Evaluation: Vocera Collaboration Suite Care Coordination Application
February 12, 2020 | Evaluations & Guidance
Preview
- The Vocera Collaboration Suite Mobile Client is an application that can run on Android or iOS devices. In addition, a web portal is available for many other devices, notably a desktop computer. It is primarily used by clinical staff to receive alerts and communicate with each other. Main purposes of the system are to:
- Enable secure texting
- Initiate voice conversations
- When used with either the Vocera Interoperability Engine (formerly Extension Healthcare's Engage middleware) or third-party middleware, VCS can provide ancillary alarm notifications from the point of care—specifically, from the following:
- Physiologic monitoring systems via the Vocera Interoperability Engine (please see our Evaluation of that system, under the Extension Engage name)
- Nurse call systems
- Broadcast staff assist messages to a group at the press of a "panic" button. VCS is written to utilize the custom buttons on Vocera Badge, and Vocera Smartbadge and on Zebra devices.
- The application is a component of Vocera Collaboration Suite, which also includes Vocera Badge and Smartbadge, Vocera Care Experience, Vocera Interoperability Engine (formerly known as Extension Healthcare's Engage middleware), and Vocera Analytics.
- Major components and software features
- Servers or virtual machines. They support active/passive failover clusters. Different servers are required for:
- Vocera Interoperability Engine server—primary interface to external systems
- Aggregates incoming data and messages from external systems
- Creates and transmits outgoing messages based on system logic
- Provides message logs and auditing/reporting tools
- Vocera Messaging server—primary server to route calls
- Matches roles, individual users, and devices they are logged into
- Logs messages sent
- Contains software to conduct analyses of the logs and present reports
- Vocera Voice server—used to support voice recognition and automated verbal messages
- Vocera Interoperability Engine server—primary interface to external systems
- A client application, VCS, on mobile devices to provide a consistent user interface
- Matches phone addresses to staff assigned to a particular role using proprietary software or data imported from other information systems like staff assignment systems
- Provides reporting to track and improve staff response to messages
- Provides interface capabilities to obtain the following data:
- Demographic data via Health Level 7 admit/discharge/transfer (HL7 ADT)
- Bedside alarms from physiologic monitoring systems
- Alerts from other systems. Some may require bridging middleware.
- Although outside the scope of this Evaluation, Vocera also offers...
- Servers or virtual machines. They support active/passive failover clusters. Different servers are required for: