18 Statistics That Will Make Healthcare Ditch Pagers

What do VHS players and Tamagotchis have in common with the pager? It’s simple, they’re old pieces of technology that were popular in the ‘90s. And you may even be wondering, do they still sell pagers? Which is a valid question, but alas, they do and we feel it must be said…It’s no longer the “Saved by the Bell” years and doctors need to get with the times by ditching their hammer pants, fanny packs, and pagers! By saying goodbye to the old pagers, doctors can adopt a more secure, clinical communications solution that’s equipped to handle all 21st century hospital demands.

Here are 18 stats that showcase pager inefficiencies and the rising use of smartphone-based apps in healthcare.

Key Takeaways (TL;DR)

We discuss the numerous inefficiencies of pagers including an aging infrastructure, missed pages, limited coverage, and lack of encryption.
Healthcare is the second most targeted industry for cyberattacks, and pagers are no help, as they lack security and are an easy target for cybercrime.
This has led to a significant portion of doctors being ‘extremely concerned’ about future breaches and the potential loss of sensitive patient data.
However, now there is a growing trend to adopt smartphones for clinical communication and collaboration enabling teams to securely collaboration without worrying about compromised data.
Ultimately, transitioning from pagers to clinical communication and collaboration applications can lead to substantial cost-savings and improved workflows.

Flawed, Insecure Pagers and Anxious Doctors

Just like a medieval castle and its troop of defenders, healthcare facilities also need to be constantly aware of incoming threats from malicious parties. Constant patrolling is needed as healthcare is the second most targeted industry of cybersecurity attacks—yikes. Worse yet, PHI data accounted for 54 percent of claims that exposed important medical records.

Also, Healthcare IT News reports that SamSam hacking groups believe that healthcare organizations are easier to attack and breach. That’s because healthcare facilities continue to rely on unprotected pagers and they don’t take all the necessary steps to protect medical records. As a result, 24 percent of all SamSam attacks in 2018 were targeted at the healthcare industry.

The fact of the matter is that pagers are synonymous with two words: obsolete and uncool. According to a recent Emory University study:

Pagers have an aging infrastructure
97 percent of users missed more pages on pagers than on mobile devices
Paging systems lack coverage outside of hospital grounds
Pagers lack encryption and remote wipe capabilities

Given these findings, it’s no wonder that doctors fear that their facilities will be targeted next. Based on an AMA study, more than half or 55 percent of physicians surveyed are “extremely concerned” about future breaches. Additionally, the study states that 74 percent of doctors are worried that a future attack will compromise patient records.

The truth is that pagers aren’t secure and they don’t safeguard PHI, which results in:

Data breaches that cost $3.86 million
HIPAA fines ranging from $100 to $50,000 per violation

This raises the question: why would any healthcare organization, doctor or medical pro want to live with this constant anxiety over security and wasteful costs?

Significant Investments are Being Made

Fortunately, doctors are starting to ease their anxiety by adopting and using the right technology! According to a recent report, 90 percent of hospitals surveyed have made or are making investments in smartphone-based communications. Also, the report states that 73 percent of hospitals surveyed have developed mobile strategies to meet departmental communication requirements. This is a huge step forward from 2017, where only 26.6 percent of surveyed hospitals were using secure messaging apps.

At this point, you’re probably wondering why there’s such a rapid adoption of smartphone communications. Well, alongside pager inefficiencies, the answer lies in the hefty and inefficient costs associated with antiquated paging systems.

Using a paging system costs $179,000 per year to adopt, use and maintain. This is a lot of money wasted on a communication tool that’s susceptible and vulnerable to breaches. In addition, communication inefficiencies from the use of old pagers reach $557,000 per year – per hospital. Plus, as stated earlier, pagers are still sold, but that doesn’t mean any investments are being made in their upkeep. Paging towers have been on the decline in both numbers and performance, meaning that the reliability of pagers will diminish. Looking forward, we suspect that pagers will be obsolete without so much as a “beep” left to remember them. In contrast, a secure clinical communications app is much more affordable and worth the adoption. Besides, who likes an expensive headache?

When looking at care teams, it’s reported that 70 percent of them enjoy using their smartphones for pages, proving that organizations are taking the right steps by propagating the use of pager replacement options. Good call, hospitals!

Enter the 21st Century with OnPage

OnPage helps doctors trade-in their ‘90s fanny packs for today’s designer bags … or, pagers for a robust, clinical communications solution. With OnPage’s pager replacement platform, healthcare facilities can benefit from:

Secure and encrypted HIPAA messaging
A sign-on process
Remote wipe capabilities if a phone is acquired by malicious parties
High and low-priority pages
Extended coverage and range for pages—regardless of location
Escalation policies
Contextual attachments to all alerts and messages

OnPage is an industry-trusted pager solution, ensuring that patient information and important medical pages are always protected. At its core, OnPage is a clinical communications platform that reduces medical errors and fosters collaboration.

Want to adopt a more secure clinical communications option? Contact us now or reach our sales department directly at [email protected].

FAQs

Do they still sell pagers?

While pagers are still sold, it is a dying infrastructure that has resulted in the decline of the legacy technology’s reliability. As less and less people use pagers the maintenance and upkeep has become parse and costly.

Are pagers HIPAA compliant?

No, pagers are not inherently HIPAA compliant. Considering that they can easily be hacked and are not encrypted, to follow HIPAA, care teams may only deliver short messages with limited information. Clinical communication and collaboration solutions, like OnPage, are a great alternative that offer HIPAA compliancy and enable the delivery of contextual message exchanges between care team members.

How can I replace my hospital paging system?

Healthcare teams can replace their hospital paging system with a clinical communication and collaboration application, like OnPage, that enables teams to securely communicate via their mobile devices on patient cases.