Smart Communications?

As smartphones become more commonplace, is there a place for them in healthcare? This is the subject of a white paper published by Amcom, a vendor specializing in healthcare communications. Their six lessons of utilizing smartphones in hospitals are:

1. While the idea of completely replacing all pagers hospital-wide with smartphones gets people talking, it's probably not a realistic goal
2. The many different communication devices in today's hospitals need to be supported because they aren't going away
3. Integration with the existing enterprise communications backbone is crucial for messaging accuracy and the effective use of smartphones (and other mobile devices)
4. Smartphones are enabling a paradigm shift in the way hospital staff communicate as well as how they work
5. Encryption is essential to protect patient privacy and meet industry compliance requirements
6. Opportunities for clinical collaboration are improved by integrating smartphones with nurse call and other point-of-care systems

One downside to smartphone use in the hospital? Smartphones are more likely to be contaminated than regular phones.

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