Voice Recording Technology Improves Patient Handoff Process

When nurses arrive to start their shifts, they can access the reports from the previous shift the same way nurses record them. Using any phone in the health system, the nurse dials in with an individual access code and uses his or her patients' medical record number in order to listen to the reports.

"To receive reports on five or six patients should take about 15-20 minutes of shift report time," says Mikos.

Now, with extra time, the nurse can find the previous shift nurse to clear up any unanswered questions and visit his or her patients for brief assessments and introductions.

"Here at Ingalls, we believe there is a need for face-to-face, or bedside rounding," says Mikos. "After the nurses [listen to the] handoff report, they should immediately go out to their patients, introduce themselves, and have a brief discussion on how the previous shift went."

Advantages for the entire hospital
OptiVox received a positive reaction from patients, nurses, and the management team, says Mikos.

For the nurses, there are features in OptiVox that help make recording and listening to the reports easier and more convenient than listening to a normal tape recording.

The program gives the nurses the option to slow down or speed up a recording if the nurse who recorded the report is a fast or slow talker.

In addition, OptiVox provides the capability for nurses to go back to where they left off if they were interrupted while recording any reports.

The program also allows managers and nurse leaders to leave a broadcast message there for all staff members to hear.

"Typically, if there is something of importance that I need to get out, I can have that message presented for as many shifts and days as I believe necessary to penetrate my staff," says Mikos.

OptiVox is also beneficial to the nursing students that come through the Ingalls health system, says Mikos. The program allows the students to listen to reports and helps them become more acclimated to real-life situations, says Mikos.

Another benefit of this technology is that the records can be kept for any length of time, depending on how long the organization wants.

"We hold on to the records for two weeks," says Mikos.