In the June issue of 24×7, J. Scot Mackeil, CBET, wrote a Soapbox about the new challenges and dangers presented with the increased use of wireless multimedia devices.
Scot says: “Caregivers have a need to be tuned in, turned on, and connected in ways we are only beginning to imagine. This new generation of devices can … receive medical alarm notifications and other potentially life-critical information. The most fortunate amongst us process work orders and close PMs in real time using these wireless wonders. But for every upside there is a downside. For example, should anesthesiologists or nurse anesthetists and other key members of a surgical team be accessing their wireless multimedia devices such as cell phones, iPhones, and BlackBerries while they are supposed to be engaged in keeping a patient alive on the table? How about a monitor tech in a central monitoring war room?”
I hope you’ll take a few minutes to read Scot’s compelling Soapbox article and then comment on this blog. Have you faced this? How does your facility handle it? Let us know.
