One of the foundations for safe, high-quality care is communication in the hospital, and challenges in communication creates suboptimal care environments. According to a Joint Commission report published in 2012, it is estimated that 80% of serious medical errors involve miscommunication between caregivers during the transfer of patients. The ECRI institute, ranks “Internal Care Coordination” as one of the top three patient safety concerns for 2018.

“Many handoff tools are available to ensure the vital information is communicated and the (care) process is standardised,” said Elizabeth A. Drozd, MS, T (ASCP), SBB, CPPS, senior patient analyst, ECRI Institute.

While private consumer phones or smartphones might be convenient and useful for daily operations at the hospital or care centre, they can potentially compromise security and business performance due to several reasons. Security safeguards are a major issue on several fronts, including how to handle multiple deployments to support numerous types of smart phone devices, according to an article by Radiology Today. Often, smart phone devices are not designed to accommodate the security or information privacy requirements of a hospital or care centre. 

Reliability of smartphones are also an issue, as industry observers have noticed huge variances in device performance over the same infrastructure. The device needs to be able to deliver consistent performance, especially when clinicians or carers need accurate and up-to-date information on patients when delivering care.  

Bridging clinical information and communication gaps for better informed care

One of the challenges faced by professional caregivers and care teams is coordinating patient information that is collected as each team member will collect different pieces of a patient’s history and condition, which are often stored in different locations. 

A device that can help overcome this challenge is the Ascom Myco 3 smartphone, which is purpose-built for healthcare and provides clinicians and caregivers with instant access to all applicable patient information. The Ascom Myco 3 is part of the Ascom Healthcare Platform, a portfolio of applications, services, devices and smartphones. The platform provides modular healthcare information and communication solutions that integrate with existing information systems.

How the Ascom Myco 3 supports clinical information flows for better-informed care delivery

Clinicians and caregivers can gain more time for patient care as the Ascom Myco 3 can provide up-to-date information to them, which helps streamline care delivery. They can also use the Ascom Myco 3 and apps to enter vitals to EMRs/EHRs from the bedside and to scan barcodes to identify patients and verify IDs.  

The Ascom Myco 3’s high resolution 5-inch screen provides optimal viewing, and supports the management of alerts, requests, assignments and clinical information such as images and lab results. This allows clinicians and caregivers to keep clinical information and task overviews at hand.

Clinicians and caregiver teams can communicate and collaborate efficiently as the Ascom Myco 3 uses cellular networks and VoWi-Fi to provide seamless communication and collaboration— from the point of care to anywhere within the hospital or care facility.

Powered by a hot swappable-battery that can be replaced without powering down the device or logging out of active apps or activities, the Ascom Myco 3 is always ready for use, anytime and anywhere. Combining the ease-of-use of an Android™ smartphone with the enterprise-level security and durability essential in healthcare environments, the Ascom Myco 3 is a robust device that is disinfectant-ready and dust and water-resistant – ready to withstand the needs and demands of healthcare professionals. 

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