Wireless Patient Information Provision and Sharing at the Point of Care using a Virtual Organization Framework in Clinical Work

The paper presents a virtual organization (VO) framework which incorporates wireless technology support at the point of care in a clinical environment It reflects a move to patient centric healthcare provided by multi-disciplinary care teams working in an integrated way for patient care. The work highlights the importance of wireless technologies for addressing point of care issues faced by care team members. It describes VO and Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) aspects in the clinical environment and analyzes existing virtual and collaborative infrastructures in the healthcare literature. In the light of current problem analysis, it proposes the approach of patient centric virtual organizations (PCVOs) development in the clinical environment PCVOs provide improved provision and sharing of patient information at the point of care which leads to enhanced collaborative working patterns for the care team members. In a comprehensive way, it discusses the study results and focuses on the development, implementation and evaluation strategy for the pilot prototype of case study conducted at a local NHS Cancer Centre for possible improvements in patient care infrastructure.