Back-to-school tasks do not come to a close in the fall, in fact, back-to-school tasks never actually end at all. Really, the tasks are just different; for example, in August parents are buying initial supplies, but by the spring, parents are taking their kids for back-to-school physicals for the spring sports season. According to Dr. Paul Stricker, back-to-school physicals are the only physicals that many children and teenagers will get all year long. Given this fact, the physical is an especially important event for the health of the child as well as for the doctor’s office to make a good impression. It is recommended that parents seek physical check-ups for their children at more regular and frequent intervals than once a year at back-to-school time, but the reality seems to be that this is not taking place. To help medical staff run a more streamlined and efficient operation, StaffComm™ by JTECH is ideal for communicating between staff members when patients are prepped and ready for various tests and services.

Running a medical office or a hospital department can be a tall order, but when the proper communication devices are in use, the operation can run quite well and seem quite simple. Patients appreciate knowing that their time is not being wasted, even if it is just once a year that they meet face-to-face with their medical provider. Studies show that patients use basic visits like check-ups to evaluate the trustworthiness and competency of their physician. Many patients comment that a back-to-school check up for their child is a great opportunity to try out a new medical provider. This is an ideal time for a provider to make a lasting positive impression on the patient by running an efficient operation powered by JTECH’s communication devices. When the nursing staff, the front desk staff, and the providers are all working in unison, trust is instilled in patients and retention results.

Every year JTECH provides a free paging system on loan to the American Cancer Society for a special event. We’re honored to help each year and we realize that the fight against cancer is one we should all take part in. Please take the time to visit their site and help in anyway you can. You can read the letter we received from the ACS in the link below.

ACS Letter To JTECH

The Joint Commission, formerly referred to as JCAHO, is an independent, non-profit organization given the task of accrediting and certifying more than 19,000 health care organizations and programs across the United States. Their stamp of approval is a symbol of quality and performance. They seek to increase standards for safety, effective care, quality and value. JTECH’s healthcare solutions augment the tools and resources found in a medical setting. The MediPass™ rechargeable pager enables greater efficiency in hospitals and physician offices. Patients and their families can be discreetly and silently notified of test results, completed pharmacy orders, and when examining rooms are available. In addition, the silent notification setting results in a less distracting and less stressful environment for all other waiting patients. The medical staff also appreciates being able to quickly and efficiently locate patients and families.

The Joint Commission has been accrediting hospitals for over 60 years, a time period in which much has changed in medical procedures and facility equipment. Medical facilities are also bound by HIPAA regulations, for which JTECH’s paging solutions are helpful in ensuring compliance. With the intent of improving services, integration of a JTECH wireless paging system creates a peaceful, therapeutic environment to encourage patient healing. Benefits of being accredited by the Joint Commission also include increased community confidence in the quality of care being provided. MediPass pagers assist in improving community confidence by exuding competence and a continued investment in technology and patient services. Staff retention, development, and recruitment are also enhanced by having efficient patient pagers in use.

Hospitals are akin to a very complex organism. As such, it is important that the communication system and the communication devices in place are appropriate for the dynamic needs of a hospital or other healthcare setting. Communication between staff is of the utmost importance in such a multifaceted environment where all departments critically rely on one another for services. JTECH’s SmartAlert® messaging system is a flexible communication solution ideally suited for the array of regular and routine communications found in these busy healthcare settings. Part of the challenge in a healthcare setting, as with many other complex settings, is communicating with the right people at the right time. It’s very important that maintenance, nursing, administration and other auxiliary personnel are immediately available to meet unplanned needs. Healthcare professionals know that patient needs don’t typically arise on schedule, which is why immediate communication at all times is imperative.

JTECH’s StaffComm™ microtransmitters make it easy to discreetly, yet instantly, relay a message to a specific person or a specific group of staff members. In addition, with the ability to preprogram specific commonly used messages, the time required to send a message is reduced to but a moment to simply press a button. JTECH’s communication systems are efficiency-focused and easy to use. StaffComm devises allow interdependent departments to clearly express patient and staff needs immediately. For example, maintenance is often needed by every department and often in specific locations at some point, and often when they are, it’s an emergency of sorts where immediacy is paramount. StaffComm microtransmitters result in maintenance staff always being directed to the right location immediately when required. The same can be said about administration. Typically, the situation warrants immediate attention, which is why StaffComm is ideal for bringing together nursing and management. While patients will not likely be aware that silent pagers are even in use given the discreet nature of the devices, they will feel the difference of increased patient care and attentiveness to needs.

A lack of communication or even a gap in communication can be a very dangerous occurrence in a healthcare setting. But even when a situation is not that serious, a lack of communication can still have negative consequences. When staff members are not working cohesively, patients notice that and absorb the stress of the environment. This is the last thing someone needs when dealing with a medical issue. Nevertheless, there are simple and affordable solutions to mitigate these communication gaps. JTECH’s SmartAlert® messaging system is a flexible system used to integrate and unify communication efforts in a healthcare setting. Using StaffComm™ push button doctor paging, for example, messages can be sent out to key personnel on silent pagers at precisely the right time and at the touch of a button. StaffComm is ideal for the many repetitive tasks that occur in any hospital or other healthcare environments. One of the nicest and most practical things about using wireless paging is the noise reduction that results from elimination of overhead paging. When using the discreet and silent vibration alerts, patients are not repeatedly jarred by overhead disturbances and distractions. In addition, patient and staff privacy is improved because messages are directed to the staff member that needs the information. Whether paging just one person or a whole group, StaffComm will get your message out quickly and efficiently.

Communication is only as valuable as what someone can do with the information. That’s why it’s imperative that communication be direct, detailed, and actionable. All of the above are achievable with a JTECH SmartAlert doctor paging system. Whether needing to communicate about an exam room that requires preparation or about a patient requiring special assistance to their car, StaffComm puts the right people at your fingertips. By working within and across departments, your healthcare facility is better positioned to provide top-notch medical care. And of course, StaffComm is a HIPAA compliant wireless messaging solution, so your patients’ rights and privacy are always protected.

Holistic medicine encompasses much more than traditional western medicine has become accustomed. The American Holistic Medical Association describes holistic health care as the integration of all aspects of the well-being of an individual, including the systems in which they function. One of these systems includes the hospital where a person receives their medical treatment. Part of this involves creating the least amount of stress before, during and after a medical procedure or medical visit. There are simple ways in which hospitals, outpatient centers and same-day surgery facilities can reduce the expected anxiety and tension that comes with seeing medical personnel.

Being at a hospital and having unknown fear associated with undergoing a medical procedure can be a very stressful event. However, JTECH’s MediPass™ pagers allow you to reach patients and their families in a discreet manner, thereby adding a level of serenity to the waiting room experience. Not only have you reduced the need for overhead paging, but you have also increased privacy standards and given your waiting guests the freedom to wonder to other areas of the hospital or medical center. Holistic medicine also places a high level of importance on the patient-practitioner relationship. By utilizing MediPass pagers you are essentially saying to your patients that they matter to you – that you care about their wellbeing, that you care about their level of comfort, and that they are more than an insurance payment. You are truly placing the patient at the center of your organization and treating them as individuals, not just as people with diseases or medical needs. Because holistic medicine is, by definition, about the whole person, it only makes sense that you would want to best accommodate the whole person, including their time spent waiting at your medical facility. Whether in the waiting room or waiting for test results, MediPass pagers are a highly effective way to soften the waiting environment and take the first step towards holistic health.

Often times it can be more effective to make decisions after stepping “out of the trees” and taking a look at the “forest.” This is exactly what TITAN by JTECH enables hospital operators and hospital managers to do. TITAN integrates your already established communication systems under a single umbrella system, allowing you to manage, monitor and track the flow of communication between staff and patients, between staff and the patients’ families, between staff members themselves and to more efficiently manage patient queues. TITAN supports integration with existing computer networks and email systems, existing PBX phone systems, and Wi-Fi enabled communication gateways. TITAN also logs and tracks all communication activity with time and date stamping. Message delivery can be monitored, events can be automatically escalated and alarms can be set. Whether communicating with patients or with other staff members, TITAN nicely integrates these often disparate systems and communication devices, providing operators with one comprehensive system.

At the end of the day the goal is always to provide the highest level of patient care possible. That is exactly what TITAN provides to hospital management, normalizing and streamlining communications to allow the best possible patient care. Improving patient queue management can be improved throughout the facility: in the lab, in the pharmacy, in the outpatient surgery department, in the admitting department and in the emergency room. But to accomplish this, it often takes standing back and looking at the overall picture, which is where TITAN can make its biggest impact. Hospitals aren’t a place where typical things should be overlooked, and the communication system is no exception.

Overhead paging in a hospital setting is simply outdated. JTECH’s MediPass™ pagers are discreet, reliable and cost-effective. There is no need to announce to the entire hospital one individual’s specific need. Not only is it bothersome to other patients and their families, it may also be a violation of HIPAA. JTECH’s ergonomic, easy to hold pagers are attractive and easy to use. MediPass pagers can be utilized in the hospital admitting department, the emergency services waiting area, an outpatient surgery department, specific examining areas like cardiac stress testing, and in the hospital pharmacy just to name a few. Discreet paging alleviates concerns regarding patient privacy, which has become ever more important and is heavily regulated by HIPAA laws. Silent pagers bring together all the relevant parties including patients, their families, doctors and hospital staff. This web of communication provides a sense of ease and serenity to an environment that is typically anything but serene.

Meanwhile, MediPass pagers also increase patient satisfaction by improving the overall waiting experience. “Customer service” is not just a buzzword for the retail industry, but rather it is a very large component of a hospital’s success as well. This is especially true in areas where patients have options as to which hospital to seek services. Some areas are so small that there is only one hospital within reasonable distance, but many places are serviced by multiple hospitals, all of which are vying for patients. How a hospital represents itself to the patients will also impact if doctors continue to refer their patients there. Having a reputation of good service and attentiveness to patient needs goes a long way. Improve the community standing of your hospital by eliminating or reducing overhead paging and replacing it with a discreet paging system. The healthcare industry will be forever changing, as will the communication needs within such an industry.

Waiting for a loved one who is undergoing surgery can be one of the most stressful and unpleasant experiences that people endure. While not a lot can make such a distasteful situation better, there are actionable things that surgery centers can do to alleviate some of the stress surrounding the event. For one, paging systems for family members can be very useful because family members then know that they will be contacted by the doctor just as soon as there is actually something to know. For example, when a JTECH MediPass™ pager is in the hands of a waiting family member, they are less likely to continually ask staff if there are any updates on their surgery patient. This reduces the burden of staff who have to otherwise continually reassure waiting family members that there is no news yet but they will be contacted just as soon as their patient is out of surgery.

MediPass pagers have the added benefit of protecting patient privacy. Quite frankly, some people would rather not announce to the world that they are undergoing a particular procedure. Pagers alleviate the need to call aloud patient names. As far as the medical office is concerned, that is ideal due to the importance of remaining HIPAA compliant. There are endless rules and regulations within the HIPAA Privacy Rule regarding confidentiality, but also it comes down to respecting and protecting someone’s identity. JTECH’s wireless messaging solutions provide benefits both internally to the medical staff and externally to the patients and families.

It’s not very likely that hospital employees spend a lot of time thinking about the hospital waiting rooms. They are usually zooming past people, eager to catch the next elevator, tending to patients and trying to get where they need to be. But, friends and relatives of patients, and the patients themselves, have ample time to contemplate the waiting room environment while waiting to talk to the surgeon or receive much anticipated medical results. While making improvements to your hospital’s medical equipment is very important and should not be overlooked, it is also important to evaluate the level of “comfort” your patients are experiencing. One way to increase patient satisfaction is to implement patient pagers in your waiting rooms. JTECH offers the MediPass™ pager, which comes with an extended range option for larger facilities. The extended range can also be useful if you want your waiting patients to be able to move about the hospital while waiting in queue. In addition, using patient pagers ensures better HIPAA compliance by respecting patient privacy by not announcing names for the entire waiting room to hear. The MediPass pager is silent and discreet. These pagers do not add additional noise annoyances and are simple for staff to operate. It is said that patients recover fastest when they have the least amount of peripheral stress. Some elderly and hard of hearing patients are concerned they will miss hearing their name being called by the nurse. Pagers alleviate this added peripheral stress.

One patient’s experience went like this, “A few months ago I sat in an emergency department’s waiting room, afraid of what was going on behind the large, locked double doors. There was a TV on—blaring—and turned in such a way that almost no one could see the screen. The chair was cold, hard plastic. Minutes felt like hours. There was no pot of coffee, nothing to look at, nothing to read except an issue of Arizona Highways that was about 10 years old. The place didn’t inspire confidence or help me relax. I couldn’t even take a walk, because I was afraid the staff would want me, and I would not hear their call.” While JTECH pagers would not be able to fix the décor complaints this patient had, they would have allowed the patient to “take a walk” and get out of the uncomfortable waiting room. MediPass pagers are a multifaceted investment for any hospital.