Hospital work coordination and collaboration often requires mobility for acquiring proper information and resources. In turn, the spatial distribution and the mobility of clinicians can curtail the opportunities for effective communications making collaboration difficult. In this situation, a mobile hands-free voice communication system, Vocera, was introduced to enhance communication. It supports quick and impromptu conversations among coworkers for work coordination and collaboration anytime and anywhere. We study this deployment and present our findings concerning the impact of this communication system on the information flow. Our information flow framework's communication strategies help contrast the information processes before and after the deployment of Vocera. Author Keywords Mobile, voice communication, Vocera, information flow, healthcare, observational study, communication strategy. ACM Classification Keywords H.m. Information Systems: Miscellaneous.
Charlotte Tang, M. Sheelagh T. Carpendale