What is the Vocera communication system?

[abbaking]

Hey all. I am wonering if you all have heard about the Vocera communication systems that many hospitals are now Utilizing. My questions are 1. What is it exactly? 2> Does this system violated HIPAA if used in patients room?

My facility is going to be using this in the next 6 months. Our Nurse Manager said that a new patient call light system will be tied into the Vocera system. Does that violate HIPAA if answering a vocera call light in a patients room?

[MAISY, RN-ER, BSN, RN]

Vocera is a walkie/talkie type device with smart technology....that works SOMETIMES. It's the size of a small cell phone, ours are worn on either a neck string or clip. It is usually voice activated, it is not necessary to respond if in a patient's room...typical example. nurse manager, can you take the call...either yes or no...if yes, manager gets through....if no, goes into a voicemail mode. simple.

If your manager has any input into the decision, make sure antenna/network is complete in the area it is to be used.

Hope this helped

Maisy

[mariesmist]

we've been using vocera for about 2 years now... our system doesn't really allow us to accept or not accept calls. it works like a nextel walkie talkie. if you're logged onto the network, you get an intro sound and "you have a call from so and so". it is the caller's responsibility to ask whether the recipient is able to talk. if you're in the room with a patient, you can still take the call since it is our floor etiquette to just say bed #### needs whatever rather than name the patient.

it's been pretty useful, for example if you're in a room and you need help from a specific person you can just call them right there. or to call people who walk around the hospital you just say "call supervisor" or "call IV team" or "call respiratory therapy". the frustration occurs when vocera doesn't understand or misunderstands you and starts calling random people.

[locolorenzo22, BSN, RN]

It takes FOREVER to make a call....time spent that I could just as quickly find the nurse and tell em what I needed.....

It is a cruddy system...and one that I feel needs to be updated..plus my floor has a lot of dead zones.....

[sharlynn]

The cord for around the neck bothered me. It gets pretty yucky with everyone sweating in the summer! Otherwise the system was OK. I agree, it was quicker to get up and find the person you need, though.

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

Like someone else said, the system works, but only sometimes. At first it worked great, but it seemed like either the units aren't durable enough, or something else is causing it to backfire more often than not. Too bad, since they're expensive.

The idea is simple, if you need to reach the charge nurse or aide when you're in a patient room, you simply press a button and call that person. Their unit then tells them they have a call from Jane Doe,and can they take it. Either it's a 'yes' and you are now in walkie-talkie type communication, or it's a 'no' and the call ends (with the original caller being told that John Jones is not available at this time).

I like that I can leave messages for anyone in the system, at any time. Like if I know that John Jones, who works a different day and shift from me, uses Vocera, I can leave a message about switching schedules or whatever, and the next time he logs on, he'll get my message.

I don't like that there are so many dead zones in the hospital, so that when I'm calling for an aide who is literally just on the other side of the unit, it can't find her.

I like that I can dial any phone extension with the unit hung around my neck. I can call pharmacy while moving down the hall, to verify something or other. I can also call home during a downtime, and chat on my vocera for a few minutes. Same thing for calling any phone number, except I don't like the 'speakerphone' type action when calling an MD's office. I'd rather do that on a regular line.

I like that I can call a supervisor with a question fast, get an answer fast, and be done with it, rather than standing by a telephone to get an answer to the page, and have the supervisor get to a phone to call me back. Takes a fraction of the time.

Overall, it's a good system. If it was more accurate more of the time, it'd be far better.

[RazorbackRN, BSN, RN]

I hate that so many people are having negative experiences with the Vocera system. We have had ours for a few years and it works wonderfully.

When you are called, it will say to you "can you accept a call from John Doe"? You can decide by saying yes or no. Ours weigh 2 oz. and I forget that is even around my neck.

I personally think these things are the greatest things ever!