Vocera Communications is collaborating with Amazon to develop a new skill on Alexa that can help make the hospitalization experience more connected, according to MobiHealthNews.
Vocera is a leading platform for medical communications and workflow optimizations. It simplifies and improves the lives of medical professionals and patients, enabling hospitals to enhance the quality of care and operational efficiency.
The new skill on Alexa will be focused on keeping patients and caregivers connected to their medical team. The technology can also help patients to ask questions about their hospital stay.
Just by tapping into an Amazon Echo in their room, patients can speak and request for a clinical care team member. Medical team members will then get the request for care on their Vocera Badge, Smartbade, or Vina app.
Using Vocera Engage software, the new technology will be able to decode phrases and keywords to contact the caregiver for the patient’s request. A caregiver will be able to respond verbally to the patient’s request using an Alexa device.
In the United States, hospitals are facing a nursing shortage, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. And around 500,000 registered nurses are expected to retire by 2022, according to the American Nurse Association.
There is already a great shortage of nurses in hospitals, which has put a lot of pressure on the healthcare system. This new technology could help assist medical providers in their work.
Liron Torres, Head of Product for Smart Properties, Amazon, said, “We believe the intuitive and accessible nature of voice and Alexa has the potential to help and delight customers in many scenarios, in and outside of the home.”
“We’re excited to work with Vocera and extend the voice experiences customers already love to healthcare systems and give care providers new ways to save time and personalize care for their patients,” she added.
Alexa has been used for various healthcare functions. Earlier this month, Amazon revealed its connected home air quality monitor that works with Alexa virtual assistant.
In October, Amazon announced that its Alexa voice assistant would be open for use in senior living communities and health systems, according to MobiHealthNews.
Amazon also launched Alexa Together, a subscription service that allows family members and caregivers to remotely monitor aging families in their homes. It also has new emergency features like hands-free access to an “urgent response emergency helpline.”
Vocera has also been expanding its service in the nation. In 2020, the medical communication company purchased EASE Applications – a patient-messaging technology company.
