In recent years we have seen hospitals equipping themselves with the latest technologies. However, today in many hospitals doctors still use pagers. In fact, 85% of American doctors still use it, according to a report in the Boston Globe.
Why, in the era of smartphones, are “pagers” still so popular among medical professionals? There are good reasons for this.
On the one hand, hospitals can be areas without coverage, and not because of neglect or antiquity. In some areas, walls are built to prevent X-rays from penetrating, but heavy-duty designs also make it difficult for mobile signals to pass through.
Why doctors still use pager
Pagers don’t have that same problem however. Their signals are sent as very high frequency radio signals with a buy phone number list range similar to an FM radio broadcast, and therefore penetrate more easily. Additionally, unlike mobile signals, which only go to the nearest cell tower, pager messages are sent to multiple satellites. This redundancy increases the reliability of the message, because if one tower is “down”, the others are normally working.
It is possible to purchase a mobile phone signal booster to get better reception, but it can cost thousands of pounds, and it is a price that many hospitals are not willing to pay.
On the other hand, the reliability of communications is particularly important during an emergency. During natural disasters, for example, communications can become jammed, making it difficult to use messaging apps like WhatsApp. A pager increases the likelihood that messages will get through.
Another important factor in an emergency
During emergencies, hospital staff may also need to reach hundreds of people at a time. Pagers can easily send a message to hundreds of people at the same time.
The pagers only need to be charged every 1-2 weeks. This means that it is more difficult for them to run out of battery at the worst moment:
But the technical challenges are not the only problems; Mobile phones would also leave more room for security breaches. Pagers only send numeric messages or basic text messages. This way, no confidential information can end up in the Book Your List wrong hands as could happen with a Smartphone.
Of course, pagers have their downsides, such as receiving a message without being able to respond. That’s why some hospitals are moving toward HIPAA-compliant apps for secure messaging.
