Aug 25 2010
About one in every three American physicians has an iPhone. Now, for the first time, they can download an iPhone application that allows them to contact colleagues, change their call schedules and protect caller ID on patient calls.
“But PerfectServe also benefits hospitals. Better clinical communications helps everyone—physicians, clinicians and nurses—be more efficient in coordinating care for patients.”
The new application, PerfectServe Clinician, is available at no charge to doctors whose hospitals or private practices use the latest version of PerfectServe, the leading physician-based, workflow-driven solution for clinical communications. The iPhone application gives doctors another way—in addition to voice and Web interfaces—to access PerfectServe's network platform. (To view a demo, see "How to Use the PerfectServe Clinician iPhone App.")
Nearly 14,000 physicians already use PerfectServe to customize their entire call management process according to their practice workflow and individual contact preferences.
With PerfectServe Clinician, doctors can use their iPhones to:
- Contact colleagues directly without needing phone lists, directories or call schedules—it's like having the medical staff or group practice in the palm of their hands.
- Call patients with their privacy protected, since only the physicians' office IDs will appear on caller ID.
- Change on-call schedules that will go into effect immediately.
- Change how they want to be reached and how they want their calls routed based on a specific situation (e.g., when in surgery).
- Reach a personal assistant—knowledgeable Help Center representatives are available 24/7 to modify contact processes, update call schedules or answer questions.
- View a history of inbound and outbound calls, voice and text messages and pages.
"Doctors appreciate the convenience and speed of having PerfectServe on their iPhones," said Terry Edwards, chief executive officer of PerfectServe. "But PerfectServe also benefits hospitals. Better clinical communications helps everyone—physicians, clinicians and nurses—be more efficient in coordinating care for patients."
The PerfectServe system links hospitals and practices in 138 markets across the U.S. It facilitates fast, accurate and reliable communications because workflow rules, call schedules and contact preferences for every physician are built into the system. PerfectServe provides hospitals with a single network platform and directory to connect every medical staff member with easy access via voice, Web and mobile interfaces. This solution addresses a long neglected problem—the communication breakdowns that often occur when clinicians need to connect with on-call physicians. (For more on this topic, see "Connecting with Physicians: The Hospital Problem No One Talks About.")