We describe the development of a mobile computing platform (MCP) with a decision support module (DSM) for patients in our coagulation-based hemotherapy service.
The core of our MCP consists of a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet template used to gather and compute data on cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) patients intraoperatively. The DSM is embedded into the Excel file, where the user would enter in laboratory results, and through our 45 embedded algorithms, recommendations for transfusion products would be displayed in the Excel file.
The DSM has helped decrease the time it takes to come to a transfusion recommendation, helps double-check recommendations, and is an excellent tool for teaching. Furthermore, the problems that occur with a paper system have been eliminated, and we are now able to access this information easily and reliably.
The development and implementation of our MCP system has greatly increased the productivity and efficiency of our hemotherapy service.