The Interesting Reign of Pagers

There is no doubt that pagers dominated mobile healthcare communications for decades. In fact, they were pretty much the only option for people who needed to receive important alerts away from a landline phone.

But how much has this dominance changed? Some people stated that smartphones were going to quickly become the new standard. But now a fuller picture is emerging, one in which pagers still play an important role alongside many other devices, including but not limited to smartphones.

In the survey we conducted of 300+ healthcare organizations (mentioned in previous blogs), we found that paging has actually declined very little. When asked “Compared to three years ago, how has the number of pagers within your hospital changed?”, 26.6% of respondents said they had increased pager use, while 34% had stayed constant or seen a small decline. (Access survey results here.)

To explain this, we should look at the reasons pagers have been around as long as they have.

Survivability: Even in disaster situations over the past decade, such as 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, and the Minneapolis bridge collapse, pagers performed their duties even when cellular coverage failed. This is an important consideration for life and death cases in hospitals.

Low cost: There are several factors to consider when comparing pagers with smartphones. First, there’s the device itself. Pagers can often be free for a facility with a paging system compared to a few hundred for each smartphone. Second, the monthly costs for service are significantly higher for cellular devices as well. Third, there’s a repair or replacement cost to think of. Again, next to nothing for a pager, but not so for the alternative. Given these costs, hospitals aren’t going to give or support smartphones for every single mobile staff member. Caregivers and administrators will likely need these devices, but not housekeeping or meal services staff, for example. Pagers are a more cost-effective choice for these roles.

Easy to use: Pagers are pretty streamlined and easy for IT or communications teams to support. There’s a single use for pagers versus the wide arena of capabilities inherent with a smartphone. Little training is required for someone who’s been handed a pager. The options for response are easy to understand and straightforward.

So at the end of the day pagers are going to be around for a long time—just like so many other mobile communications devices. Hospitals just need to be able to keep messages flowing whether recipients receive them on a pager, smartphone, Wi-Fi phone, voice communications badge, or whatever else they prefer. Right message, person, time, device.

What have you seen at your hospital as far as pager use?

Is It Possible to Support Only One Type of Communication Device?

The quick answer: probably not. Although the term ‘pager replacement’ comes up a lot these days when smartphones are mentioned, the truth is that pagers will be around for a while. So will Wi-Fi phones like SpectraLink and Cisco. And Vocera badges. And all of these tools will need to be supported alongside smartphones. More likely than not, we’ll see this varied mix for years to come.

When it comes to smartphones, they probably won’t ever replace 100% of the pagers in hospitals. The rock-solid reliability of pagers in code call situations comes to mind. But a lot of organizations are putting plans in place to incorporate smartphones in addition to pagers and other devices. Particularly in the case of physicians, there is definitely a movement afoot to simplify communications in this way. This is largely because it’s easier for them (as well as certain other staffers) to carry a single smartphone versus a whole tool belt full of buzzing gadgets.

Above all, there are a few keys to remember. Communications have to reach the right person, at the right time, on the right device. The end device shouldn’t matter. What matters is that the message can be easily and quickly sent to and received by the person who needs the information. Having one system messaging to pagers and another to smartphones is illogical and even dangerous when lives are at stake; precious time can be lost in the shuffle. The systems doing the communicating need to function as a hub to work effectively within this diverse new world.

So with all of these different devices floating around, IT teams need to rely on an integrated system behind the scenes. They need to check all the boxes next to a list that includes things like keeping physicians happy, protecting patients, supporting smartphones regardless of service provider, and making sure all communications flow at lightning speed.

Don’t worry. It can be done. Here at Amcom we’re working with hospitals right now to revolutionize their communications in just this way.

So what’s your take on this? What devices are you seeing in your facility? What are you supporting today? What do you see coming?

Leave us some comments below, and please be sure to check out the previous blog entry if you haven’t already.