Medical Call Center News

February/March 2009

Amcom Software Adds RFID to Call Center Capabilities

Amcom Software has added radio frequency identification (RFID) capabilities to its call center suite.  With this update, Amcom offers precise, automated staff location and management using RFID.  The RFID technology works with the Amcom system to automatically update where hospital staff is located so they can be contacted more quickly.  This helps hospital call centers by speeding response, eliminating manual update processes, and improving patient care.

"The addition of RFID technology to our suite is another example of how we listen to our customers' needs and develop new ways to serve them," stated Amcom Software product management director, Ed Hixon.  "We've seen a lot of interest in having up-to-the-minute information about the availability of hospital staff."

Amcom uses Time Domain Corporation's PLUS line of ultra-wideband (UWB) real-time location system (RTLS) tags, readers, antennas, and software.  When personnel enter, leave, or move within the facility, their contact records within the Amcom system are instantly updated.  When a call center activity is initiated, precise information regarding their whereabouts makes it easy to use the individual's preferred messaging technology to reach them wherever they are.

For more information, call 800-852-8935.

1Call Infinity IS Soft Agent Rated "Avaya Compliant"

The 1Call Division of Amtelco announce that the 1Call Infinity IS Soft Agent has received the Avaya DevConnect Compliant Award for successful compliance testing with Avaya, Inc.'s Communication Manager 5.0 and SIP Enablement Services 5.0.  Amtelco is a member of the Avaya DevConnect Program.

The 1Call Infinity Soft Agent offers revolutionary simplicity to improve both agent and call center performance, instantly impacting an organization's bottom line.  The key to the power of the Infinity IS Soft Agent is the built-in search and action capabilities of the Soft Agent Sandbox, which provides a single point of focus, saving time and eliminating agent errors.  With each keystroke, the Sandbox knows to either look up information in real time or to call a number.

This compliance expands the capabilities available for 1Call's healthcare customers that use Avaya products.  1Call is committed to continually improving the integrations between the 1Call products and the Avava PBXs, helping improve 1Call/Avaya customers' enterprise-wide communications.

Other 1Call/Amtelco products have received the DevConnect Compliant award, including the 1Call Infinity system and the eCreator browser-based scripting system.

For more information on the Infinity Soft Agent and the Avaya certification, contact 1Call at 800-356-9148 or info@1call.com.

AAACN Highlights Telehealth Annual Conference Content

Telehealth nursing continues to be one of the fastest-growing areas of healthcare.  To keep nurses informed of the latest advances, the American Academy of Ambulatory Care Nursing (AAACN) is offering a broad slate of telehealth courses at its 34th Annual Conference, March 26-30, 2009, at the Philadelphia Marriott in Philadelphia, PA.

The conference will feature education sessions tailored specifically to nurses practicing and managing telehealth or telephone triage in clinics, physician offices, emergency rooms, call centers, and other ambulatory settings.

"Telehealth nursing is the successful marriage of technology and nursing care," said AAACN President Karen Griffin, MSN, RN, CNAA.  "Patients want healthcare providers to respond quickly to their needs, and telehealth nurses are able to deliver care rapidly and efficiently.  This is why telehealth nursing has generated so much interest and excitement."

Conference topics include:

• Critical thinking and telephone triage

• Hiring the best candidates for your telehealth position

• Building healthy communities one caller at a time

• Essential components of telephone nursing

• Implementing telephone triage in the primary care setting

• Telehealth nursing practice core course (TNPCC)

For more information, email aaacn@ajj.com.

Brigham and Women's Researchers Selects Vocantas for Clinical Research Study

Vocantas Inc., developer of voice solutions for healthcare, has been selected by Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) to help researchers assess the impact of automated telephone follow-up systems on the management of patients on commonly prescribed medications.  Using interactive voice response (IVR) and speech technology, the Vocantas's CallAssure system enables healthcare providers to evaluate real time patient data.  Study researchers believe that this proactive outreach may facilitate communication between patients and their physicians.

Leading the project is researcher Jennifer Haas, MD, MSPH, at BWH's Division of General Medicine.  Dr. Haas has studied the use of technology to improve the quality and safety of patient care as well as access to care, particularly among the poor and uninsured.

"After three weeks of pilot test calls, the system is functioning well," says Haas.  "We are looking forward to implementing the technology in our trial to quickly and effectively reach participants and to manage the data efficiently."

Supporting HL7 standards, the CallAssure system automatically records any symptoms the patient is experiencing in a note, which is then attached to the patient's electronic medical record.

Amtelco Establishes Dealer Program for Telecommunications Products

Amtelco has established a dealer/distribution program that will allow partners to sell a number of different products, including the new Infinity IS Soft Agent.

"We are pursuing qualified companies to partner with.  We are especially interested in well-established companies that have a large customer base so they may go back to them with tailored communication products that help their customers increase their businesses," stated Amtelco President Tom Curtin.  He continued, "Our popular Infinity IS Soft Agent, Red Alert, and "Just Say It" products will help drive our dealer program."

Amtelco and 1Call features numerous PBX integrations, including Avaya, Cisco, NEC, Nortel, and Siemens.

For more information on Amtelco's Dealer Program, contact Amtelco at 800-356-9148.

Intel Announces First Home Medical Device to Connect Clinicians with Patients

Intel® Corporation announced a care management tool designed for healthcare professionals who manage patients with chronic conditions.  Called Health Guide, it is initial offering of personal health systems that go beyond the simple remote patient monitoring systems available today.

The Intel Health Guide, which received 510(k) market clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in July, is a comprehensive personal health system that combines an in-home patient device (the Intel Health Guide PHS6000) and an online interface (the Intel Health Care Management Suite), allowing clinicians to remotely monitor patients and manage care.

"The Health Guide is a step forward in offering more personalized and effective management of chronic health conditions in the home," said Louis Burns, vice president and general manager of the Intel Digital Health Group.  "Intel has spent years researching the needs of both caregivers and patients, and we are now moving to launch a series of products that will help extend care from the hospital to the home."

Google Trumps the CDC

Google announced that it knows about flu outbreaks before the CDC (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) -- really.  It's an amazingly simple, yet elegant, solution.  Using their vast database of user searches, Google has determined that they can predict a flu outbreak up to two weeks before the (CDC), merely by watching for an increased in flu related search terms and phrases.

According to the google.org/flutrends website, "We've found that certain search terms are good indicators of flu activity.  Google Flu Trends uses aggregated Google search data to estimate flu activity in your state up to two weeks faster than traditional flu surveillance systems."

The site projects the overall level of flu activity, as well as proving a state-by-state risk assessment.  There is a demo in the "How does this work" section that shows Google's and the CDC's numbers for last year.  The similarities, as well as Google's quicker information, are quite interesting.

Increasingly Accessed for Drug Information, Study Finds Wikipedia Lacking

The December 2008 issue of The Annals of Pharmacotherapy reported on an analysis of Wikipedia's viability as a source of drug information because it is an increasingly tapped resource.  For the study, Wikipedia was compared to MDR (Medscape Drug Reference) in eight categories of drug information.

Wikipedia correctly answered 40% drug information questions, compared to MDR's 82.5%.  For dosing data, Wikipedia scored 0%, versus 90% with MDR.  Seventy-six percent of the answers found in Wikipedia were complete, while MDR was at 95.5%.  Interestingly, no factual errors were found in Wikipedia, whereas Medscape was deemed to have been in error four times.  However, Wikipedia did have almost four times the number of errors of omission.  Also, noteworthy was a marked improvement in Wikipedia answers over a 90-day period.

The study concluded that, "Wikipedia has a more narrow scope, is less complete, and has more errors of omission than the comparator database.  Wikipedia may be a useful point of engagement for consumers, but is not authoritative and should only be a supplemental source of drug information."