Mackenzie Health is launching the Phase Two of its Innovation Unit initiative, which will put a great emphasis on the use of modern mobile technologies.

The Innovation Unit is actually a wing of Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital where Mackenzie Health tests new innovations and technology in a live environment with real doctors, nurses and patients. The goal is to create a smart hospital environment where everyone can quickly see where staff are within the Unit, anticipate and respond to patient needs, and route information to the care providers that need it in a quick and efficient way.

The Innovation Unit is a wing of Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital where Mackenzie Health tests new innovations and technology in a live environment with real doctors, nurses and patients.Phase One of the project involved the installation of smart beds and sensors so data and alerts can be generated to facilitate patient care and track compliance on items such as hand hygiene. Phase Two consolidates all of the notifications and alerts from these sensors into an application from ThoughtWire that will push the notifications over a Cisco wireless network to nurses on their BlackBerry 10 smartphones.

The ThoughtWire solution ensures that the alert is going to the right care provider, eliminating the so called “alert fatigue” along the way. For instance, if a patient in room 101 is calling for assistance, the request is routed to the nurse overseeing their care and not to all other nurses.

Intelligent alerts enable nurses to focus on their patients and only respond to the alerts that are relevant to them. This allows them to spend more time at patients’ bedsides and ultimately provides a better patient experience.

Beyond BlackBerry 10 smartphones, the Canadian company will also be deploying its BES12 secure platform to Mackenzie Health. BES12 complies with the strict privacy and confidentiality regulations all healthcare organizations must comply with, “without sacrificing the productivity of the staff.”