Text Messaging and Nursing

At my last employer, they started to use a system called 'Cell Track'. This new system consisted of specialized cell phones and blackberry's with only certain features. We all received a 2 hour training session. The new phones were supposed to allow us, the following:

• to have access to our up to date schedule of clients for the day


• to text message with the Central East Community Care Access Center (CECCAC) and Paramed


• to have GPS for direction

When we started to use the systems, all of the systems failed. The text messaging did not work mainly because of the rural community that I live in. I live in City of Kawartha Lakes. In this area, there is a lot of valleys and hills, which does not allow accurate or proper signalling. I believe that this system would be most beneficial in a urban community, where there are more towers to bounce the signal off. The benefits of text messaging in a business, like Paramed, is that you can receive up-to-date and accurate information about the patients you are seeing and to also have access to the physicians at a touch of a button. Having this system in place, does allow the nurse to give appropriate care to the patients she sees. From the CECCAC's stand point, they believed having the text messaging option, would cut down on the number of missed visits because of human error.

The Paramed in Oshawa has been using the text messaging for the past two years, with out difficulties. The CECCAC has noticed a decline in the number of missed visits. The nurses in the Durham region use the text messaging multiple times of the day. Everytime a new patient is added to the current schedule for that nurse, she is able to pull up the text message that has that patients information. This is a benefit because then the nurse is not going into the home 'blind'. This way she is able to use her time more effectively, where she would have spent time looking through the patients chart, trying to find out what she is to be accomplishing. Therefore, I believe that text message does benefit certain companies in certain settings.