The use of mobile devices for information sharing in a technology-supported model of care in A&E

Using a case study as an example, this paper illustrates the current model of care in Accident and Emergency (A & E); in particular, the 'cells' in which data/information is stored and how explicit and accessible it is (or is not) to healthcare professionals. It is a model of care which may be summed up as static information/dynamic clinicians. This paper then describes how mobile devices may be used to track patients through an A&E department. From there, a model of care is proposed that has at its core the notion of dynamic information/static clinicians which takes into account the potential and likelihood of such mobile technology being used to support healthcare professionals in the future. It is argued, however, that such 'disruptive technologies' are merely tools at our disposal and that it is human activity which must be foremost when considering how we might work differently ('better') in treating and/or dealing with patients.