Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

A web-based system can provide real-time data and access to information. Healthcare is moving towards digitizing patients' medical information and securely exchanging it through a web-based system. In Toronto (Central LHIN), the NLOT is currently using a Microsoft Access database to keep track of the health information of those residents they have assessed in long-term care homes. The Microsoft Access database lacks scalability, portability, and interoperability. The purpose of this project is to build a web-based database to replace Access, using Oracle Application Express for NLOT nurses in Toronto that can be easily accessible from any mobile devices. The design especially focused on the needs of the different types of users, which is why there are two different user type accounts; these two types can address user needs, while still restricting certain powers to the normal user and admin accounts to preserve the integrity of the data within the system. Admin accounts include report section which is a very useful tool to view the progress of the NLOT teams in order to prepare reports and develop strategic planning. Eight NLOT staff from Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto were recruited to undergo the system usability test. The mean SUS score for all the surveys is 90.3 with a median of 93.7 and a mode of 95.0. The evaluation results revealed that seven of the eight participants (87.5%) would use the system frequently and found the system to be user-friendly and easy to use. Considering the results of the utility testing, it can be said that the web-based NLOT database will prove to be efficient to the NLOT nurses and will enhance the quality of care. Also, this database can be used to track any avoidable resident ED visits. Based on the usability evaluation results, the database is ready to be implemented, if the nurses decide to use the system. The web-based NLOT database will revolutionize the way nurses manage patient information.