Well, Isn't This Special

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Jun 2, 2015

I'm now thinking of all those family members who would think "this is great, this will make Grandma even MORE cared-for than without the app".....ok......but it also generates an EMAIL to the family member who signed up for this service.

I'm thinking of those family members who believe Grandma when she says she pushed the bell just once, waited an hour, and no one came, so she pushed it again. She has no idea why anyone says otherwise, she's NOT been "on the bell all night"!

So, ok....now Johnny gets the notifications every three-and-a-half minutes proving that Grandma was indeed "on the bell all night" and although she swears no one ever responded, there is some kind of electronic proof that every 8 minutes someone DID respond, if only to take the danged call bell out of her hands and remind her to go back to sleep!

PhillyRNtoBe · Jun 2, 2015

golson said:

Anybody else feel like this is an attempt to target vulnerable people? I only remember seeing one resident with a smart phone at the LTC I finished my CNA course at, but there are still many younger adults that don't understand modern technology. They seem to be selling the idea that this service will get your nurse there faster or in trouble through some kind of internet sorcery. All they have to do is cough up the cash.

Yes! Have you seen the TERMS and CONDITIONS?! They SELL all the patient's data!

PhillyRNtoBe · Jun 2, 2015

1.) This is very real.

2.) They are absolutely taking all the patient data they can and selling it!

3.) Yep, totally a scam to collect medical data.

I'm attaching screens shots of their Terms and Conditions:

Farawyn · Jun 2, 2015

Red Kryptonite said:

WOW!.....this paragraph. First, patients and families can have my phone number when they pry it from my cold, dead hands. I'm sure you feel the same way, but it seems we peons are not to have the same consideration.
You've talked a lot about nurse staffing, now let's talk about CNA staffing. The hospital unit I used to work was 26 patients when full. We were supposed to have three CNAs but always had 2. These were telemetry patients so fairly high acuity, 1/4 to 1/3 on contact precautions, usually for c. diff. So each of us was responsible for 13 patients. We often would get caught in the c. diff. rooms for a while cleaning up blowouts, repeatedly. The longest unanswered call light that I am aware of from my tenure was over 12 minutes, and that patient gave up on waiting for help, got herself up to the commode and nearly fell, because both CNAs were caught in other rooms and the RNs on that unit, we used to joke, wouldn't answer a call light if a patient was on fire.

I don't think that unit was all that unique. So if you want to pin reimbursement, even partly, on a model where CNAs and only CNAs answer call lights.....get ready for the checks to shrink.

You worked with NOADLS?

Red Kryptonite · Jun 2, 2015

Farawyn said:

You worked with NOADLS?

Pretty much. Not all of them, but most.

PhillyRNtoBe · Jun 2, 2015

Mavrick said:

This revolutionary app will also send the subscriber an e-mail ANY time their loved one presses the Notify Nurse button. How long before the loved one's family member gets as overloaded with e-mails as the nurses station gets with these dang outside calls? There is no way the call center will actually be able to speak to the patient's nurse to "insure" they will visit the loved one EVERY time. Or will they actually issue some sort of insurance policy?
And it gets worse, of course. What if the nurse is on a legal break, in an isolation room, change of shift report, on a transport with another patient?

The revolution I see is the nurse manager's head when her staff goes flying out the door never to return should this idiotic app be taken seriously.

Their Terms & Conditions should definitely be taken seriously. I just attached a screen shot of T&C. They can sell all the patient's medical data including the data about the nurse!

golson · Jun 2, 2015

PhillyRNtoBe said:

Their Terms & Conditions should definitely be taken seriously. I just attached a screen shot of T&C. They can sell all the patient's medical data including the data about the nurse!

Hmm. selling information to con artists about the vulnerability of patients and their contact info? And Apple is semi-endorsing this by putting it on the itunes store? We need to just send this to every media outlet we can wait for this to fix itself.

Farawyn · Jun 2, 2015

So, you can submit comments directly to the app's website...here's mine:
Get My Nurse: Contact Us

Done.

golson · Jun 2, 2015

Even better, send this stuff to advocacy groups for the elderly, since that is who will likely be targeted with the information gained here. I sent something to the AARP, which was the only one I could think of.

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Jun 2, 2015

PhillyRNtoBe said:

Their Terms & Conditions should definitely be taken seriously. I just attached a screen shot of T&C. They can sell all the patient's medical data including the data about the nurse!

Nope. No one has the authority to sell any information (damaging or otherwise) about anyone they have no signed agreement with to do same. IOW, if the owners of this website were to try to sell anything that uses MY NAME in conjunction with my employment, or states anything identifiable about me in any way, I would take them to court so fast their HEADS would spin.

If they were to put up any kind of "review", say on a site they run that says "Suzie Johnson, RN, took like forever to respond! She was an awful nurse!" they should expect a hefty libel/slander suit from Suzie Johnson.

Unless the nurses who are affected by this sign a statement releasing their information and all rights to use that information however that website wishes, the owners of that site are on the hook for EVERY.SINGLE.WORD they use.

I also imagine these jokers will be hit pretty hard with lawsuits once the people who signed up for the service realize all their private medical data is available to the highest (and lowest) bidder. They may or may not win, but think of the court costs involved!

Anyone seeing this lasting for more than it takes the legal paperwork to be filed?

golson · Jun 2, 2015

I don't know, but I'd rather it get tossed before the vulnerable population is victimized by whoever they are selling the patient medical/mental health information to. I mean, con men is the only audience for broad stroke mental status and contact info, right?

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Jun 2, 2015

golson said:

I don't know, but I'd rather it get tossed before the vulnerable population is victimized by whoever they are selling the patient medical/mental health information to. I mean, con men is the only audience for broad stroke mental status and contact info, right?

Nope, not at all. Private industry such as health insurance companies can and will use such information to their advantage. Legitimate companies that sell medical equipment and adaptive equipment, etc will now be able to purchase lists of people who may use or need to use such merchandise.....perfectly legitimate use of list, but they will not have obtained the info directly from the potential consumer.

Legitimate businesses purchase info and mailing lists all the time, but in THIS case, I suspect people aren't going to be willing to let anyone with a few bucks to spend know that they spent some time in a psychiatric facility, are battling cancer and have recently recovered from a broken leg.