Pulsara Blog

Editor's Note: This article was first posted on Becker's Hospital Review. Check out the original version here. 

The past two years have seen fast-paced innovation transform many parts of healthcare systems around the world. While some progress has been made around the interoperability of data systems, many care teams continue to use antiquated technologies to convey crucial patient information to one another, including linear communication tools like pagers, radios, and fax machines. Not only are these tools not connected, but if the chain breaks once, we've negatively affected a patient's outcome—either with a significant delay or in some cases, mistakes that generate more patient harm.

During a featured session at Becker's Hospital Review's Shift to Digital Virtual Event sponsored by Pulsara, Joey Branton, Senior Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at Pulsara, discussed why bringing broadband connectivity to patient-related communication is crucial to the future of healthcare innovation.

Watch the 30-minute replay below, or read on for the session's four essential takeaways. 

Debunking the Myths of Integrated Mobile Technology

For a long time, pagers have been considered the logical choice for hospitals because they can get a message through even when a cell phone can’t get a signal. They have been standard in healthcare for over 40 years — for good reason. 

However, mobile technology has come a long way over the past two decades. It's become the way we communicate for everything else in our lives. We text friends and family members. We can even order a pizza and track it to the front door. In the healthcare world, there have been holdups to converting to mobile technology, mostly due to concerns about the reliability of smartphones when compared to pagers. So, let's compare, contrast, and bust a few myths about pagers....

Pagers have been a staple in healthcare communication since the 1980s. Small, loud, and easily passed from clinician to clinician, pagers have been the constant companions of doctors and nurses for a long time. And in that time, they've been vital tools for communication. 

They have their drawbacks, but there are a few important reasons why pagers have stuck around for so long. One particular feature in the pager's design has ensured their longstanding usefulness for physicians: The loud, obnoxious alerts.

Why is that important? Pagers interrupt workflow. In a good way.