Communication has always underpinned hospital logistics. Over the past century, communication processes and devices, from basic pager system options to complex digital databases, have transformed the way that medical professionals communicate. From simple verbal updates to complex digital networks that facilitate patient care, digital investment is being used to make hospital communication quicker, easier, and more accurate.
The early days of hospital communication
In the early days of hospitals, communication was heavily reliant on face-to-face communication, handwritten documentation, and pager system networks. Message runners were also used to share updates, and landline telephones between offices were heavily used. These could be slow in urgent situations.
By the mid-20th century, two-way radios and overhead pager systems improved coordination between departments and made things faster. However, they could be noisy and infringe on privacy, which became a key concern as patient confidentiality became a top issue.
The digital revolution
The digital revolution of the past thirty years has brought email, electronic health records and secure messaging platforms into the mix, as well as mobile phone technology and the use of tablets to share test results, send alerts, and record patient updates as they happen. However, a pager system from a specialist supplier like https://www.dinggly.com/us/ is still a top option in hospitals, where wireless networks cannot always operate reliably.
Now, the focus is on how AI can be integrated to deliver further patient benefits and greater efficiency across hospitals while cutting costs, maximising patient confidentiality, improving accuracy, and generally delivering better outcomes, particularly at a time when the UK National Health Service is under pressure.
