Communications

Labor and Delivery utilizes a specialized paging service to call for a neonatal resuscitation team when a crash C-Section is underway. The system takes a basic text description of the clinical scenario, the operating room number, etc., and broadcasts the information by priority alphanumeric page to all response team members simultaneously.
A CDS system sends a priority alert to a provider’s EMR account, informing them of a potentially dangerous drug-drug interaction. The alert is sent with read receipt enabled. When the original recipient doesn’t respond within a pre-determined 15-minute time window, the system escalates the reminder to a dedicated surrogate and modifies the payload to explain the reason for the escalation.
An automated VoIP “robocall” notification system calls a patient when their annual PPD4 converter health questionnaire is due. The patient follows the automated attendant’s instructions and completes a brief symptom survey using the telephone keypad. Upon completion of the survey, the system thanks the patient, hangs up, and records the survey results in the appropriate Preventive Health database.
Over the course of several days, an oncologist consults with several of her colleagues regarding a difficult case. Many of her communications are by email, but she also has several lengthy discussions regarding treatment considerations over the phone and even during a videoconference with an expert overseas. For documentation purposes, and for justifying her ultimate treatment plan, the oncologist identifies these communication events as a “monitored conversation” to which she then refers to in her electronic documentation.