Overview
Initiative type
Model of Care
Status
Deliver
Published
June 2026
Summary
A clinician-designed trauma database integrating live hospital data into clinical support document and ready access Power BI dashboards to transform trauma care delivery, real time reporting, and governance across the patient's journey.
Dates: April 2024 - August 2025
Implementation sites: Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital
HICOP
Aim
To design and implement Queensland Health's first integrated, non-proprietary trauma database that supports real-time clinical decision-making, contributes to national reporting, and has broad statewide scalability for standardised trauma care.
Outcomes
- Replaced an unstable Microsoft Access system with a purpose-built, enterprise-grade trauma data platform.
- Achieved live data integration across multiple platforms including EDIS, HBCIS and ORMIS at to support clinical care delivery.
- Implemented AIS coding with automated ISS scoring functionality.
- Delivered real-time Power BI dashboards tracking trauma presentations, admissions and interventions.
- Improved data timeliness and quality for audit, research and bi-national trauma registry reporting.
- Flexibility to deliver reporting outcomes on time critical data - notably demonstrated by the recent E-PMD enquiry compared to proprietary repositories. Reduced reliance on proprietary trauma registry systems allowing for customisable adjustments when required.
- Established a scalable architecture for rollout across all Queensland Health facilities.
- Enhanced clinician workflow through an “All-in-One” trauma mini-chart supporting ward rounds and handover.
Background
The Trauma Service at Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital (RBWH), is one of Queensland's largest major trauma centres and provides regular trauma data submissions to the bi-national trauma registry to support high clinical governance standards through benchmarking and understanding trauma trends across Australia and New Zealand. The existing Microsoft Access-based database used for data collection was unstable, siloed, and unable to support real-time clinical intelligence.
Key challenges included:
- Fragmented data across emergency, inpatient and theatre systems
- Delayed reporting impacting governance oversight
- Manual duplication of data entry
- Limited analytics capability
- Dependence on proprietary registry software
Importantly, trauma data at RBWH is not solely used for compliance and KPIs. It is central to improving patient outcomes, reducing morbidity and mortality, and driving service improvement.
The opportunity aligned with Queensland Health's broader iEMR transition - enabling the development of a future-ready, interoperable trauma intelligence platform.
The core innovation question was:
How can trauma data move from retrospective reporting to real-time clinical intelligence?
TraumaApp was developed to answer this question.
Methods
This project was delivered through a partnership between RBWH Trauma Service and Digital Metro North.
Innovation Principles
- Clinician-led co-design
- Integration-first architecture
- Real-time analytics capability
- Standardised coding and governance
- Scalability across Queensland Health
What Was Developed
1. Bespoke Trauma Database (TraumaApp)
- Purpose-built to meet bi-national registry requirements
- Designed for interoperability with iEMR
- Enterprise-grade structure replacing legacy system
2. Live Data Integration
Seamless linkage with:
- EDIS (Emergency Department)
- HBCIS (Corporate Patient Administration)
- ORMIS (Operating Theatre System)
3. Real-Time Power BI Dashboards
Interactive dashboards displaying:
- Trauma presentations and trends
- Admission rates
- Operative interventions
- Performance indicators
4. Clinical Mini Chart Functionality
- Consolidated trauma-specific patient view
- Supports ward rounds and handover
- Reduces duplication and improves efficiency
5. Automated Severity Scoring
- Embedded AIS coding
- Automated Injury Severity Score (ISS) calculation
Implementation Strategy
- Workflow mapping across trauma patient journey
- Iterative design with clinician feedback
- Progressive embedding into routine practice
- Data governance framework establishment
The platform was piloted at RBWH, refined through frontline feedback, and embedded into daily clinical and governance operations.
Discussion
What Enabled Success
- Strong executive and digital partnership
- Clinically driven design ensuring adoption
- Alignment with Queensland Health digital strategy
- Clear compliance requirements
- High-volume trauma environment enabling rapid testing
Innovation Impact
TraumaApp shifts trauma data from passive collection to active clinical intelligence.
It has:
- Increased transparency of trauma activity
- Enabled near real-time service oversight
- Strengthened audit and governance capability
- Improved clinician efficiency
- Enhanced data sovereignty for Queensland Health
Lessons Learned
- Clinical ownership drives engagement.
- Integration is more valuable than standalone functionality.
- Standardised data definitions are critical for analytics success.
- Real-time dashboards change service culture toward proactive monitoring.
- Scalability Across Queensland Health
TraumaApp is designed as a scalable platform and can be implemented across:
- Other designated trauma services
- Major tertiary facilities
- Regional hospitals transitioning to iEMR
- Services requiring bi-national registry compliance
Statewide implementation would:
- Standardise trauma data collection
- Reduce duplication
- Improve benchmarking capability
- Decrease reliance on proprietary vendors
- Strengthen statewide trauma governance
Next Steps
- Expand integration to ICU, radiology and rehabilitation systems
- Develop statewide trauma data governance framework
- Progress phased rollout across other Queensland trauma sites
- Enhance predictive analytics and benchmarking capability
References
Key contact
Michael Handy
Assistant Nursing Director
Metro North Hospital and Health Service