Modernising a leading healthcare organisation’s pathology requests portal with Power Apps

Our client is a prominent healthcare organisation, serving millions of customers worldwide.

Challenge

The client had been using an old SharePoint 2013 custom-built app that leveraged lists and brought in data via a BizTalk server integration from external systems. We were tasked with recreating this app using modern technologies, leveraging the existing integration, and enabling a streamlined experience for the team.   

The app had several limitations and pain points. One key driver for change was the quickly approaching end of support for SharePoint 2013, which posed security and compliance risks.

The main objectives for the change were to:

• Recreate the existing app in modern technologies
• Retain the smarts of the current solution
• Integrate reporting into the new solution
• Make improvements to the experience of the app
• Leverage the existing integration with BizTalk

Our approach

The approach began with an open-minded view to the technologies we would use in the solution, with considerations of an SQL database for custom tables, to Model-Driven Apps in the Microsoft ecosystem – having Dataverse as a core part of the solution, there was nothing off the table. 

After several workshops and discussions, we decided a Canvas App with a SharePoint list for data storage was the route to take, with a heavy focus on sprint-driven development and strong DevOps adoption to facilitate a smooth build period. 

The team at Engage Squared was excited to leverage new technology from Microsoft, the Creator Kit – A collection of tools in Power Apps that can enable extensive features via easy to implement components. This approach allowed us to quickly add value to the solution with minimal development time. 

Power BI reports were also used to bring in near real-time data and tracking to the solution, enabling the team at Client to remain on top of their workloads throughout the week. These reports were embedded in the Canvas App that was built to create a seamless and contained experience, a one-stop-shop for Client’s Pathology Requests team.  

Results

The results of the application were: 

• The client is using the solution everyday to process hundreds of cases.  

• Workflows enable locking functionality, preventing double-handling of work.  

• Complex logic enables a flat data-structure to be processed into cases, allowing detailed Power BI reports to be created against the dataset.  

• The solution includes dashboards and reports that are used daily to monitor and manage workloads for application users, helping the team meet their KPIs.