AnswerStat Industry News

June/July 2007

1Call Innovates with Timesaving "Push-to-Talk" Feature

The 1Call Division of Amtelco announced the new Infinity Push-to-Talk feature, which gives operators fast access to overhead paging or radio connections.  This eliminates the need for operators to move to a specific location to access security radios or mobile dispatch radios, saving time and increasing efficiency.  To activate the connection, operators press and hold a key on the keyboard, which remains active until the button is released.  Operators see a visual indication on the screen that they are currently connected to the overhead paging system or to the radio.  The Push-to-Talk button can be assigned to any function key on a standard keyboard or any key on the Infinity KB163 keyboard.

"The new Infinity Push-to-Talk feature makes it possible for our healthcare organizations to communicate more efficiently and effectively with patients and visitors inside the facility, as well as providing an instant communication link with security personnel and hospital staff throughout the enterprise in urgent situations," stated Tom Curtin, President of Amtelco's 1Call healthcare and higher education division.

For more information on the new Infinity Push-to-Talk feature, contact 1Call at 800-356-9148 or email info@1call.com.

Speakers Confirmed for Annual National Telehealth Conference

Children's Physician Network (CPN) has confirmed speakers for the Fourth Annual National Telehealth Conference, September 27-29 at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport (MSP) Hilton Hotel.  Confirmed and scheduled to present are:

• Barton Schmitt, MD; The Children's Hospital and University of Colorado

• David Thompson, MD; MacNeal Hospital

• L. Read Sulik, MD; CentraCare Health System

• Andrew Hertz, MD; Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital

• Lee Pyles, MD; University of Minnesota

• Charles Crutchfield III, MD; Crutchfield Dermatology

• Peter Dehnel, MD; Children's Physician Network

• Elizabeth Gilles, MD; Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota

• Michelle Hulse, MD; Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota

• Daniel Halvorsen, PhD; Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota

• Phillip Kibort, MD; Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota

• Michele VanVranken, MD; Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota

• Dory Baker, RN, CNP, AE-C; Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota

• Lisa Patrick; University of Kansas

• Kelli Massaro, RN, BSN; The Children's After Hours Telephone Care Program

• Elizabeth Skinner, BSN, JD; The Trillium Group

• Sherry Smith, RN, MSN, MBA; 3CN

• Patsy Stinchfield, RN, CNP; Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota

This annual conference is for call center triage nurses, physicians, and administrators.  Continuing education credits for physicians (CMEs) and nurses (contact hours) will be available.

For more information, email childrenstriage@childrensmn.org requesting registration materials.

LVM Helps to Manage Physician Relations

LVM Systems released a contact management solution, MPR: Managing Physician Relations.  MPR allows physician liaisons to plan, execute, and track efforts to grow physician referrals while retaining existing relationships.  MPR operates as a stand-alone product, but MPR also fully integrates with LVM's E-Centaurus call center software.  The call center-physician relations synergy leverages a powerful enterprise CRM solution and targets it specifically to the physician audience. 

The benefits of MPR include:

• Its relationship planner/manager function organizes the steps to each physician strategy, whether growth, retention, or recruitment.

• In-depth physician relations reporting capabilities for both representatives and management; custom reports produced monthly at no additional charge

• Fast documentation of activities, discussions, and outcomes

• Built-in issue management functionality: identify and categorize concerns, assign responsibility, manage resolution, and measure response metrics.

• Physician feedback and market intelligence is easily captured.

Physician liaisons can view or print reports on the number of patients directed by the call center to a particular physician.  Conversely, the MPR software can also import and track the volume of patients referred by that physician to the hospital. 

For more information, contact LVM at info@lvmsystems.com or 480-633-8200 x232.

1Call Holds Leadership Conference and Training Seminar

The 1Call Division of Amtelco hosted the first annual 1Call Leadership Conference and Training Seminar on April 24-26, 2007.  Attendees benefited from sessions designed for the entire group, as well as separate leadership track and training track sessions throughout the day.  The seminar was held in downtown Madison, giving attendees a chance to visit a number of local area attractions. 

Attendees learned about various aspects of their Infinity systems and had the opportunity to find out more about the RED Alert emergency and event notification system, including a live demo.  During the sessions, guest speakers provided attendees with insight into adding new services for their patients, improving efficiency in their call centers, new call center technologies that are available, and using Infinity's IS scripting to save time, reduce errors, and improve enterprise-wide efficiency.  The training track sessions provided attendees with hands-on Infinity training and detailed report reviews. 

Attendee comments included, "The networking was awesome!"  "Great job!  Looking forward to next year," and "Thank you for always being there; you're our number one vendor!"

For more information on next year's 1Call Leadership Conference and Training Seminar, contact 1Call at 800-356-9148, or email info@1call.com. 

Ambulatory Care Nurses Meet; Explore Ways to Advance Profession

Over 700 nurses gathered for the American Academy of Ambulatory Care Nursing (AAACN) 32^nd Annual Conference in Las Vegas, NV, March 29-April 1, 2007.  Participants explored the latest ambulatory care nursing topics, shared best practices, networked with colleagues, and discovered practical and innovative techniques to implement in their facilities.  "Our conference grows stronger every year, and that is a testament to our members and attendees," said AAACN's new President, Charlene Williams, MBA, BSN, RNC-BC.

Assistant Surgeon General Carol Romano, RN, PhD, FAAN, presented the keynote address, "Improving the Health of the Nation."  Romano explored health challenges nurses face in the new century and the impact on the role of the ambulatory care nurse, as well as how nurse leaders can advance health care.  Audio CDs of individual sessions and the full conference can be ordered at 800-679-3646. 

Dr. Mike Guthrie to Serve as Chief Medical Advisor for The Beryl Companies

Executive coach and educator Michael Guthrie, M.D., MBA, has been selected by The Beryl Companies to serve as chief medical advisor.  With more than 25 years of clinical and management experience in a variety of healthcare settings, Dr. Guthrie brings extensive insight in the areas of physician relations, healthcare system management, adoption of technology, healthcare marketing, and public relations.

"As Beryl continues to build upon the services that we provide to encompass more ways to interact with patients and consumers, we want to ensure that all audiences within a healthcare organization are incorporated into the strategy," said Paul Spiegelman, Beryl CEO.

2ndWave Software Acquires Amcom

2ndWave Software has acquired Amcom Software, a provider of enterprise software systems for mission critical communications.  The recently formed 2ndWave Software, led by former HighJump Software executives Chris Heim and Dan Mayleben, chose Amcom as their first acquisition based on the company's reputation in the markets it serves, a solid technology platform, and a prestigious client roster.

Founded nearly 25 years ago by Jack Collins, Amcom has over 400 customers including Duke University, Stanford Medical Center, Cleveland Clinic, New York Presbyterian, Cedars-Sinai Health System, Intel Corporation, and the U.S. Army.  Amcom's software solutions are used to automate mission critical communications and improve enterprise-wide communications.  Customers benefit with a central, standards-based communication platform proven to reduce cost and increase efficiencies by providing self-service and faster, more accurate call routing. 

Following the planned retirement of Amcom CEO and Founder, Jack Collins, Heim will take on the role of CEO and Mayleben will be appointed CFO of Amcom.  The company will retain its name, company headquarters, management team, and employee base.

For more information, call 800-852-8935 .