Catholic-run Mercy Health is piloting a role-based messaging platform in two of its hospitals in Victoria.

In a statement, the healthcare provider said it will roll out Baret, a mobile application on Microsoft Teams developed by FiveP. The messaging solution enables closed-loop, structured communications among hospital staff.

WHY IT MATTERS

Dr Oliver Daly, medical services director at one of Mercy Health's hospitals, Werribee Mercy Hospital, said they chose Baret for its role-based messaging functionality where "duties are attached to the role, not the person."

Its "simplicity" was another decisive factor, he said. "Health professionals do not want communication tools to get in the way of doing their jobs. When you give them too much choice, it gets in the way."

"By leveraging Teams, Baret lets you find somebody you need to call based on their role from directly within the app. It means you don’t have to have somebody’s phone number." This is possible as the app consolidates information about individual staff and their roles into one comprehensive database. 

Dr Daly noted how Baret also "keeps the number of choices for clinical communication task types within the app to a minimum."

Other features that appealed to Mercy Health included its clinical photography function, ability to integrate with rosters, including live rostering systems, and identity management. 

The healthcare organisation now looks to integrate Baret into its clinical workflows.

THE LARGER TREND

Mercy Health was also drawn to Baret because it was a solution initially developed for Austin Health, another Victoria-based hospital. During the recent COVID-19 pandemic, the healthcare provider needed a solution to streamline communications between staff rotating through the same clinical role within a day. The app is now being used by around 6,000 users and 165 clinical teams across 24/7 care settings at Austin Health. 

Another large healthcare service in Victoria, Monash Health, has adopted Baret across its five hospitals. 

Baret is now FiveP's standalone business after recently divesting its Microsoft Business Applications business to financial advisory Findex. The sale comes as the company looks to enter Asia-Pacific and the United States markets this year.  

ON THE RECORD

"Hospitals are the most complex organisations on the planet. There are so many different teams doing so many different things in a diverse array of environments. Team members have to hand over critical information to each other. That’s where role-based communication comes in. Duties are attached to the role, not the person," Dr Daly shared.

"It’s almost about simplifying and unthinking processes. With Baret, everything just works, and you don’t have to think about it. That’s where we want to be with our clinical communications."