As a Voalté project manager, I’m able to see and experience quite a bit when going through hospital installations and upgrades. Funny part is that no matter how many times I go through either, the experiences vary every time.

We commonly joke by saying, “Once you’ve seen one hospital install, you’ve seen one hospital install”. Truth is - no hospital is the same and therefore we shouldn’t expect units to be the same either.

An ER at Sarasota Memorial Hospital operates much differently from either a step-down unit in the same hospital or the ER at Heartland Health in St. Joseph, Missouri. That’s where the communication component plays such a critical role. From my experience, building in communication with leaders of each unit can go a long way in making sure a roll-out goes as smoothly as possible.

Getting clinicians involved from the start of the project helps build user acceptance and guarantee project success. Not only does the clinical team act as cheerleaders for the project - aiding buy-in from users that are less apt to accept change or may be technophobic - they also add valuable insight on how to shape the solution to the needs of the hospital and clinicians.

The concept is quite simple. Why buy tools for others to use without their involvement? It’s like having someone else buy you shoes without asking you what size you wear and how you plan to use them - to walk or to run. 

How is your hospital bridging the healthcare communication gap?

I had the opportunity to attend and exhibit Voalté at the Smith Seckman Reid (SSR) Mobile Healthcare Technology Summit in Houston, Texas in May. 

The Summit was a two-hour panel discussion that explored how mobile technology including smart phones, the iPad, and various available applications are impacting the future of healthcare. SSR's Vice President of Communications and Technology Planning Scott Johnson and Project Manager Velma Jackman lead the event. 

When I received the invite and saw the list of esteemed panelists, attendees, and exhibitors I could not help but think we must be on to something here. 

“With mobile device technology and applications rapidly advancing in healthcare, we thought it was important to start a dialogue about the issues and opportunities with industry leaders from different perspectives,” stated Johnson as the reason for the Summit. He continued, “We hope to gain insight about the guidelines needed for best practices, legal implications, and maximizing impact on patient safety and staff efficiencies.” 

The panel tackled critical topics and questions including:   

- Clinicians are embracing mobile healthcare technology. Is technology ahead of practice transformation? 

- Will mobile technology improve efficiency and quality of care? 

- Is FDA approval required on applications for clinician liability and patient safety? 

- Will this emerging technology redesign care delivery? 

Towards the end of the session Scott walked up to our table and stopped to scope out the crowd. I asked him, “Scott…do you think we're on to something here...with healthcare and smart phone technology?” He just looked at me, smiled with all teeth showing, and jokingly said, “Nah, these things are going away soon”. 

For me, the Mobile Technology Summit cemented my conviction in what I do as a healthcare technology consultant, why I do it, and why we all proudly wear the pink pants on this quest to redefine point of care communication. 

It also rooted my belief that while what we are doing here at Voalté is still ahead of today’s healthcare technology adoption curve. We need to stay the course and keep educating Nurse and IT Executives on the growth opportunity and the gap they have to bridge between where they are today and where they need to be tomorrow by leveraging mobile devices at the point of care. 

Most importantly, for me, this summit reinforced a concept that I already knew, but was nice to see confirmed unanimously by my peers and colleagues. By providing an easy and unified solution for voice, alarms and text messaging on an iPhone platform, today's clinicians and physicians find value in using these devices to help them reduce the “clinical chaos factor”, resulting in better outcomes and performance results and greater job satisfaction. 

Do you think we’re on to something here?

Simply said: We think nurses rock!

Over the past few years, Voalté has had the privilege of working side-by-side with nurses on a daily basis. This opportunity has not only allowed us to better understand their typical daily functions, but their daily struggles and successes as well. 

Their relentless commitment and passion is truly an inspiration to us and those they heal. 

At the end of the day - after everything is said and done – nurses are the real heroes. And for that reason, we’re excited to share the top five reasons why we celebrate nurses! 

Thank you for bringing a smile to the world one patient at a time. Happy National Nurses Week from the entire Voalté family.

#5. Nurses are human

We celebrate nurses because they care for the good of the whole person. They take care of the biological, psychological, spiritual, and social needs of their patients. 

#4. Nurses are tireless 

We celebrate nurses because they work long hours, are in demanding environments, miss vacations and still attend to those who need them most. 

#3. Nurses care 

We celebrate nurses because they treat our loved ones with empathy and compassion. 

#2. Nurses save lives 

We celebrate nurses because they provide critical response in time of need.

#1. Nurses are the glue that keep everything together 

We celebrate nurses because they are the main link in making the health care process go smoothly and the patient experience positive. They interact with patients, families, doctors and all other departments and fill in any gaps in patient care. 

Why do you celebrate nurses? We’d love to hear your reasons.

On my way back from the 44th Annual AONE Conference, I couldn't help but think about Roger Nierenberg's morning keynote presentation and how it had such a profound effect on me. I had the distinct privilege of spending a few minutes with Roger Nierenberg after his "performance" and I must confess that, one-on-one, he is even more engaging, even more genuine, and even more charismatic than the amazing personality we experienced as a group. His book sold out in minutes after his presentation, but you can find it here.

It was interesting to see how Nierenberg compared the role of a maestro to a nurse executive. I was so moved by his presentation, I felt obligated to share my experience with you. Although I learned much more than the four "movements" listed below, these were the ones that stood out to me the most. I am more than happy to share the rest of my list so feel free to email me at castonthomas@voalte.com.

Organizational estrangement 

In a complex organization, the "conductor" must remain attentive to the boundaries and divisions within and across the organization. Each member of the orchestra has a different view of what's happening. And even the conductor - who is at the center of it all - can only imagine the view of the audience members. It is his role to translate the audience's experience to each member of the orchestra.

When Nierenberg illustrated the importance of each and every person's contribution to the performance, no other point in his entire presentation affected me so deeply as when the cymbal player described his single note. He then went on to demonstrate just how critical that single note is to the entire New World Symphony. Though I couldn't see the percussionist after the second playing of that movement, I can imagine him sitting tall in his chair and whispering to himself, "Yeah, I did that."

Channels of communication 

Communication has always been a critical component in any industry - whether it is health care or music. Nierenberg noted, "Awareness travels across boundaries. Communication travels across boundaries. Just as importantly, how each travels varies widely."

Regardless of how the communication flowed, there was one thing that was absolutely necessary… Listening!

Listening for problems vs. listening for building

Each member of the orchestra tunes into the conductor's priorities when the conductor draws attention to something that went particularly well or when something didn't go so well. The conductor can instantaneously sensitize the entire orchestra to that priority. With a simple nod or a motion, a tempo can be adjusted, an emotion emphasized or a negative reaction muted.

One must also realize that there is a difference between giving direction and offering criticism. Direction points to the way things could be. Criticism points to the way things were. It's the difference between, "The percussions are too loud" and "Let's make sure the audience hears the woodwinds".

In order to build trust, get results

The conductor offers a vision, and it is up to the musicians whether they follow or not. Vision requires preparation. It equates to creating a whole new experience and then communicating it. If the musicians execute the vision and things improve, then the artists begin to put their trust in the conductor. And ultimately, that is the only way one gains credibility.

“Trey,

Thanks for your time the last few months. We think Voalté has a great product and bright future. However, at the current time, we would like to wait 6-12 months to see how the mobile communication market plays out. Please stay in touch.”

– CTO – Major Academic Hospital

In other words…

“Trey,

Thanks for your time the last few months. We think Voalté has a great product and bright future. However, another company [let’s just call them Big Red] has promised us similar functionality in the next 6-12 months. Even though, realistically, it will take them 18 – 24 months, we would prefer to wait. Please stay in touch in case we need a fall back option.”

 – CTO – Major Academic Hospital

It was the first time our company had been “FUD”ed (Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt), and hopefully, it will be the last.

This blog, however, is not about the customers who want to “wait for the market to develop.”  This blog is a thank you – a giant, passionate, enthusiastic THANK YOU to the innovators, the early-adopters, and the visionaries.

Here is a little insight into what happens when you send us the signed contract (or purchase order, or letter of intent, or practically anything signed that states we are selected as the winning vendor).

First of all, you are not a name on a forecast, a number in Excel, or some line item in the regional plan.  You are a celebration in our company.  We set up meetings to discuss your workflow, your infrastructure - every last detail of the project and what we can do to exceed your expectations.

When a new customer signs with Voalte- you can feel a change in the air of our office.  The engineers are more engaged - instead of staying in the office until 6PM, they are here until 10PM. Your faith in us, more than anything else, fuels our innovation. 

We realize it is hard to go against the grain, it is hard to stand up in a board room and say, “We are taking a leap of faith on this company, we are not going with ’the big guy’, we are going with Voalte.”

This blog is a thank you to the early adopter… and that thank you should not only be coming from us, the start-up, but from the rest of your peers.  Your support is what enables us to keep building innovative products, shattering the norm, and driving disruptive change in a market that needs it more than ever.

Remember- think BIG – and support small (small companies that is!).

When you have spent as much time in the software industry as I have, you begin to think you’ve seen it all before.  I feel like I am having the same conversations I had in 1983, or as is it simply “deja vu all over again”?

Start with the assumption, that no application can do everything and then you can begin the discussion on where to cut the joints.  Many times it is more important to determine what you are not going to include in your application.  Years ago, when my team was working on PowerPoint, we made the decision not to include charting… you know, line charts, bar charts, pie charts, etc.   What were we thinking?  Businesses needed these charts and how could we possibly do a presentation product that did not include them?  At the time, we knew that other companies that specialized in spreadsheets or business graphics were much better equipped to provide this type of content.

Today, hospital IT is overwhelmed by the rush to install or upgrade EMR (Electronic Medical Records) systems with the Feds committing $19 billion to the effort.  Large EMR providers are licking their chops to get a larger slice of the pie than their competitors.  Most of the providers are trying to create the fully integrated hospital, obviously with their products, like a giant octopus, sitting in the middle with its tentacles spread throughout the hospital.

This strategy assumes that the EMR vendor is able to deliver the best solution in each of the 10 or 20 areas in the hospital…  best of breed everywhere?  I think not.  What the non-healthcare Enterprise market has learned over the last 30 years is that best of breed suppliers need to be easily integrated into an Enterprise solution.  Data needs to be seamlessly interchanged, inter-app communication is clearly defined.  User experiences should reflect the user, and not some systems engineer’s idea of how much information can be shoe-horned onto a single screen.

Less is more.  Keep it simple.  I vividly remember one of the first conversations I had with a nurse.  I had asked her what could we do to create a great solution.  Her answer was simple, “Don’t give me one more thing to do”.

I am frequently asked, "Why would you start a high-tech, software development company in the worse recession since the Great Depression... and why of all places in Sarasota FL?"

Well, let's start with the Sarasota question first. Only the people who don't live in Sarasota, haven't visited Sarasota or are confused by Saratoga, CA seem to ask that question. Have you seen this place?

White sand beaches, beautiful warm water, gentle breezes? Are you kidding? Combine that with fifteen-minute commute times, great restaurants, and an international airport that gets you to the gate in thirty minutes, what's not to love? Check out Sarasota Tourism. And, by the way, it is 74 degrees on this February winter's day.

Now, Sarasota is not without its problems, but keep staring at the picture.... you are getting warmer... you are getting warmer...

So, Why Now?

No one ever said there was a bad time for a good idea. Having spent over 30 years in technology, I have learned to look for inflection points, or game changing events. In 1977 I stumbled into the Good Earth restaurant to have lunch with a young kid (we didn't use entrepreneur in those days) named Steve Jobs. Steve was on fire as he began ranting about personal computers and how they would change the world... how they would change the way people work and play and educate their children. Huh? Guess what? Whole new mega-companies came into existence.

In 1981, Steve came roaring into Apple talking about bit-mapped displays, icons, WISIWIG and mice. Most business people refused to use keyboards, and we are going to give them mice?? Whole new products and companies were created that took advan

tage of these amazing new technologies. Adobe, Aldus, Microsoft, and my little company that brought you FileMaker and PowerPoint. Another tipping point!

Today we are at another main technological inflection point. In the last three years millions have purchased deep, rich, highly-mobile portable computers that slip easily into a pocket. And not even know it. Yep... I am talking about the next generation of smartphones or what some call them App Phones.

But are they really phones? I think they are really portable computers that run phone applications in the same way that the Apple II ran a spreadsheet or a word processor. Oh, BTW, where are all those dedicated word processors from Wang, IBM and NBI these days? Am I dating myself?

iPhone, iPod Touch, Blackberry Curve, Google Nexus. Is this the future of highly-personal computing? Now the iPad... Another member of this new family of exciting new devices. Voalté would much rather be early in an emerging market than late in an existing market.

The speed of adoption of these new devices is phenomenal. Compared to the adoption of personal computers, CD's, DVD's, and HD TV, these highly mobile computing platforms are enjoying one of the fastest deployments of technology in history.

So, why now? Because it is the right time.