Recently I had the privilege of attending User Interface Conference 17 over in Boston where I met some really interesting and talented people. I attended some outstanding sessions and workshops to help us improve and innovate our design process over here at Voalte. One session that resonated with me was Luke Wroblewski's talk on 1st person user interfaces where he spoke about the current trend in touch-based interfaces and how augmented reality and the use of sensors in everyday items will become the interfaces of tomorrow, paving the way for natural interaction interfaces over learned voice or esoteric device specific commands (swipe to delete anyone?).

Being part of such a saturated market, where the new buzz word 'HIPAA-compliant text messaging' is being slapped on everything like a 'Gluten-free'' label, means we constantly have to keep one eye on the goal and one toward the future. This talk got me thinking about some of the cool new ideas we could use to improve healthcare communications in the future.

Imagine being able to use your phone's altimeter (or interpolated location based on WiFi access points) to trace a nurse's route throughout the hospital. You could automatically set them as 'busy' when they enter the cafeteria or the break room and forward alarms to their backup.

There is also the concept of wearables, where users affix an unobtrusive device to their clothing which records information from a built-in GPS, altimeter, pedometer, gyroscope, accelerometer, temperature sensors, and more! We would be able to tell if a physician is sleeping, driving their car, or out on a hike, and look through their backup list to try and not disturb them if another physician is readily available.

New tools and paradigms like this will allow us to gather information about a user's surroundings and let the software work for you, naturally, as you would expect it to. As a software developer and user interface designer, it is a very exciting time to be in the healthcare communication market. 

My first Voalte encounter was earlier this summer in the Logistics Department, helping provision and prepare phones for shipping. Coming from an artistic background, I have as much technology experience as Wilma Flintstone. I asked my dear friend and Manager of all things, Linda Campbell, a lot of questions and, as with all new experiences, I listened, watched, and absorbed. I was fascinated with the concept of Voalte and enjoyed the opportunity to work in an environment that was so new to me. When I watched Linda pack the phones with pink paper, lime green Pez dispensers, pink squishy balls, and then seal it with custom printed Voalte tape, I knew that this company cared about the personal touch. This intrigued me, especially in an industry that typically feels cold and intimidating.

A few weeks later I found myself being interviewed for a part time directory editing position. I was quickly set up with the BFFs and began my summer job. As I got to know everyone and became more familiar with each of the departments, I learned that it wasn’t just a personal touch that makes Voalte so special. There was a more important common thread amongst Voalte employees, a thread that continues to link everyone together with the goal of having customers not like, but LOVE Voalte.

The common thread was an approach from the heart. Everyone at Voalte is passionate about what they do and despite long, brain-straining hours, frustrating stumbling blocks, and often tedious work, each person brings heart to their tasks. This was an inspiring platform to approach the monotonous job of directory editing. Being listed correctly in the directory is the customer’s first taste of being a Voalte user and it acts as a stepping-stone to user satisfaction. Seeing their name properly spelled in the directory, their correct title and unit, and their picture uploaded (although I did give a petite brunette a picture of a tall red-headed man as her photo ID once) gives them their first layer of comfort. If the password is set correctly and all other systems are good, you have a happy customer. 

So I decided to go along with my theory about the big heart of Voalte. I care about directory editing just as the engineers care about the inner structure of Voalte, the BDRs put passion into their sales, the BFFs help the users feel confident, and Linda puts smiles on customers faces by surprising them with Pez dispensers and bobble heads.  Everyone at Voalte puts heart into whatever division they are in.

As Voalte continues to thrive and expand, we can laugh together, be serious and focused together, stumble, get back up, argue, make up, establish efficiency together, feel accomplished together, and most importantly, we can extend this heart-felt experience to our customers. If we do this, the result will always be that customers not like, but LOVE us!

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!

No matter where I go when donning the Voalté scrubs, people stare, and often times (while smiling) ask, "What's with the pink pants?"

This is especially true when attending events such as trade shows, networking meetings, conferences, or even vendor fairs. Curious parties from both IT and clinical pass by to see, use, and demo our unique clinical communication tool – Voalté One.

In addition to Voalté, other vendors are in attendance as well, however, the usual suspects are typically in suit and tie, and as always, my colleagues and I stick out like a horse in a herd of ponies in our pink pants.

So, what's with the pink pants you ask?

It’s not only an expression of our quirky personality and the spunk that we bring to the healthcare industry, but also an external view to what differentiates us as a Company. When we first set-off to start Voalté, we turned to our development partners for some guidance. One of the overlying themes was that there wasn’t a Company that provided exceptional customer service. What we quickly recognized was that there was no Disney, Starbucks or Zappos in terms of the service experience provided by traditional healthcare vendors, and knew that this would be Voalte's opportunity to clearly differentiate itself – which we have.

Our mission is to set a new standard in point-of-care communications, and a key component of this mission, if not THE key component, is the user experience. Part of this experience is our company uniform (i.e. the pink pants and black scrub top) so that besides being memorable in events such as the ones above...we’re also easily identifiable and accessible when we’re out at your hospital during each phase of go live, clinical training and support, or when your Voalté Care Specialist comes back in each and every week to make his or her rounds. It’s part of our promise to make sure that your Voalté experience is nothing short than exceptional. 

A husband and wife bring their two kids to the Magic Kingdom and spend a day creating memories that will last a lifetime. As they leave, exhausted, with cranky tired kids in hand, they get to the parking lot. The husband asks the wife “where did we park?” to which she responds “I told you to write it down…” [Insert screaming kids and arguing adults here]