Quickly notify staff and confirm when messages are received and read.

Our systems notify selected personnel of clinical alarms, using dedicated transmitters and receivers to quickly deliver messages and confirm they are read. High-power transmitters eliminate the dangerous delays, complexity, and dead spots endemic to Wi-Fi and cellular approaches. Small, simple response pagers eliminate the distractions and unreliability of smart phones apps. By using dedicated hardware, our solutions notify responding personnel quickly, correctly, and reliably, reducing risk, reducing alarm fatigue, and improving patient safety.

Why not use smartphones?

Smartphones are susceptable to dropped calls and delayed messages, and they are also vulnerable to network outages during hurricanes, earthquakes, blackouts, and other regional emergencies. Additionally they encourage high levels of user interaction, increasing workflow disruption, distractions, and alarm fatigue.
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Benefits at a Glance

Fast, Confirmed Message Delivery
No Unexpected Message Delays
HIPAA-Compliant AES-128 Encryption
High Reliability and Fault Tolerance
Reduced Alarm Fatigue
Fewer Distractions and Workflow Disruptions

How does a Critical Response System work?

The Critical Response System consists of a centrally-located M4101 system controller and roof-mounted base antenna, providing coverage to an entire hospital complex and up to 20 additional square miles of surrounding area. The M4101 connects directly to nursecall systems, HL7 alarm managers, bedside alarm systems, patient care devices, E-MAIL systems, and other hospital communications systems. With the optional Access Gateway, authenticated users may also connect with a web browser. Users send messages to the system, which instantly relays the messages through the base antenna to individual recipients or groups of recipients. The system then collects responses through the base antenna and relays them back to the sender. Doctors, clinical personnel, and automated systems send messages and receive live responses, and all messaging and response activity is stored for long term analysis

How does a Critical Response System stack up for hospitals?

Small, simple, lightweight user equipment, long battery life, detailed response information, an affordable price tag, ultra-reliable network…a Critical Response System is unmatched when it comes to hospital alerting and critical messaging. Compared to radios, Wi-Fi, 1-way paging, or smartphones, a Critical Response System stands apart as the best overall solution for hospital messaging.

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Frequently asked questions

Q:Why are pagers still used for hospital alerting?

A:There is nothing simpler, faster, and more reliable than a private paging system. A Critical Response System builds on this foundation, improving performance and adding confirmation, reply options, and encryption.

Q:Can’t alerting be handled with cell phones or smart phones?

A:No. Cell phones require a vast external network for reliable operation, which is susceptable to external delays or outright interruptions of service. A private solutions is required for clinical alerting. See more here.

Q:Can’t alerting be handled with WiFi devices?

A:No. Even with hundreds of access points, a mid-sized hospital will still suffer Wi-Fi dead spots. These cause unpredictable delays and delivery problems, even affecting devices in areas of good coverage. This probems make Wi-Fi unsuitable for critical messaging. See more here.

Q:Can’t alerting be handled with our existing private 1-way paging system?

A:A 1-way paging has the speed and reliability for use in clinical alerting, and in fact this has been the defacto technology for this purpose, for years. However, the lack of message confirmation severely limits the usefulness of 1-way paging in larger hospitals with complex patient care systems.

Q:Can a Critical Response Systemserve as an HL7 Alarm Communicator for Patient Care Devices?

A:Yes. A Critical Response Systems sends out messages with the speed and reliability of a private 1-way paging system, but also tracks when the messages are received and read, and how users replies.

Q:Is a Critical Response System narrowband-ready?

A:Yes. Our system is designed from the ground up to operate on narrowband channels. By using GPS-stabilized transmitters, tight receive filters, and advanced DSP and synchronization codes, our systems will actually out-perform wideband systems in terms of coverage and delivery speed. See more about narrowbanding here.

Healthcare Messaging