Survey: Nurses Chide Wireless Capabilities

A survey that included in-depth interviews with more than 100 acute care and home health nurses finds that 71% of respondents believe their organizations’ wireless networks don’t adequately support documentation and communication with other clinicians at the point of care.


A survey that included in-depth interviews with more than 100 acute care and home health nurses finds that 71% of respondents believe their organizations' wireless networks don't adequately support documentation and communication with other clinicians at the point of care.

Coverage gaps, interference and overloaded access points frequently result in dropped data and voice connections, according to the survey from Spyglass Consulting Group, Menlo Park, Calif.

Sixty-six percent of respondents indicated their organizations had deployed Voice over Internet Protocol voice communications systems. But many believe that receiving calls at the point of care can interrupt a train of thought and increase the chances of a medical error.

A new report from Spyglass Consulting covers survey results, focusing on such issues as current usage models for mobile communications, workflow inefficiencies and other barriers to widespread adoption. The report, "Point of Care Communications for Nursing," is targeted to vendors and consulting firms, health care executives, clinicians involved in vendor selections, and investment banking and private equity firms. The report costs $2,495 and is available at spyglass-consulting.com.

--Joseph Goedert