Technology has made such a huge impact on our lives. Its continual advancement necessitates ongoing adaptation, particularly for healthcare providers, who must stay abreast of these changes to serve society effectively. A technology that has greatly simplified my professional life is the Voalte phone. When I first started my nursing career at a hospital, we were issued basic flip phones without smart features for our shifts. It was quite challenging to contact physicians through paging and answering services, often involving time-consuming waits on hold. Using flip phones can lead to delayed care as they lack the advanced features necessary for efficient communication and coordination in healthcare settings.
In my current hospital, the Voalte phone enables me to call or text various professionals like speech therapists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, surgeons, and hospitalists. Each physician has the Voalte app installed on their phone, eliminating the need for lengthy waits to contact their answering services for paging.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, these phones played a vital role in the ICUs. Equipped with the Epic application, they helped minimize the exposure of healthcare workers to Covid-positive rooms. We could scan medication bags requiring dual verification with the iPhone and then pass the phone to a second nurse at the door for co-signing. This approach conserved personal protective equipment (PPE) and significantly reduced time spent by nursing staff.
Smartphones empower these clinicians to communicate more quickly, accurately, and efficiently and make better decisions (Geraets, 2019). Importantly, they also free up nurses to spend more time with patients (Geraets, 2019). I’ve utilized the Voalte phone for numerous tasks, such as sending EKG strips to cardiologists and photographing wounds for direct upload from my Voalte phone. This application has significantly contributed to improved patient care and outcomes. It reflects a shift towards more efficient, coordinated, and patient-centered healthcare delivery.
Geraets, A. (2019, January 11). How Hospitals are using smartphones to raise hcahps scores. Patient Safety & Quality Healthcare. https://www.psqh.com/analysis/how-hospitals-are-using-smartphones-to-raise-hcahps-scores/