Wireless Communications

From wireless telephone systems to pagers. Wireless communications is providing the flexibility to move from place to place while still maintaining communications with other staff, doctors, patients, and patients' families.

Wireless Telephone Systems:

What are Wireless Phones?

They are cordless phones that use an extension off of the hospital's existing phone switch. The Responder® IV system is integrated with the phone switch in order for patient calls to be sent through the system to the wireless phone. The caregiver can immediately answer the call by speaking to the patient through the Responder patient station. The phones can be used to accept calls from a nurse-call console if left unattended, or only those calls that come from the caregiver's patients.

Wireless Phones are flexible.

Patient calls can automatically be sent to appropriate caregiver, and the caregiver can choose to cancel the call, respond to the call, or refer it to a back-up caregiver's pager or wireless phone, all by touching a button. Caller ID can be added so that the a message displays on the phone consisting of the room number and type of call. The system can be used in conjunction with a Pocket Page system and Management Software on Responder IV systems.

What types of Wireless Phone Systems work?

 


Several manufacturers can integrate with the Responder IV Nurse Call system, however some have better integration than others. Currently, the ASCOM® wireless phone system offers the most seamless integration, however other systems can integrate as well. Please Call 865-938-2088 for more information.
 

 

Can the nursing staff use the phones for outside calls?

This is usually determined by the phone switch or the wireless phone system. The company providing the phone system can usually program the system to allow outside calls or to block outside calls, depending on customer preferences.

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Pagers:
 

• Pagers are an economical way to automate the notification of nursing staff to emergencies and patient calls. There are three different ways that pagers can be programmed to operate - automatically, service, or directly.

• What does a pocket paging system involve?
  
  The pocket page system consists of an antenna, a headend, and an interface module to integrate with the nurse-call system. RBF will file an FCC frequency request on behalf of the facility to determine a frequency which will not disturb existing medical equipment. Once the FCC notifies RBF of the proper frequency, then the headend transmitter with that frequency is manufactured, and then the pagers that respond to that frequency are manufactured.
  
   
• How do the pagers work?

There are three modes of operation; automatic, service, and direct.

Automatic operation means when a patient places a call the caregiver for that patient will be paged directly with the room number and the type of call. For example. "Room 203: Normal." This works well of a decentralized unit where there is not always someone available to answer the console.

Service operation allows the call to be answered by a staff member at the console. That staff member would then decide the staff level (RN, LPN, Tech, etc.) required to assist the patient if any is needed at all, and be able to send a pocket page message to that caregiver. The appropriate caregiver for that patient would then be notified of the patient's room and what was needed. For example, "Room 203: Water"

Direct operation allows staff at the console to send pager messages directly to other staff. For example, "Come to Front Desk" or "Call on Ext. 5476." This sort of operation really reduces the amount of overhead paging and the need to "hunt down" personnel.
 

• Call 865-523-3070 to set up a full demonstration!

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