Astute’s Pioneering mCare Application Enables Doctors to Access and Update Critical Patient Records on the Move

Cambridge, May 11 2009: Astute Mobile Data Solutions, the UK’s premier application provider for the BlackBerry® platform, today announced that its innovation has again been recognised at the 2009 Wireless Leadership Awards, where it was named a finalist in the Innovation in Public Sector category. Astute was recognized for its mCare application, which was developed for Northern Doctors Urgent Care (NDUC), enabling physicians to access and update patient records from their BlackBerry® smartphones in real-time.

The Wireless Leadership Awards are designed to support innovation, celebrating and showcasing cutting-edge solutions that have a real impact on working efficiencies. With just three award categories (public sector, private sector and business impact) being recognised as a finalist for the Innovation in Public Sector category again demonstrates Astute’s leading position in empowering government and public sector organisations to reap the efficiencies of wireless solutions.

Simon Poole, Managing Director of Astute, said: “We are delighted to once again be recognised for our innovative solutions. The robust and secure nature of the BlackBerry solution makes it a great platform for delivering end-to-end business mobility solutions that improve efficiency with access to business critical applications.”

The mCare application was custom built by Astute for NDUC, a leading UK organisation for large-scale unscheduled patient care provision. mCare allows out-of-hours physicians to securely access and update patient records from their BlackBerry smartphones in real-time, while using the NDUC’s own Microsoft SQL clinical database and meeting all of the UK's stringent security requirements for safeguarding patient records and confidentiality.

In addition to having the most up-to-date patient records available during out of hours and at home consultations, mCare also enables physicians to securely send consultation details back to the control centre in real-time, saving almost an hour of record updating per shift. Moreover, as the information is temporarily stored in the mCare application, the clinician can work with the patient without worrying about losing data if they are out of wireless coverage.

Ben Stobbs, IT and Telecommunications Manager of NDUC said "It was vital to NDUC that the solution we implemented was secure, cost effective and saved time. Astute worked closely with us in developing the solution with our specific requirements in mind, combining access to clinical records with other value-added functionality."

John Harrison, CEO of NDUC further added, "There isn't a GP who doesn't like the BlackBerry solution because it's changed the way they work and helps them do their jobs better."