As hospitals continue to progress toward electronic medical record systems and adopt other health information technology, communication technology among hospital staff is also taking new leaps. Voalté, a hospital communications company, is one such entity trying to improve the communication at the point of care. Voalté CEO Rob Campbell, who ran application software for Apple in the 1970s and 80s and also created PowerPoint, says hospitals are complex networks of communication in which very few of the participants are available at the same time.
Here are the three key elements of communication that can help improve the fluidity of the healthcare landscape:
1. Voice. Mr. Campbell says for any hospital to improve its intra- and interdepartmental communication, there has to be a good phone solution, specifically smartphones in this era of technology. "One clinician needs to be able to call other clinicians," Mr. Campbell says. "Hospitals are big complex organizations, and just managing the directories of hospitals is a pretty daunting task."
2. Alarms/Alerts. Many nurses and clinicians don't require synchronous information sharing, Mr. Campbell says, so alarms and alerts that would be disseminated across overhead paging systems, for example, aren't necessary. Instead, those alarms can be sent to a specific person's smartphone. Communications technologies must figure out a way to take all of those alarms and alerts and give them to the right person at the right time, Mr. Campbell says.
3. Text messaging. Hospital staff usually only need small snippets of information, Mr. Campbell says, and a voice-grade text messaging information system is a solution. For example, nurses using a mobile device or smartphone can text pharmacists using a desktop application in order to have properly prescribed medicines reach the correct patient quickly.
However, for these types of technologies to work, much is dependent on the hospital's communication infrastructure. Some healthcare facilities, such as The Nebraska Medical Center, have already adopted these types of clinician communication systems. But Mr. Campbell stated that hospitals have to have a good voice-grade wifi system to support the massive amount of proposed information. "When you're talking about critical communication, everyone has to be available all the time," Mr. Campbell says. "Wifi infrastructure is a big issue. Hospitals don't have what they think they have."
Improving communication between clinicians and other ancillary departments is only one step, though. Mr. Campbell noted the future of communications technology in hospitals must also spread to physicians and the environmental group, which includes porters, food service and cleaning staff.
Most importantly, communication must be brought to the patient, Mr. Campbell says. Some hospitals are implementing new patient technology, and he says patients and their immediate family members must be tied with communications systems in order to understand their healthcare treatment fully.
"Right now, patients don't have a very good way in participating in communication loops inside hospitals," Mr. Campbell says. "We envision a day in which a patient will have iPhone or tablet, and that will be there their communication system."
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Here are the three key elements of communication that can help improve the fluidity of the healthcare landscape:
1. Voice. Mr. Campbell says for any hospital to improve its intra- and interdepartmental communication, there has to be a good phone solution, specifically smartphones in this era of technology. "One clinician needs to be able to call other clinicians," Mr. Campbell says. "Hospitals are big complex organizations, and just managing the directories of hospitals is a pretty daunting task."
2. Alarms/Alerts. Many nurses and clinicians don't require synchronous information sharing, Mr. Campbell says, so alarms and alerts that would be disseminated across overhead paging systems, for example, aren't necessary. Instead, those alarms can be sent to a specific person's smartphone. Communications technologies must figure out a way to take all of those alarms and alerts and give them to the right person at the right time, Mr. Campbell says.
3. Text messaging. Hospital staff usually only need small snippets of information, Mr. Campbell says, and a voice-grade text messaging information system is a solution. For example, nurses using a mobile device or smartphone can text pharmacists using a desktop application in order to have properly prescribed medicines reach the correct patient quickly.
However, for these types of technologies to work, much is dependent on the hospital's communication infrastructure. Some healthcare facilities, such as The Nebraska Medical Center, have already adopted these types of clinician communication systems. But Mr. Campbell stated that hospitals have to have a good voice-grade wifi system to support the massive amount of proposed information. "When you're talking about critical communication, everyone has to be available all the time," Mr. Campbell says. "Wifi infrastructure is a big issue. Hospitals don't have what they think they have."
Improving communication between clinicians and other ancillary departments is only one step, though. Mr. Campbell noted the future of communications technology in hospitals must also spread to physicians and the environmental group, which includes porters, food service and cleaning staff.
Most importantly, communication must be brought to the patient, Mr. Campbell says. Some hospitals are implementing new patient technology, and he says patients and their immediate family members must be tied with communications systems in order to understand their healthcare treatment fully.
"Right now, patients don't have a very good way in participating in communication loops inside hospitals," Mr. Campbell says. "We envision a day in which a patient will have iPhone or tablet, and that will be there their communication system."
Related Articles on Health Information Technology:
UPMC Installs "Smart Rooms" to Improve Patient Care
Study: 94 Percent of Physicians Use Smartphones, 44 Percent Prefer iPhone
Vanderbilt University Launches iPhone App for Anesthesiologists