Ascom's latest offering, Ascom Myco, a smartphone with unique features designed to render nurses' work easier, catches the interest of Belgian hospitals and healthcare institutions. Philippe Bosmans, Sales Manager, Ascom Belgium and Tom Decoo, Senior Account Manager Healthcare, Nextel, a Belgium-based telecoms integrator, explain the benefits of the Ascom Myco and the added value it brings to the hospitals.
The Ascom ecosystem of hospital solutions improves quality and efficiency of care. Ascom Myco is a brand new smartphone in the Ascom portfolio. It comes in two versions: Wi-Fi for use within the confines of a hospital and Wi-Fi/3G enabling calls and data traffic on the public mobile network outside the hospital or as back-up inside the hospital.
"Ascom Myco is a purpose-built smartphone for hospitals that reduces alarm fatigue by filtering alerts in such a way, that nurses only get notified of alarms triggered by their assigned patients. It is irrelevant whether the alarm was prompted by a patient or a monitoring device. The innovative Ascom Myco top display allows reading notifications at a glance and its graphical user interface is patient-centric. Nurses can use the phone functionality to either call the patient to find out what he or she needs or to forward or escalate the alarm. Based on Android open-source OS, Ascom Myco supports the integration of existing hospital apps such as access to patient health records at the bed side. However, nurse applications are prioritized, so that patient alarms always reach the nurse," explains Philippe Bosmans, Ascom.
Furthermore, Ascom Myco is hygienic and can be disinfected. Its clip allows the Ascom Myco to be securely fastened onto care-givers’ coat pockets, and hence permits to be used single-handedly. The battery lasts for an eight hour shift, is easily replaceable and can be charged separately.
Nextel is a Silver Partner of Ascom. As a telecom and datacom integrator they are certified to install and maintain Ascom solutions. In the healthcare space Nextel has a long experience from integrating Ascom Unite, a management platform for mobile devices and alarms, allowing programming and maintenance of all connected mobile devices at once.
"Hospitals are interested in the Ascom Myco because it is the first medical-grade smart device designed for usage by medical staff and based on Android. The healthcare institutions invest in Ascom Myco in order to investigate the possibility of a more efficient alarm handling and improved clinical workflow. Hospitals are particularly interested in the built-in barcode scanner, which is seen as an investment into the future, as it can improve administration of medication," says Tom Decoo, Nextel.
Hospitals are constantly looking for enrichment of their communication means and mobility is a very important demand for them. A lot of hospitals earmark a budget for proof of concept purposes and many of them are looking into replacing their classic DECT-based telephony with a mobile solution based on a Wi-Fi network. In Belgium it is especially the Ascom Myco and Ascom i62 handsets that are being evaluated by the nurses.
"The healthcare market in Belgium is full of expectations and wants to start testing Ascom Myco, several proof of concepts are already approved," concludes Tom Decoo.
About Ascom Wireless Solutions
Ascom Wireless Solutions is a leading provider of innovative communication solutions providing integrated workflow intelligence for hospitals, senior care, and independent living, and other business areas where mission-critical communication is essential. Approximately 100 000 systems are installed globally. The company offers a broad range of voice and professional messaging solutions, creating value for customers by supporting and optimizing their mission-critical communication processes. The solutions are based on Cellular, VoWiFi, IP-DECT, Nurse call and Paging technologies, smartly integrated via Ascom Unite into existing enterprise systems. The company has subsidiaries in 13 countries and 1,200 employees worldwide. Founded in 1955 and based in Göteborg, Sweden, Ascom Wireless Solutions is part of the Ascom Group, listed on the Swiss Stock Exchange (ASCN:SIX).