Healthcare
Worker accessibility is critical in the hospital environment. Nurses, doctors, technicians, maintenance and transport staff must be able to instantly reach and be reached by colleagues. And yet, in this time-sensitive environment, efficient communication is not always easy. Few hospital workers can be found behind a desk with convenient access to a desk phone and computer. By nature, healthcare employees are constantly on the move between floors, patient rooms and lab areas, handling routine tasks and addressing critical issues as they arise.
Cell phones are not a viable solution to the hospital communication challenge, as their usage is prohibited in certain areas of the hospital. Additionally, construction materials used in parts of the building can reduce or block coverage altogether. As a result, hospitals have typically relied on overhead paging to reach mobile employees and disseminate urgent messages. However, overhead paging can disrupt the healthcare environment — often disturbing patients as they try to sleep, rest or relax. And the public nature of overhead paging does not provide the level of discretion required by law for some messages, causing the recipient to take additional steps to learn the pertinent and sensitive details.
Communication inefficiencies can have a profound impact in the healthcare environment. For doctors, nurses and technicians, additional time spent on administrative tasks and tracking down colleagues directly translates into less time available to care for patients. According to a recent study, the average nurse spends only about 31 percent of his or her time in direct patient care.1 And with the current nursing shortage across the U.S., inefficiencies in working processes can further stress the system and erode quality of care.
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