Working with a communications system entails focused commitment to a process, not a short-term project. Hospital network managers have to realize that their networks must be updated in a regular basis. In this way, when it becomes necessary, the system will be more than able to accommodate new operations from time to time. No network can stay fully beefed up unless it is constantly being brought up to date. Indeed, it really pays to keep one’s hand in the daily consumer public, in the constant changes happening in the digital society.Otherwise, hospitals risk getting left behind from other advantages they could enjoy.
As Christiano of Vassar Brothers medical facility had stated, “Once you go down this path, it is not a one-time deal. It is like a highway. You are constantly repairing it, improving it, repaving it. You can’t just do it once and walk away and say, ‘See you in 20 years.’”
Another vital component in the mix is user education. A medical facility can own a set of network devices that can really pull the woolen socks out of many but if its users are not fully trained in operating them, all the hospital ends up with are consumer electronics devices that have no use. In short, user education is part of the process. Train them on the fine points of operating the devices. They should be guided by the main objectives of the venture so as to gain a wider understanding of why the network has to be there in the first place. Also, it would be exceedingly ideal for system users to provide feedback on particular features that they rely on so improvements can be done along with assessments on the network usage. Is it too complex? Is it simple to the point of being ineffective? These are merely some of the questions one may wish to consider.
For one, David Ziolkowski, who is a senior vice president and CIO at the Sampson Regional Medical Center in Clinton, N.C. puts forward the suggestion that voice communications should included in the devices chosen to be part of the initial deployment. This is largely because communication networks of this sort afford users with a great deal of immediate value.
“It is a quick win. You will get a lot of credit and become a real hero,” Ziolkowski adds. “You can use that momentum to keep the implementation going even when you run into a few hiccups.”
Of course, in matters of technology, after functionality has been achieved, IT departments have to begin refining the appearance of their network devices. Dr. Christoph Lehmann, the director of clinical IT at the Children’s Medical and Surgical Center at Johns Hopkins University, says that hospital network managers must also keep a keen eye out for aesthetics and ergonomics.
It has been widely known that Hopkins refused to employ a headset that had high-end voice-recognition capabilities on the basis of the headset’s style. The headset in question sported a headband style and proved to be too uncomfortable to wear for extended periods of time. After all, members of the medical staff are on call for quite a bit of time. One can hardly expect the staff to wear headsets of this kind all throughout their work hours. It’s intolerable. And of course, when such reactions are induced, then it won’t be much of any help to the employees at all. In this case, going through torturous experiences is completely unnecessary.
Life is hard enough as it is, no need to add to it if one can help it. Invest that network selection with care. In the end, the question whether a mobile cordless phone system brings in larger increase in productivity levels and financial gain, network managers in hospital facilities must know and understand one simple, basic fact. That there is only one benefit that matters when one eyes the bottom-line: patient satisfaction.