Hospital Communication: How Many Apps Does It Take to Make A Phone Call?

By Rhonda Collins, Vocera

1 Doctor, 1 Patient, 5 Apps: A True Tale

A physician needed to perform emergency surgery at a hospital that was in the same large integrated delivery network she worked in, but not her home hospital.

As she set out to prep for the case, she needed to contact the care team, including the on-call ER doctor, surgery team, and the person in charge of room scheduling. She needed to find and obtain supplies.

App #1 (and a pen)

The physician turned to her iPhone and contemplated: Which app should she start with?

An app from one vendor would let her access clinic schedules, patient lists, test results, and more. She searched that app for the patient’s name and found orders. By looking at the orders, she was able to identify the attending physician. She found a pen and a scrap of paper and wrote down his name.