Seconds can make a life or death difference when attending a patient, and responding promptly to hazardous material alerts is also more crucial than ever, he said. One Kaiser Permanente hospital is using the technology in IT to reduce network downtime by a measurable percentage, according to McNeal. Plant operation applications are found in the monitoring of HVAC systems, fire alarms, and access control. Clinical operations applications include nurse calls, code blues, and patient monitoring. For instance, wireless technology can be used to monitor call light response, McNeal said.
Silent notification is an attractive feature of the technology.
Some hospitals have virtually eliminated noise pollution from paging systems by using silent wireless messaging, according to McNeal. At Boca Raton Hospital, wireless technology is delivering more than 2000 alerts per week to more than 680 devices. Push technology can either be manual or automated. Manual dispatching of information requires human intervention. Nurses, for example, may type a message into a PC that facilities or maintenance is needed to change a light bulb in a room.