Report: Incompatible hospital networks hinder nurses' quality of care
Wireless networks are not optimized to support nurses at the point of care, according to a recent study from Spyglass Consulting Group on communications for nursing.
According to the Menlo Park, Calif.-based firm, 71 percent of hospital-based nurses indicated their wireless networks were poorly designed resulting in coverage gaps, wireless interference and overloaded access points.
“Hospitals are purchasing communication [technologies] from different vendors requiring different mobile handsets that operate over different wireless frequencies,” said Gregg Malkary, managing director of Spyglass.
Spyglass’ report also found:
Spyglass Consulting conducted a survey of over 100 nurses nationwide in acute-care and home health nursing environments. Over a three-month period starting in June 2009, telephone interviews were administered to identify the needs and requirements for communications at point of care through discussion about existing workflow inefficiencies in communicating, current usage models for mobile communication devices and solutions and barriers for widespread mobile communication adoption.
According to the Menlo Park, Calif.-based firm, 71 percent of hospital-based nurses indicated their wireless networks were poorly designed resulting in coverage gaps, wireless interference and overloaded access points.
“Hospitals are purchasing communication [technologies] from different vendors requiring different mobile handsets that operate over different wireless frequencies,” said Gregg Malkary, managing director of Spyglass.
Spyglass’ report also found:
- Hospitals are investing in point of care communications but deployments are limited: Sixty-six percent of hospital-based nurses interviewed reported their organizations had deployed Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)-based communications to provide nurses greater mobility to perform their jobs more effectively at point of care. Cost considerations have focused deployments on specific hospital departments and limited distribution of VoIP handsets to key nursing personnel.
- VoIP communications can be disruptive at point of care: Hospital-based nurses interviewed thought VoIP communications can be disruptive for the nurse who receives phone calls from team members while performing patient procedures or treatments.
- Point-of-care deployments require nursing involvement: Nurses interviewed believe successful point of care deployments require nursing involvement during the design phases of the IT project.
Spyglass Consulting conducted a survey of over 100 nurses nationwide in acute-care and home health nursing environments. Over a three-month period starting in June 2009, telephone interviews were administered to identify the needs and requirements for communications at point of care through discussion about existing workflow inefficiencies in communicating, current usage models for mobile communication devices and solutions and barriers for widespread mobile communication adoption.