Vocera Report is a Call to Action to Engage Patients Differently in the Future of Caring

Study reveals need for human-centered design in an era of healthcare consumerism

San Jose, CA – August 15, 2018 – Vocera Communications, Inc. (NYSE:VCRA), a recognized leader in clinical communication and workflow solutions, today announced the company’s thought leadership and research collaborative, the Experience Innovation Network, has released the findings of its latest study. The research report, Co-Architecting Healthcare Transformation: How Leading Health Systems Put Patients and Families at the Forefront of Design, examines how healthcare organizations engage patients and their families as leaders in innovation design for the future of caring.

As healthcare enters a new era of consumerism, more hospitals and health systems are embracing principles of human-centered care and partnering in unique ways with patients and families to identify areas for improvement. Though most health systems receive patient feedback in the form of surveys and advisory councils, an elite few engage patients and families as true co-architects and leaders of transformation.

Only one in five research participants reported their health system always includes patients-families as partners in strategic improvement decisions. Budgets may impact these partnerships because 25% of health system respondents reported they have no money allocated to engage patients and families in improvement initiatives. Organizational infrastructure may also influence levels of engagement. Among the patients and family members surveyed for this study, 15% said they have served on a healthcare organization’s board of directors or board committee.

“Patients and families are instrumental in shaping a sustainable future for health systems to thrive in an increasingly competitive environment,” said Liz Boehm, research director for Vocera. “These important stakeholders must be deeply engaged as co-architects to shape all aspects of care redesign because they bring a unique and valuable perspective on what is needed to transform and accelerate healthcare to the next level.”

The Vocera research reveals many variations in how clinics, hospitals and health systems integrate patient and family voice, influence and advocacy into transformation efforts. More than 150 health system leaders, patients and family members in the U.S. and Canada participated in a survey or in-depth interview, sharing their experiences with advisory councils and other engagement programs. Boehm will outline key findings from the study during a complimentary webinar from 1-2 p.m. ET on Thursday, Aug. 16. She will be joined by experience leaders and patient partners from Providence Health, who are working together to push the envelope to make lasting change. 

“Many health systems often bring patients and families into the transformation process too late or simply to ‘check the box’ on patient engagement,” said Bridget Duffy, MD, chief medical officer of Vocera. “To build a humanized health system of the future, industry leaders need to flip the traditional process on its head, and engage patients and families as partners to co-lead all innovation design. This report is a call to action to engage patients more effectively in that process.”

About Vocera
The mission of Vocera Communications, Inc. is to simplify and improve the lives of healthcare professionals and patients, while enabling hospitals to enhance quality of care and operational efficiency. In 2000, when the company was founded, we began to forever change the way care teams communicate. Today, Vocera continues to offer the leading platform for clinical communication and workflow. More than 1,700 facilities worldwide, including nearly 1,500 hospitals and healthcare facilities, have selected our solutions for team members to text securely using smartphones or make calls with our hands-free, wearable Vocera Badge. Interoperability between Vocera and more than 140 clinical and operational systems helps reduce alarm fatigue, speed up staff response times, and improve patient care, safety and experience. In addition to healthcare, Vocera is at home in luxury hotels, aged care facilities, nuclear facilities, libraries, retail stores and more. Vocera makes a difference in any industry where workers are on the move and need to connect instantly with team members and access resources or information quickly. In 2017, Vocera made the list of Forbes 100 Most Trustworthy Companies in America. Learn more at www.vocera.com, and follow @VoceraComm on Twitter.

Vocera ^® and the Vocera logo are trademarks of Vocera Communications, Inc. registered in the United States and other jurisdictions. All other trademarks appearing in this release are the property of their respective owners.

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Philip Anast
Amendola Communications
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