Across South Australia’s 63 regional health services, clinicians face unique challenges: staff turnover, use of regional locum GPs, and inconsistent access to up-to-date clinical procedures. Quick, reliable access to up-to-date clinical guidelines is essential for ensuring patient safety and can assist when hospitals are staffed by doctors and nurses unfamiliar with local protocols.
The idea for the SA Regional Clinical App stemmed from Ammie Thredgold, regional Emergency Nurse Educator, who consistently heard the same feedback: essential clinical documentation wasn't easily accessible at the point of care. "She received the same feedback and complaints over and over,” says Advanced Nurse Facilitator and SA Regional Clinical App project lead, Tovah Green. "Clinicians wanted faster, easier access to the right tools at the point of care." Ammie presented these challenges and her idea for a clinical app to the Rural Support Service and Regional Executive team and was supported to progress to find a solution to support regional clinicians.
While some health services had built apps for similar purposes, these often relied on App Store deployment, required specialist developers to update, and posed governance challenges because they weren’t linked to live systems. The project underwent numerous iterations of solutions and with a changing digital climate in the regions this created the opportunity to develop an app that was interoperable and accessible on desktop computers at the bedside as well as on mobile devices.
Faced with a tight eight-week deadline in the final phase of the project, the team needed a partner who could immediately deliver a ready-to-deploy technical solution making rapid execution as critical as the solution itself.
Microsoft referred Canon Business Services ANZ’s (CBS) team as a trusted Power Platform delivery partner, and one of only 1% of Microsoft Solution Partners to hold all 6 Microsoft Solution designations. From the first conversation, the team focused on understanding the vision, constraints, and urgency.
“From day one, CBS saw the vision,” says Tovah. “We’d already experimented with Power Apps, so we were very clear on what we wanted. That can be challenging for some developers, but CBS embraced it.”
Before contracts were signed, CBS presented a full technical architecture showing how the app could be built, integrated, and maintained. "It meant the project team was able to understand how the app would look and function. This meant the team could go to the Rural Support Service-executives and project steering group, made up of regional clinicians and show them, this is exactly how the clinical app is going to work." Tovah recalls.
CBS worked with the Rural support Service project team, combining their clinical expertise with CBS’s technical capability. The goal? A device-agnostic app accessible via desktop, tablet, or mobile, displaying clinical resources in a consistent, readable format.
Key technical features included:
"Clinical guidelines can be as long as 20 pages and in a high-pressure situation, clinicians don't always have time to review all of the information. On inspiration from SA Ambulance and other clinical apps, clinicians created concise, one to two-page tools with clear symbols and colours so they can act quickly and safely." Ammie explained.
CBS also optimised the app so that content displayed consistently across devices, avoiding the formatting issues common with traditional document sharing. “They needed it to work on any device—mobile, tablet, desktop—without distortion,” says Sam Mountstephen, CBS Technical Architect. “Power Apps gave us that flexibility.”
Budget restrictions meant CBS had to maximise the use of SA Health’s existing Microsoft 365 tools. “We really pushed Power Apps and SharePoint to their limits,” says Sam. “In an ideal world, we’d have used a broader premium stack, but we worked within what was available and still delivered all the key functionality.”
For CBS, the community impact outweighed the commercial constraints. “It was important work for the community, so we focused on building the best solution possible,” says Michelle Stokes, CBS State Manager SA/WA.
The eight-week delivery window included multiple public holidays. “Easter, Anzac Day—it could easily have delayed us,” says Tovah. “But the CBS team kept us on track. All critical bugs were fixed before go-live, and we came in exactly on budget.”
Clear communication was a major success factor. "From the start, I said I requested regular touchpoints, clear budget tracking, and open communication channels. CBS met all of it—and even commented that they appreciated the structure." Tovah says.
The CBS team also valued the passion and clarity Tovah and Ammie brought to the project. "It's rare to work with partners who are both registered nurses and technically minded,” says Michelle. “That dual perspective made decisions faster and kept the focus on patient care."
The SA Regional Clinical App went live in late June, launching to more than 4,000 targeted regional clinicians and made available to all 35,000 SA Health staff accounts.
While formal usage metrics are still being gathered, early feedback has been strongly positive. Clinicians have welcomed the ability to access consistent, up-to-date procedures without returning to a desk or relying on outdated local documents.
Tovah Green, Advanced Nurse Facilitator and SA Regional Clinical App project lead
The SA Regional Clinical App is built on Microsoft PowerApps, making it easy to access on mobile phone or desktop - anytime, anywhere. With a clean, intuitive layout and faster navigation, we can quickly find the clinical tools, templates, and resources we need - right at the point of care.
For both teams, the project was a genuine partnership. “Tovah and Amymie were fantastic to work with,” says Sam. “They were flexible, gave great feedback, and understood the technical trade-offs when we needed to adapt.”
CBS’s early technical clarity and willingness to adapt to SA Health’s requirements set them apart from other vendors. The Rural Support Service project team affirmed that CBS delivered exactly what was promised: on time, on budget, and fit for purpose.
Rural Support Service is now in an expansion phase, working with regional clinicians to broadening the app's scope and content. Future work includes examining feasibility for potential statewide adoption, with states having expressed interest in exploring similar solutions.
CBS remains involved, supporting enhancements and ensuring the app continues to meet the evolving needs of clinicians and patients.
CBS continues to partner with SA Health Rural Support Service, exploring opportunities to enhance the app’s functionality and broaden its reach, supporting clinicians and improving patient outcomes across regional and remote healthcare.
Whether it’s improving patient outcomes, streamlining critical workflows, or enabling your teams with the right technology, Canon Business Services ANZ brings the expertise, agility, and partnership mindset to deliver results—on time, on budget, and built to last.
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