G451(P) A neonatal guidelines app: will it improve clinical practice

Introduction Tertiary Neonatology is a specialist area of paediatrics. Doctors from a wide range of grades (F1 to ST8) rotate through our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for various time periods (6 week to 1 year placements). This can require a steep learning curve for new trainees and departmental guidelines help support this as well as standardise local best practice. We identified the need for better access to and knowledge of the guidelines. Inspired by other commonly used NICU apps such as ‘Neomate’ [3], we have created an app with our local specific guidelines to simplify access, increase usability and improve guideline adherence. The Neonatal Beacon App gives neonatal doctors quick and easy access to departmental guidelines, latest research, additional learning resources and important journal papers. Methods We developed an app from the template of a critical care app in our hospital [1 2] and have added a NICU-focussed section to run alongside other departments. Each departmental guideline was transcribed onto the smartphone app maker and then edited to ensure ease of use. A written survey was completed by departmental doctors and Advanced Neonatal Nurse Practitioners (ANNPs) whilst developing the app. Results Pre-intervention data was collected from doctors of all grades and ANNPs. Our initial survey suggested the majority of staff spent 3–4 min finding their wanted guideline and accessed them weekly. 14 of 16 staff stated they would like a departmental guideline app and felt it would improve clinical practice. Comments informed us which guidelines were most used and what additional learning resources would be beneficial, to enable us to extend the app as a learning resource. Further post-intervention data is ongoing and aims to assess the impact of the app on clinical practice, including guideline use, confidence and efficiency in managing various scenarios. Conclusion The app is an ongoing project that has been met with enthusiasm from the department. We continue to upload useful information and changes to guidelines, and further tailor the app to the needs of the department. We aim to roll the app out across all neonatal units in our region to standardise best care. References Mazzola F, Lewis V, Bishop C, Smith P, Scott J. Designing a clinical app for a tertiary referral hospital: using feedback to get it right. ASME ASM 2017, Oral presentation. Mazzola F, Lewis V, Welbourne J. Developing a Neuro Critical Care App – what do we need it for? NACCSGBI ASM 2016. Neomate. Academy of Fabulous Stuff. https://fabnhsstuff.net/2015/12/13/neomate-app-nicu-doctorsnurses/. Copyright 2017.