Automated role assignments and dynamic scheduling speed clinical communication among teams, enabling faster shift transitions and patient handoffs
Power of Role-based Scheduling showcased through the Amazon Echo® to intelligently route verbal bedside requests to the appropriate care provider
SANTA MONICA, CA (February 16, 2017) – Ahead of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Conference, TigerText, the nation’s leading provider of clinical communication solutions for the healthcare industry, unveiled its most advanced product capability to date – Role-based Scheduling Automation that dynamically populates role assignments and user profiles within the TigerText messaging app in an elegant, highly intuitive way.
“Roles represents a pivotal development in our product roadmap,” said Brad Brooks, co-founder and CEO of TigerText. “Healthcare workflow is incredibly complex due to the shift-based nature of the workforce. By automating shift assignments and merging the functionality with TigerText, we help solve a fundamental challenge among healthcare staff of being able to reach the right person at the right time without actually knowing the person’s name. And as we’ve shown with our integration to the (Amazon) Echo via our TigerConnect API, Roles opens up a world of possibilities for applying the functionality and aligns with our mission to dramatically improve workflow efficiency in healthcare.”
Expediting Communication Workflows
Role-based Scheduling Automation was developed in tight coordination with TigerText client feedback and refined through rounds of interviews, marketplace research, and user testing. Because the application leverages data from popular scheduling systems such as Amion, role owners are always accurately reflected in TigerText, even during shift changes. Organizations can assign staff members to specific roles or functions, such as ‘On-Call Cardiologist’ or ‘Unit Secretary – 4th Floor’, making it easy to identify and message the correct specialist or tech without referencing a spreadsheet, printout, or white board.
“With nearly 50 roles already in place, TigerText’s scheduling automation is having a positive impact on the way our physicians communicate, particularly for Cardiology,” said Dr. Iqbal at Meritus Health. “By integrating with our scheduling system, patient handoffs are getting smoother and consult requests happen faster. Most importantly, now we have a tool that gives us confidence that our messages get to the right physician securely and easily.
Roles displays shift information in a user-friendly, functional interface that provides instant visibility into current and future role owners, making these calendars accessible to any TigerText user within an organization. Role owners also receive an automated push notification whenever a shift change occurs and have the option to manually opt in or out of a role, as needs dictate.
Users can also be assigned multiple roles with each role indicated in the calendar view. Roles includes full administrative control, giving IT the power to set permissions and policies that limit or block a user from swapping shifts or changing the schedule. Messages sent to a particular role are routed seamlessly, and conversations that took place under the current role owner will be inherited by the next shift owner, providing full context of what took place prior and helping ensure continuity of care.
“Alexa, Tell the Nurse I Need Help”
Too often, nurse calls ricochet from a unit secretary to a floor nurse and finally to the correct department or team member, wasting cycles and delaying patient care. Through its strategic partnership with Aiva, a new voice assistant platform that interprets verbal bedside requests, TigerText can now leverage the power and convenience of Amazon Alexa to fulfill patient requests from the bedside. At HIMSS 2017, TigerText will showcase how Aiva works with Roles and the Amazon Echo to create an out of the box voice-activated nurse call solution. Voice-activation is a powerful example for patients who may not be physically able to press a nurse call button on their own but need help.
Through this integration, patients can verbally call for a nurse, request bathroom assistance, express meal preferences, and more all from the bedside by simply asking Alexa. The system even provides verbal confirmation for patient requests along with a time estimate for completion. Behind the scenes, the request is instantly and intelligently routed as a TigerText message to the appropriate care team Role owner in a single step, expediting fulfillment and minimizing staff interruptions. And the benefits are not just for patients – clinical staff can request vital signs, language translations, MRI’s, and more knowing the information will be instantly available on their smartphone through TigerText.
The Amazon Echo is just one example of how, when integrated with TigerText Roles, health systems can improve efficiency, expedite care, and delight patients in the process.
Product demonstrations of both Roles and TigerText for Alexa and will be available at the 2017 HIMSS Annual Conference & Exhibition, February 19–23, 2017 in Orlando, Florida. To schedule a demo, send us an email at sales@tigertext.com or visit us in Booth #1187.
About Aiva
Aiva, the world’s first voice assistant platform to use Amazon’s Echo in a clinical environment, is committed to improving the experience for hospital patients everywhere. Aiva leverages the Echo’s voice recognition capability – Alexa – to intelligently process a patient’s requests, automatically routing them to the correct care team member as text messages through its messaging partner TigerText. Aiva also assists clinical staff by translating requests and retrieving patient data that is instantly delivered to a physician or nurse’s smartphone, expediting care delivery and improving the patient experience. Visit aivahealth.com to join the pilot program or to learn more.
About TigerText
As healthcare’s largest provider of clinical communication solutions, TigerText helps physicians, nurses, and other staff communicate and collaborate more effectively, accelerating productivity, reducing costs, and improving patient outcomes. With over 7,000 facilities, delivering hundreds of millions of messages monthly, TigerText continually delivers advanced product innovations and integrates with critical hospital systems such as the EHR, nurse call, and scheduling solutions. The company’s commitment to customer success is reflected in its broad support organization that works directly with customers at every stage to streamline communication workflows and achieve the highest possible ROI.
Follow TigerText on Twitter (@tigertext) and visit www.tigertext.com to learn how customers like RWJBarnabas, Geisinger, and Lifepoint use TigerText to solve healthcare’s biggest communication challenges.
