them on their rounds. As such, most ended up writing their logbook notes on paper and transcribing them to the online system at night. This worked quite well, but GMS saw an opportunity for improvement and asked Action Point to come up with an innovative solution.

Challenge – Deliver Online functionality in an Offline environment

The students needed a system that allowed them to avail of the online functionality of the Logbook without a laptop or internet connection. At the same time, they did not want to sacrifice any of the online functionality while offline. They still needed to be authenticated, to be able to review past entries and most importantly of all, to record new logbook entries.

Solution – iPhone & iPad App with Web Services and Smart Caching

An iPhone and iPad version of the Logbook was developed along with a set of Web Services on the existing ASP.Net web application. The iPhone and iPad proved to be the perfect physical platform for medical students since more than 40% of students already had one.

When the iPhone is online, the Logbook App connects directly to the Web Services to provide real-time authentication and data updates. The Web Services implement all the functionality that the App requires to authenticate, update and download the student’s Logbook entries. While online, the App ensures that a local copy of all Logbook entries is maintained for offline reference.

When the iPhone is offline, the App uses the local cached copy of the student’s data to authenticate their login information and provide access to the local cache of their logbook entries. All online functionality remains available. The student can record new entries and review all previous entries. While offline, the App records all changes in the local cache, ready for when an Internet connection is restored. Once an Internet connection returns, the App automatically pushes all new and changed entries to the server via the Web Services and queries for any changes on the server since it last checked in.

In implementing the Logbook App, we adhered to the Apple Human Interface guidelines to ensure the App would be easy to pick up and use. To date, the App has received extremely high praise from Students for its ease of use while at a patient’s bedside and it has improved the quality of data entered in the Logbook due to the fact that entries can now be made as they happen instead of from memory.

Technologies