Vocera Communiations, a recognized leader in clinical communication and workflow solutions, announced findings from a secure mobile communication study conducted by Island Health in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. The research evaluated Vocera Collaboration Suite across acute care and community practice settings on Vancouver Island. The study, which included feedback from more than 100 clinicians, evaluated the mobile application to understand the impact of secure texting on care team communication, clinical workflows, technology adoption, and user experience.
“Clinical communication with pagers, faxes and landlines complicates workflows and requires laborious and timely manual processes, which do not meet the contemporary needs of clinicians,” said Dr. Sean Spina, researcher and pharmacy clinical coordinator at Island Health. “Providing patient-centered care requires clinicians to communicate quickly and collaborate seamlessly across care settings and organizational boundaries.”
During the study, 80 percent of research participants agreed that using a secure communication tool makes them feel comfortable sharing patient information. Participants included clinical managers, family physicians, hospitalists, microbiologists, nurses, pharmacists, and specialists in emergency medicine, geriatrics, internal medicine, oncology, orthopedic surgery, radiology, respiratory medicine, rehabilitation, pediatrics, and plastic surgery. Among these care team members, a majority agreed or strongly agreed Vocera Collaboration Suite makes it easier to send and receive important information about patient care, and many indicated the mobile app allowed them to provide better care to their patients.
Dr. Spina will share detailed results of the multi-disciplinary study at the Quality Forum, Feb. 26-28 in Vancouver, and at the eHealth Annual Conference, May 26-29 in Toronto.
“Clinicians value a reliable way to communicate regardless of device or location,” said Brent Lang, president and CEO of Vocera. “We are proud to provide a secure, trusted communication and collaboration platform that connects healthcare providers across the care continuum in acute care hospitals, community physician practices, and other healthcare settings.”
