Nurse Call Integration

Abstract

Nurses today can choose from many different information systems that allow them to obtain vast amounts of information that relate to the treatment of patients, including bar-code medication administration, electronic medical records and radiofrequency identification devices (RFID). However, none of the current information system solutions include an instant communication device that offers nursing staff immediate access to information or addresses patients and their concerns. Nurse Call System Integration allows nurses this immediate access using the Vocera® badge, Emergin® software and the Responder IV® Nurse Call System. The data used from the Responder IV® Nurse Call System was for the Progressive Care Units at The Indiana Heart Hospital and was from August 2007 and August 2008. A decrease in average response times was observed for two different Progressive Care Units as well as the combination of the two units. The Progressive Care Unit, 2TH resulted in a 21 second decrease, Progressive Care Unit, 3TH resulted in a 44 second decrease and both Progressive Units combined resulted in a 37 second decrease in response times. These results suggest that the use of Emergin® with Vocera® and the Responder IV® Nurse Call System facilitates the ability of nurses to communicate with their patients. It is not a replacement for communicating with a patient face-to-face; it is merely a tool to make the process faster and more efficient.