Speech Recognition Enhances Mobility

We’ve noticed an interesting trend lately as hospital call centers have increasingly come to us to replace their legacy operator console systems. Many want to add superior speech recognition to their communications platform. This technology has come a long way.

Doctors, specialists, nurses and other members of their care teams truly recognize the value of being able to reach each other quickly, no matter where they are. Just think—mobile caregivers might not have everyone’s contact info and preferences in their heads or in their contact lists, so the ability to call into the on-call directory, tell the system a name or department, then quickly get connected, can help make these busy people’s lives “hands-free” and “hassle-free.”

A cardiologist can call the hospital from her office, a clinic, or even from her car, ask for a colleague by name and within seconds—without involving the call-center staff—reach the patient’s on-duty nurse, a specialist, or their GP. The nurse can reach any doctor or their on-call back-up without searching. He or she can just call the speech system, ask for the doctor or specialty and the speech engine quickly makes the connection.

These are great new use cases. Let us know how you’re using speech technology in your hospital. What successes and challenges have you experienced?

Communications Technology Within Reach

Lately we’ve been seeing a lot of smaller hospitals looking at the options for communications technology because they want to better coordinate care for their patients. It’s no secret that better communications, particularly during critical situations, are essential to improved care and safety. In fact, the Joint Commission continually finds in its annual studies that poor communication is the leading cause of sentinel events. But smaller hospitals have historically had challenges finding technology that fits their bed size.

The good news is that rock-solid healthcare communications technology is very much within reach for smaller hospitals today. This not only includes solutions for automating even small call center operations, but also goes far beyond into delivering important communications from staff or even monitoring systems to nurses and doctors who are always on the move.

Here’s a sampling. Embracing Web-based on-call scheduling and employee directories means everyone can access the latest contact information easily. Sending nurse call and patient monitoring system alerts straight to nurses’ mobile devices means less walk time and faster response. Delivering urgent code call or other notifications to clinicians’ smartphones and tablets (or any other device) means greater efficiency in providing informed patient care.

Think of a case like a heart attack patient or car crash victim coming into a rural or community hospital. Making sure the right staff members are contacted quickly is vital, especially when things happen in the middle of the night and staff are home, perhaps some distance from the hospital. Having an up-to-the-minute on-call calendar, the right contact information, and the ability to message quickly to doctors and nurses (likely on smartphones) all plays a role in providing good care.

As always, I’d love to hear your comments.