National Audiology Clinical Management System (NACMS)

HSE Audiology Services:

HSE Audiology Services comprise a range of clinical, technical and rehabilitative services that provide assessments and management of patients with audio/vestibular disorders from the cradle to the grave across community and acute hospital locations.

Audiology Services can:

• Diagnose problems with hearing.
• Treat hearing loss, for example by providing hearing devices.
• Service and repair hearing devices.
• Give advice about using assistive listening technologies.
• Provide counselling and information support to patients or families experiencing hearing loss.

Project Overview

The National Audiology Review Group recommended the implementation of a single Audiology Clinical Management System and following an open competition Auditdata was selected as the provider.

This project is a collaboration between acute and community services which aims to provide a single Audiology Record for patients. It will deliver improved patient care and integration between primary and secondary care.

The Project is divided into 2 Phases:

Phase 1: Community Rollout

Delivery of NACMS to all 9 Community Health Organisations. This phase is now complete.

Phase 2: Acute Hospital Rollout

Delivery of NACMS to 19 Acute Hospitals providing Audiology Services:

Dublin Midlands Hospital Group (DMHG)

1. St. James' Hospital
2. Tallaght University Hospital
3. Midlands Regional Hospital, Tullamore

Ireland East Hospital Group (IEHG)

1. Mater Misericordiae University Hospital
2. St. Vincent's University Hospital
3. Royal Victoria Eye & Ear Hospital

RCSI Hospital Group

1. Beaumont Hospital
2. Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda.
3. Monaghan Hospital

South/South West Hospital Group (SSWHG)

1. Cork University Hospital
2. South Infirmary Victory University Hospital
3. University Hospital Waterford
4. Mallow General Hospital

Saolta Hospital Group

1. Galway University Hospital
2. Letterkenny University Hospital
3. Sligo University Hospital

Children's Health Ireland (CHI)

1. CHI Crumlin
2. CHI Temple Street

University of Limerick Hospital Group (ULHG)

1. University Hospital Limerick

 The system will also be live in the new National Children Hospital when it opens.

System Overview:

The National Audiology Clinical Management System (NACMS) is a clinical IT system used to facilitate the scheduling, conducting, reporting, storage and viewing of audiology examinations requests and reports as well as the ability to manage stock and repairs for audiology devices such as hearing devices.  It allows for the secure, electronic sharing of results between specialists for faster and improved diagnosis therefore improving the patient experience and care.

The benefits of NACMS include:

• Reduction in report “turn-around” time.
• Improved clinical consultation.
• Rapid and more complete audiology record retrieval.
• Improved facilities for education and research.
• Fewer repeat procedures.
• Provision of management information.
• Reduction in unreported / lost studies.
• Images follow the patient through the “Care Pathway”.
• Improved Data Security.
• Facilitates quality assurance.

If you would like more information or would like to speak to someone working on this project, please contact stephanie.cremen1@hse.ie