Healthcare Technology Featured Article

October 04, 2013

Five More Hospitals, Health Systems Select Vocera Care Experience Suite


The healthcare industry is under a lot of pressure from regulators, insurers, and customers to streamline their operations and stop, or slow down the sky rocketing cost for medical care in the country. While the inefficiencies are responsible for billions of dollars in waste, the implementation of new technology is slowly introducing more effective ways of running hospitals and other health care facilities. Vocera Communications, which provides integrated, intelligent communication for mission-critical environments in healthcare, hospitality, energy, retail and other mobile work environments, has added five more hospitals and health systems to implement Vocera Care Experience.

The Vocera Care Experience is a suite of products designed to improve communications across the many different types of care healthcare facilities provide to give patients a positive experience, while at the same time reducing the number of readmission.

The emphasis on readmission is one of the top of concerns for hospital administrators because the Affordable Care Act has several mandates to decrease this practice. Organizations that receive Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements will be fined if their readmission rates don't fall within guidelines. According to Vocera, the Experience Suite has reduced the readmission rates by up to 15 percent and improved the HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) score by 63 percent. The HCAHPS is a score related to communications at the time a patient is being discharged.

Vocera Care Experience provides one application with different modules to address the needs of healthcare organizations. This includes:

  • Good to Go solution to improve patient and family communication during discharge
  • Care Calls workflow management to streamline patient follow-up calls
  • Care Rounds to hardwire more meaningful and manageable rounding
  • Performance Analytics to identify gaps in communication and performance
  • PCP Notification to automatically inform primary care physicians of patient status
  • SNF Communication to improve care transitions to skilled nursing facilities

The five facilities that have chosen Vocera are: Adirondack Health, Saranac Lake, N.Y.; Baylor Health Care System, Dallas, Texas; Mission Health, Asheville, N.C.; North Shore Long Island Jewish Medical Center, Great Neck, N.Y.; and University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, Ill.

"Reducing unnecessary hospital readmissions requires integrated, intelligent technology that empowers patients and families in their own medical care,” said Steve Jackson, vice president and general manager of Vocera Care Experience. “Our team is both thrilled and privileged to have partnered with a group of like-minded and pioneering hospitals. Guided by the unique insights and needs of our partners, the recent updates make the solution a more valuable resource than ever for healthcare providers looking to create a seamless patient experience and gain market share."




Edited by Alisen Downey
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