Smartphones and wireless technology are fundamentally changing how care teams in hospitals and across health systems communicate with each other, yet some organizations remain on the fence about adopting new forms of communication.
Though overhead paging and pagers are outdated and often contribute to communication breakdowns with one-way functionality, the uncertainty of the unknown is a powerful anchor. What are the impacts of modernizing healthcare communications on patient care and staff experience if hospitals maintain the status quo?
For hospitals and health systems around the world that have an enterprise communication platform, the benefits are powerful and widespread, with improvements in workflow efficiency, staff response times, patient safety, satisfaction and security. The right communication platform enables secure, end-to-end collaboration that provides caregivers the ability to focus on patient care and not the technology they are using. This changes the conversation from "smartphones, integrations, systems and servers" to "patient care, workflows and care teams."
To be impactful, the platform must make the technology "invisible" by combining workflows and clinical data into actionable tasks that are delivered on multiple types of devices based on staff preferences and patient care settings. The platform must have a constantly updated active staff directory that enables users to call or text team members by name, assignment, group and/or availability, replacing pieced-together apps with a single and intuitive communication dashboard. The capability to support clinical data and workflows such as alarm management, patient and staff rounding applications, and other workflow integration capabilities must be built in.
With these capabilities and other benefits at hand, healthcare organizations can expect tangible results that include:
#1. A better patient experience. An enterprise communication platform that supports all types of communications—including hands-free voice communication, secure text messaging, alarm management, real-time patient rounding and integrations with multiple clinical systems—enables faster care team response times. When patients' needs and requests are addressed quickly in a more healing environment, satisfaction levels increase.
#2. Elevated staff morale. An uninterrupted flow of communication is the fuel for a well-oiled, high-performing care team. An enterprise communication platform replaces frustrating communication breakdowns with simplified workflows and new assurances of getting the right information to the right person at the right time on their device of choice, which improves staff collaboration and satisfaction.
#3. Fewer steps. A communication platform that connects people and information instantly on any device, whether a smartphone, hands-free communication badge, tablet, watch or laptop, helps reduce the need to hunt down data, search for other care team members, and engage in excessive phone tag. Easy and instant communication is particularly valuable for large facilities, where it's not uncommon for staff to walk miles a day as they move between patient rooms and units. Saving steps means saving valuable time that can be spent on delivering direct patient care at the bedside.
#4. Smarter workflow and care delivery. Integration capabilities, or the connection between clinical and communication systems, are key for a sustainable enterprise communication platform. Intelligent communication integrations with EHRs can greatly improve clinical workflows, including delivery of STAT orders, lab results or medications. Nurse call system integrations with hands-free voice communication can improve staff response times and decrease patient falls. In addition, smartphone integration with patient physiological monitors can provide context-rich data, reduce alarm fatigue and improve patient safety.
#5. More secure patient data. Multiple communication systems and disparate mobile apps are a recipe for a data breach. Secure communication is not about "bolting-on" a layer of security, it's about establishing a solution in which security is built in. A single enterprise communication platform that centralizes management and coordination of communication across users, no matter their location or device, is inherently secure by virtue of its integration.
Gautam M. Shah (gshah@vocera.com) is vice president of product management at Vocera Communications (www.vocera.com), which offers one of the most robust clinical communications systems in healthcare. Installed in more than 1,300 organizations worldwide, Vocera delivers secure, integrated and intelligent communication solutions that enable care teams to collaborate more efficiently via hands-free voice communication, secure text messaging, patient engagement tools and integrated clinical workflows.
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