More and more hospitals and healthcare networks are reviewing their mobility strategies. At Mobile Heartbeat, we see a number of different rollout strategies put in place, with some more successful than others as a result of some common factors: resources for deployment, current level of technology in the end-users’ hands and, as with everything, timing. These are obvious issues, however it is often more subtle items which are the most challenging.

The most time-consuming issue that we face when implementing the MH-CURE solution is that the mobility solution spans departments which had previously been kept relatively separate: telecoms for communication, security for data retention and PHI, clinical for workflow and IT for wireless and interfaces. Having a project team that can oversee all of these areas is essential to making sure all components come together in a way that satisfies everyone, but, more importantly, provides a simple solution for the end user that fits or enhances their workflows.  Ultimately, the reason hospitals are looking for mobility solutions is to allow clinicians to communicate and do what they should be doing ─ spending more time with patients! The most successful projects that we have run at Mobile Heartbeat have a client project manager who can cover these departments and has clinical knowledge in addition to understanding how the technology will affect users.

Communication is key to any mobility solution and the effectiveness of the solution is heavily reduced if users do not know whom exactly they can communicate with. The dynamic care team feature in MH-CURE gives users that visibility and connects them with the right caregivers for their patient. In the past, caregivers who had to spend time searching or working out how to get hold of someone can now have the ability to reach the entire hospital system with a few clicks.

As with any project, planning is the most important phase. Planning which workflows the mobility solution should affect and what the solution can and cannot be used for is a key task in the rollout. Taking this knowledge into training sessions with users gives them the framework for using the solution and allows you to address any concerns or questions that they might have. A major part of any MH-CURE implementation is planning the training session to ensure that configurations of the solution are set, the users are defined on the system well ahead of time and that use cases from previous deployments are incorporated and socialized during training. Without this, training can often become dull and of limited utility.

The project team at Mobile Heartbeat brings a wealth of experience to any mobility project. When considering your hospital’s mobility strategy, remember that simple solutions might fill in a portion of the technology gap, but without the know-how and clinical understanding that is built into the MH-CURE solution and facilitated by the Mobile Heartbeat project team, you may just end up pushing unwanted technology on already frustrated clinicians.