Hubnik Medical Consolidated

2311 English Ave, Fort Worth TX 76016

Date: March 28, 2018

To: Sandi Beaches
Director of Nursing
Hubnik Medical Hospital, Downtown Fort Worth
From: Juana Castro, Project Manager
Paige Murphy, Project Materials Coordinator,
Nathan Rike, Research Analyst
Subject: Proposal for implementing new communication technology

Purpose

The purpose of our proposal is to offer research into the Vocera Communications platform to
upgrade communication technologies within our hospitals.

Introduction

In 1992, Hubnik Medical Consolidated was created to oversee the operation and funding
for four previously independent hospitals to ensure that they all received the resources and
technology necessary to become competitive in the medical marketplace. In the past 26 years,
HMC has overseen implementation of many technological improvements from in-house imaging
technology to lab testing software to surgical equipment. These innovations have lead the four
hospitals of HMC to be recognized as pioneers in hospital technology. It has assembled a project
team to monitor current technologies and find means of innovation within the hospitals to ensure
HMC remains competitive in the hospital marketplace.

While Hubnik Medical Consolidated has been presented with many awards in the past 20
years for innovations in medical technique and has been listed among the top hospitals in the
DFW area in the past decade, one area where HMC hospitals consistently underperform is in the
area of intrahospital communication. After a new pager system was implemented in 2001, HMC
has not upgraded their intrahospital communication system. As communication technology has
improved in versatility and usability, the HMC system has grown less competitive in the past 17
years. If new technology is not implemented to bring HMC up to modern hospital standards, its
status as a top hospital system will be in peril as other hospitals experience lower response times
in all aspects from patient care to staff communication to administrative oversight.

The team believes it would be in the company’s best interest to spend the next few weeks
gathering information on current communication technologies, evaluating Hubnik Medical
Consolidated’s needs, and synthesizing a solution to bring the hospital system’s communication
technology to the forefront of hospitals in the area. Our team believes that Vocera, a company
that has delivered over a million devices for medical workplace communication solutions will
have the solution to the hospitals communication needs. (Vocera)

Proposed Tasks

Task 1: Acquire intel regarding medical staff communication needs.

To begin the research, the team will google search different hospitals in the area to see
what communication devices they use within their walls. The team will also focus on the people
using these devices to see their opinion on what is working and what is not. This will help give
variety and reduce bias in the proposal. The will further investigate specific hospitals that use
Vocera and see how this device has changed their hospitals within the last 5 years.

Task 2: Prioritize communication issues within hospital settings.

After going through different hospitals and the different solutions to their communication
issues, the team will identify the key issues that stems from them and how Vocera can solve
these issues. A busy hospital that receives more patients may have different communication
needs than a hospital with fewer patients. Hubnik Medical Consolidated has four different
hospitals, which call for a communication spectrum within the hospitals themselves and across
the board.

Task 3: Assess multiple devices available on the market.

After prioritizing communication within the different hospitals in the area, the group will
take time to look at different devices and how they have solved the communication issues within
the healthcare field in comparison to Vocera devices. Analyzing different devices will help the
hospitals get an understanding of what others are using and what else is out there to potentially
be used.

Task 4: Establish a criteria for evaluating devices.

The first criterion the team will look at will be cost per unit. The cost of devices will be a
key point in the research because the healthcare field is always spending more money than taking
in; this will help the group analyze a possible investment with Vocera Communications Devices
for not only the hospitals and its employees, but the patients too. Secondly, the team will
consider HIPAA compliance issues to ensure the devices follow guidelines that must be met in
all hospitals. Thirdly, the team will go over the time it takes to use the device to ensure that this
device is time-efficient within the hospitals. Lastly, the team will evaluate the ease of use for
each device and address possible technical issues.

Task 5: Analyze data and prepare a final recommendation report.

After going through all the data gathered, the team will write a recommendation report
for the possible use of Vocera Communication devices. This data will consist of the trial runs
throughout different hospitals in the area with the devices, opinions from scholarly authors about
the Vocera Communications and lastly finalizing how Vocera Communications solves the many
communication problems within hospitals today and how the device will provide a solution to
the issues.

Schedule

Tasks Date of Tasks (by Week)

Task 1: Acquire Intel

Task 2: Prioritize
Issues

Task 3: Assess Devices

Task 4: Establish
Criteria

Task 5: Analyze Data

Weekly Dates 3/26 4/2 4/9 4/16 4/23 4/30 5/7 5/14

Experience

Juana Castro, Certified Pharmacy Technician and prospective nursing student, have worked as a
pharmacy technician for the past twenty years. I have an degree in business administration and
have founded and help run a family owned business for the past ten years.

Paige Murphy, Certified Nursing Assistant, prospective communications and marketing student.

Nathan Rike, Hospice Volunteer, prospective nursing student.

The team is comprised of students interested in the medical field. Juana and Nathan are
prospective nursing students while Paige switched from nursing to communications and
marketing. The combined abilities and passion for helping people will ensure the success of this
collaborative project. The team looks forward to a successful resolution the proposed problem of
intra hospital communication issues.
 Works Cited

“Smartphones and Wearable Devices.” ​Vocera​, 19 Mar. 2018,

www.vocera.com/products/wearables-devices

“How to Improve Hospital Communciation.” ​HIPAA Journal​, 2014,

www.hipaajournal.com/improve-hospital-communication/​.

“Clinical Communication Software.” ​Vocera​, 19 Mar. 2018,

www.vocera.com/products/secure-texting-collaboration​.