As I travel from hospital to hospital as a User Experience Manager for Voalte, caregivers I train frequently ask me, how Voalte will be useful in their particular unit?  Depending on the type of communication device the caregivers have previously been using or the lack thereof, many caregivers just cannot visualize how Voalte could benefit their unit. 

I often respond with a question… "With whom do you communicate on a regular basis?"  The responses from the caregivers vary depending on their unit workflow from Pharmacy to Respiratory to Physicians, Care Techs, etc.  Then I ask, "How have you been communicating with them?"  Their responses are amazing!  Some have been using pagers, which have been obsolete for individuals outside the hospital setting for quite some time.  Others say they have phones that they can use to call the intended party on.  The trouble with this is that both parties must stop what they are doing to speak to one another by phone.  In this scenario, both caregivers must be available at the same moment and caregivers don’t consistently have the same phone number, resulting in the caregiver dialing 4 or 5 extensions before they find someone to answer.  Lastly, many caregivers respond to my question by saying, "We just yell down the hall or go find the person."

When I explain how the Voalte One solution will allow them to text and call other caregivers by tapping on the desired individuals name or unit, they are thrilled!  Being able to text caregivers and other units throughout the hospital excites them, realizing how this form of communication will help them to better manage their requests from other individuals more effectively.  They are relieved when they learn that they will now be able to see which caregivers are at work on a particular shift, thus eliminating the dialing of multiple extensions to find someone to answer their call. 

I am excited to report that it does not take much convincing for Voalte’s caregivers to agree that we have transformed how they do business!

A lot of people talk about what they want to do or who they want to be. Companies do it too. They talk about their vision or their purpose, but what does it all really mean? To believe in what you are doing, is that vision? What is the purpose of the work I am doing?

These were the types of questions I asked myself when I was sitting in a chair at Sarasota Memorial Hospital. My wife was recovering from complications with her Diabetes, so I had a lot of time to sit, stare blankly at my laptop screen, and ponder the impact our solution has on healthcare and even further, on my life directly, in this moment. I had the same reoccurring thoughts, as I watched nurses come in every thirty to sixty minutes to test her blood sugar levels. This isn’t just marketing; they are really using the product to help my wife recover. This is real.

I did not understand the true importance of the Voalte solution until I saw it in action. I watched as someone triple checked the basal rate of insulin my wife received every hour. The nurse used the product we sold, making sure not to double up on the dosage. It really hit home at that moment, how lucky we were to be in one of the best hospitals in the world, a hospital, which is running Voalte.

You hear sales pitch after sales pitch, involving the vision or purpose of a company, but you don't really understand the reality until you experience it first hand. I understand, now more then ever, what it means to have purpose in my work. It’s not about hitting a sales goal. It's about building something that is capable of impacting the quality of care your child, parent, or spouse receives. I love being a part of something like that... I was sitting in the hospital room while my wife recovered when purpose slapped me in the face.

As a young, fast growing company, trade shows can provide a wealth of knowledge, and lead to an overwhelming amount of success. Two weeks ago, Voalte had the chance to participate in the Cerner Health Conference out in Kansas City, Missouri. We had a booth setup, ready to demonstrate our Voalte One Nursing Communication Solution where we were able to speak face-to-face with current customers in addition to potential customers. Our booth screamed pink and green and our “pink pants crew” triggered lots of attention across the show floor driving more traffic towards our location.   

What made CHC different from other shows I had attended in the past is that it was a user conference. In other words, only Cerner customers were able to attend. In addition, Voalte and Cerner were able to join forces to enhance communication at the point-of-care, by integrating with Cerner on a few different levels at the conference. We showed Voalte One integration at the CareAware Connect station as well as the Alert Link Alarm Management Station. Cerner showcased these products and others in their Solutions Gallery. This Solutions Gallery was an amazing resource of EMR knowledge. We were able to learn as much as possible about their EMR and Middleware platforms, iBus and Alert Link, as well as new up-and-coming Cerner products!   

Looking back, I can’t help but think of CHC’s tagline, “Because it’s personal”. At the end of the conference, I was able to meet face-to-face with hundreds of potential customers, some of which I had been speaking with for seven months or more. Which goes to show you, building relationships before hand is key, but being able to interact face-to-face can make all the difference. And when you stop and think about it, the same is true in healthcare.

Healthcare is personal, shouldn’t clinical communication be personal too? 

There is no question that the iPhone is the king of smartphones when it comes to clinical communication. No other device has been so widely adopted by nurses, doctors, and other caregivers.

In celebration of the iPhone 5 release, the five improvements listed below ensure that Apple’s latest iPhone continues to be the king of communication devices in the enterprise healthcare space:

1. Larger display with 44% more color saturation. As more applications provide medical document and imaging features, the richer and better display continues the iPhone’s dominance as the essential medical device for accessing patient information.

2. 802.11N support. The iPhone 5 supports 802.11 a/b/g/n on 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz. This is a HUGE, HUGE win for future VoIP support on the iPhone. It also supports secure information downloading on an enterprise’s wireless network.

3. 4G LTE connectivity. The future of mHealth depends on ultra fast connectivity in locations outside the walls of the hospital. Furthermore, 4G LTE support from iPhone promotes video and other telehealth focused applications.

4. A6 CPU – faster performance, better battery life. Having the iPhone survive through a 12-15 hour shift is critical for point-of-care communication. The iPhone 4S was easily able to make this mark – with a new and improved battery, we can expect the iPhone 5 to last even longer at the point-of-care.

5. 20% lighter, 18% thinner. Caregivers have to carry around many tools to do their job. A lighter, thinner iPhone is just icing on the cake.

Apple continues to amaze and dominate the smartphone market with the design and functionality of their products. It’s incredible to see the improvement from the first iPhone 3 to the new iPhone 5. One can only imagine what the iPhone 10 will look like in 5 years…

Long live the king of mHealth!

When I joined Voalte six months ago, I was already a fan of the iPhone. I had read about this fantastic company providing a revolutionary healthcare communication solution via the iPhone. Needless to say, I was eager to join the team. I love providing excellent customer service and I love the iPhone, but providing support to those who care for others is especially rewarding. 

As a Voalte BFF, I provide Voalte support to caregivers at the point-of-care in real time. I’m there with our users throughout the course of a busy day to answer questions or provide other assistance that enables them to get back to their patients quickly. At any moment users can reach out to me by sending feedback at the touch of a button and I am able to respond just as quickly.  We BFFs do this all day, every day. It’s really all we think about.

Now caregivers are smart people. They’re well trained professionals and the work they do is complex and demanding. They’re dealing with changes in healthcare and responding to those who are in their care. They’re really amazing people. On top of everything they have to do, they’re navigating a technology leap from a patchwork of communication methods (personal pagers, overhead paging, call lights, patient monitoring systems, landline phones, and etc.) to Voalte, the one solution that allows for comprehensive communication from the palm of their hand. Suddenly, communication can travel effortlessly to and from your handheld smartphone at the tap of the screen. Voalte is an amazing and powerful solution for critical hospital communications.

So how do our users make the leap to the next level in communication technology? First, by being a caregiver at one of the best hospitals in the country! And while smartphones may seem to be ubiquitous, they are new to some of our users. The idea of using a smartphone may at first seem intimidating to some, but Voalte is built for comfort! Those who are new to smartphones sometimes need a bit of coaching on the phone itself. I’m the friend they can rely on to help them get over that little bump in the road. I’m their BFF, and our BFF team is there pretty much whenever we’re needed so that caregivers can get back to doing what they do best. Their transition to the Voalte solution is often an exhilarating experience because the user interface is so intuitive that they’re able to enjoy the benefits of improved communication immediately.

For me, it’s all a matter of perspective. You don’t need to know how to rebuild an engine in order to drive a car, and you don’t need to know every detail of how smartphones work in order to use one successfully. The Voalte solution makes it easy! Have a suggestion, comment, or question? Reach out and let us know. You’ll find my team listed under Voalte BFF in the directory.

Better communication means better caregivers.

Better caregivers mean better patient outcomes.

 

Fresh faces and excitement fill the room before each training class begins. Users chitchat amongst themselves thinking “what in the world is this lady going to train us on today?” They discuss what’s going on with their patients, their team dynamics, and their life in general. Often times, people come into class with preconceived notions from past in-service trainings and possible knowledge of iPhone or smartphone use. They may even discuss how Voalte will be perceived among their coworkers.

Now fast forward to the day of the unit’s “go-live”. Users may be a bit nervous about using Voalte. But there will be two major differences between those that attended training and those that did not: adoption and usability.

Users that attended training leave class excited about Voalte and how it will improve communication. Those that did not attend may feel obligated to use something they hardly know anything about. Adoption is key to the success of the Voalte implementation – or any other technology for that matter. Training class attendees know how to “Add to Favorites”, send feedback, find their extension, add contacts to the directory, and so much more. Also during training, users are given a user guide that provides step-by-step instructions on the Voalte application. If you do not attend training you are given a phone and left to ask questions that could have been answered. That person will only be able to use the basic functions of the application and are ultimately left at the mercy of their colleagues.

Attending training allows users to sit down and think about how they will use the application in real time, as they get the opportunity to practice operating the phones in class. As various features are explained, it is amazing seeing the       “ah-ha” moments people have about what the application can do and how Voalte will help with communication among colleagues in their unit, as well as throughout the entire hospital. They will now be able to receive information in a faster and more efficient manner. Training is usually the first point of contact we have with end users and is so critical to the success of the project.

See you in the next training class….

In my travels working with customers and partners I have the pleasure of talking with hospital management teams and end users about Voalte. Frequently our conversations gravitate to the lack of modern wireless communication solutions in healthcare and the truly unique capabilities Voalte brings to the market.

1. Convenience – Voalte eliminates the need for the nurse's "tool belt" of multiple devices and applications. Text messaging, alarms/notifications, and voice communications all flow naturally to a single smartphone application.

 

2. Ease of Use – Why is Apple selling 350,000+ iPhones Per DAY? It's intuitive and simple to use. Voalte leverages the advantages of the robust iPhone hardware and a software application that provides all of a caregiver's communications needs on a shared device with a single sign-on.

 

3. Functionality – I tried text messaging on my old Nokia cell phone. Remember pushing each button 1,2, or 3 times to get the letter you wanted? Forget it. The advent of full keyboards made text messaging a mainstay of communication in the modern world. The non-smartphone handsets currently used in most hospitals today provide the same functionality you abandoned 10 years ago in your personal life.

 

4. Efficiency – The workload of nurses and physicians is astounding. Few jobs require keeping multiple "balls in the air" quite like the hospital environment. A study shows that communication with team members, or other departments, accounts for 20.6% of nurse's time. Providing more streamlined communications leads to happier more effective caregivers. The result is more time spent at the bedside with patients and fewer mistakes. Voalte provides better outcomes and happier patients. This all leads to higher reimbursement and lower cost to the hospital and our over burdened healthcare system.

 

5. Flexibility – The typical process for replacing broken wireless phones in the hospital is for the telecom team to order the same proprietary phones they have been using for decades. The "new" handsets may be a different color or shape, but provide the same limited functionality and user interface they've always had. Why replace a dead-end phone with another dead-end phone?

 

Voalte can custom provision iPhones tailored to the hospital system's needs or even customize by department. Voice, alarms, and text are just the beginning. Voalte puts the power of 50,000+ medical applications in your hands at the bedside – drug reference, med math calculators, language translation – the options are endless and growing every day. Shouldn't your wireless hardware and software solution have the flexibility to grow and change with your communication needs?

After having worked for Voalte for six months now people have asked me; “what question do you hear most often in the field?” When explaining what we do to hospital executives the over whelming majority ask, “if Voalte is a smartphone application can we just download it on our personal phones?” 

The simple answer is no, but the underlying importance is the reason why. Nurses all over the country have used different legacy devices ranging from complicated phones to simple single-use pagers. Now days all of the emerging technology is wonderful but we cannot lose focus on the end users. Hospitals are busy places and when a new technology is proposed caregivers are left wondering if they are going to have to learn how to use a new device or system?

This is where, as we say, a full “turn-key” solution is necessary to address the problem. After seeing our solution successfully rolled out at a number of hospitals across the country I have to come to realize that the reason for the success starts with the nurses being receptive and embracing the technology. Our end user training does just that. Our project management team ensures integrations are performed and infrastructure is configured correctly. Our go-live support maintains a successful rollout, while our ongoing supports keeps the solution up and running as it should. Lastly, our “app” in combination with our specialized devices and charging solutions deliver the efficient and effective communication nurses and caregivers need to deliver the best care possible.

It’s more than just about the app…it’s about our people and the overall experience.

As my colleague, Frank Watts, mentioned in his post “Noise and Patient Anxiety,” a cacophony of alarm signals, nurse call equipment sounds, and the like, can wear down a patient’s recuperative efforts and assurance that they are receiving the best possible care. So, too, can a frequency of alarm noises cause anxiety in hospital caregivers, which in turn, can deplete their ability to provide excelled healthcare. This syndrome, known as alarm fatigue, occurs in a clinical scenario when alarms sound so often that responders become desensitized causing them to respond slowly, inaccurately, or not at all. Another issue of “alarm discriminability” arises which affects the clinician’s ability to discern between one or more alarms. Hence the need for a better alarm delivery solution – Voalte One!

In a survey summary published in the MedSun Newsletter #65, October 2011 by The Medical Product Safety Network*, nine of the 350 health care facilities included in the network reported on the most common alarm fatigue challenges in their demanding and time-critical environments. The respondents represented a cross-section of the hospital staff: risk managers, staff nurses, nurse managers and biomedical engineers. Nearly two-thirds of the respondents experienced alarm fatigue daily, while the other one-third were clearly aware the term and the issues involved. Generally, many of the respondents felt that the varying alarm sounds required extra diligence that involved relying on other sources of observation. In order to determine the correct priority of an alarm, many clinicians would check central monitors in the nursing room, search from room-to-room, use split screens in patient rooms, etc.–all requiring invaluable time when seconds really count the most. Even with varying pitch and tone, many alarms in a localized area were still hard to distinguish properly.

Building considerations as to the overall size of the unit, high levels of noise, and closed patient room doors also factored into the ability for proper alarm signal discernment. That particular consideration and other conditions contributed to the survey-wide result that visual alarms faired better than auditory alarms when providing reliable, and rapid, information regarding alarm location and level of urgency.

When the respondents were questioned regarding their recommendations for better technological solutions to alarm fatigue and alarm discriminability, receiving alarm notification text messages on a smartphone was a survey-wide answer. Additionally, the ability to monitor alarm notifications and information portably through an iPad or similar tablet product was also mentioned as another important technology advancement.

*The Medical Product Safety Network (MedSun) improves FDA’s understanding of problems with the use of medical devices so that the FDA, healthcare facilities, clinicians, and manufacturers can better address safety concerns.

Whether you call them a HUC, an NCT, a MST, a UCA, etc., the hospital Unit Secretary is a professional juggler of tasks, Jack of all trades, chief communicator, mission control, and in many cases Mother Hen to everyone with whom they come in contact. Caregivers, Physicians, and patients alike appreciate what they do and reap the benefits from their daily interactions with their Unit Secretaries. Voalte would like to take a moment to recognize these amazing individuals.

The Top 10 Reasons we LOVE our Unit Secretaries:

#10: They work tirelessly

 #9: They are very knowledgeable about the workings of the department
       and are a wealth of information

 #8: They are always willing to lend a helping hand

 #7: They always know where to find everything

 #6: They know who to call in any situation

 #5: They always work hard to help everyone out

 #4: They are in control

 #3: They know how to fix any and all problems

 #2: They keep us organized

 #1: They ROCK!

To all Unit Secretaries all over the world, we acknowledge and value your ongoing commitment to your patients and your team. You make a HUGE impact, one interaction at a time!

Thank you!