Best practice in battery handling

Many professional work tools are today battery powered. On the one hand the battery is considered a low-tech component that should just work. On the other hand, a battery is a complex electro-chemical component which is part of a product/system and is not allowed to fail under any circumstances if the tool supports a mission critical process.

Expected lifetime of a battery
Most chargeable batteries, no matter the manufacturer, are designed for a lifetime of 400 full charging cycles. A full charging cycle is defined as starting from a fully charged battery, discharge to an empty battery, and then recharge to 100% again. If a battery is only half-empty when charging the battery, it counts as half a charging cycle.

Benefits of using original battery and charger for your products
A product is developed and designed to be used together with a battery and a charger from the same manufacturer. The handset, its battery and the corresponding charger are considered to be one system from power supply perspective. Replacing one part of this system (i.e., the charger or the battery) will break the dependencies in the system.

Using a third-party charger may risk charging the battery with too high a current, which will stress the battery and shorten its lifetime. Using a third-party battery in the product may be a security risk if the battery is not designed and produced properly.
It is possible to find third-party batteries on the market with a higher capacity than the original battery, but it may be at a cost of reduced quality performance or a higher risk of over-heated batteries.  To take greater care of your product, always use batteries from the original manufacturer of the product.

Battery fleet management for professional customers
Professional users have higher demands for a functioning handset compared to private users. For example, when taking a phone from a charger when starting the work day, the user expects the work tool to be usable throughout the work day, every day. For a heavily used handset, the battery needs to be replaced every 6 months, which makes it necessary to have a workflow for replacing the battery efficiently. The most cost-efficient method for all professional users is to regularly replace all batteries simultaneously on site. The frequency of replacement is based on the usage pattern of the product.
Many products for professional use come with user-replaceable battery, which makes it possible to easily use the handset 24/7, and charge the battery in a separate battery pack charger. For a heavily used handset, it is recommended to purchase one spare battery for each handset to always have a fully charged battery at hand. Office users need 10-60% additional batteries to cover their need for a fully charged battery.  ICT (Information and Communication Technology) providers also usually offer services to take care of the investment a professional customer has made. Preventive maintenance once a year, a service desk to call to fix problems and repair services for products are normally the basic level required to keep an investment in top shape. Some providers also regularly replace and properly recycle the complete set of batteries as part of their service offering.

Tip - Keeping a few extra fully-charged batteries in each ward or office facility is a low price to pay, compared to the impact of a non-functioning tool which disturbs mission critical processes.

Batteries in repair flow
Between 5 and 15 per cent of all products sent in for repair are found to be fully functioning after screening. Some of these products will only need a new battery to work flawlessly again.
By keeping a few spare batteries on site it is easy to detect the problem before it is sent in for repair, and the customer avoids downtime and costs.

Ascom’s battery-powered products and corresponding services
Ascom is a Healthcare ICT provider, designing high quality products primarily for the Healthcare market. The products are designed to work flawlessly in situations where a faulty product may result in critical failure in the patient care process. Ascom provides services to keep products working in all situations, and can also assist in setting up workflows to support the primary customer processes in the most efficient way.

Ascom has over 50 years of experience designing battery-powered products for professional users in mission critical environments such as hospitals, prisons, industry and retail. We have assembled a knowledge base over the years to provide the services required for efficient battery fleet management for our customers.

Wyndham clinic private hospital receive their first Ascom Myco

Within today’s healthcare market when we use the word “mobility”, we are referring to the countless wireless technologies that enable us to communicate, locate and receive information while moving throughout the facility.

As mobile technologies support smarter access to information, to both seek data and receive alarms/alerts, healthcare professionals can access information from wherever they are, instead of going to the source of the information. So rather than spending their time chasing information, and trying to monitor lots of static information points i.e. screens at the nurse’s station and annunciator panels, by using assisted technologies carers can invest their time with the patient at the point-of-care where it is maximised.

Understanding the benefits that assisted technologies can bring to the healthcare environment, Wyndham clinic private hospital have requested Ascom Myco to trial within their facility. The Ascom Myco is a truly “purpose-built Smart device” designed with focus on caregivers.

The Myco is designed to be worn clipped to scrubs, in pockets, or on the waist. The top-display is specifically integrated into Myco to help caregivers to view the type, severity and location of alarm without having to even touch the phone, to unlock it and then look at the screen. With features such as the patient-centric user interface which sits on-top of the standard Android interface, assists the nurse by only showing the filtered critical alarms and alerts for their area of responsibility – in a bed or patient status mode.

If you wish to find out more about the Ascom Myco contact 02 9698 9000 or www.ascommyco.com

Ascom announces Blue Force as primary service partner for Western Australia

SYDNEY, Australia, October, 2015 – Ascom is delighted to announce the appointment of Blue Force as our primary service partner for Western Australia (WA).

Blue Force is a significant player in the security integration market in WA with an established track record in the Government and Healthcare sectors. With over 40 WA-based staff, a dedicated and experienced management team, and considerable Ascom technical expertise, Blue Force is the perfect partner for Ascom in WA.

Blue Force is responsible for taking the entire Ascom solutions portfolio to market in WA, including Ascom’s Nursecall, Mobility and Applications product suites.

“We are extremely excited to work with Dale and his team at Blue Force,” says Ascom Managing Director Leo Silver. “With their vision, dedication and focus, we expect to significantly grow Ascom’s market share in WA“.

Commenting on the announcement, Blue Force Managing Director Dale Lofts says: “Our partnership with Ascom will provide us with the opportunity to bring world-class systems and services into WA. This, combined with our local support will be the key to the future development of our company and grow our mutual business opportunities”.

For more information visit www.ascom.com/ws or contact:
Adam Jaffe, Marketing Communications Manager, Ascom Integrated Wireless
Phone: +61 411 830 568
Email: adam.jaffe@ascom.com

Macquarie Telecom: Securing the Future of Aged Care Roadshow Recap

Last week, Ascom was invited to be part of a round table discussion on Securing the Future of Aged Care in Brisbane, Perth, Sydney & Melbourne.  

The conference featured industry experts Bruce Bailey - Partner / Director at RSM Bird Cameron and our very own Feargal O’Farrell – Sales and Marketing Director at Ascom Integrated Wireless.

With the impact of the ageing Australian population and the growing need for residential care, it will contribute to significant growth and change within the industry.

Key topics were discussed:

•            The Factors influencing aged care financial performance

•            Cost vs Benefit for assistive technologies

•            How to reduce your TCO for telecommunications.

We would like to thank Macquarie Telecom for inviting us to be part of this great discussion.

Addressing workplace safety challenges with Mobile duress

The purpose of a mobile duress solution is to safeguard individuals from personal harm, by enabling the worker with the ability to send out an instant alert to relevant personnel.  These instances may occur when the member of staff considers themselves in danger, needs instant assistance, or a broader emergency event is looming.

Many health services across the state deal with hostile patients who require special care and recognise at times some patients present with behaviour that may be very challenging and bring risk to staff. There is no industry immune to an emergency situation occurring, a duress system can be assumed as a critical component of any security system.

Ascom believe EGIS wide area duress solution will help further protect employees

Key features include:

• Comprehensive GPS (tracking) & 3G (cellular) true lone worker device
• Tough robust construction        

• 2 battery models (24 hr and 72 Hr)

• Can send SMS, voice and can be interfaced with tracking server system

      To learn more contact us today on +61 02 9698 9000 

Technology transforming the way we work

The role of a nurse is forever changing as caring for the sick is becoming more complicated. Recent studies have outlined that clinicians spend a lot of their time looking for information, instead of spending time at the patient’s bedside.

`

It is clear that some tools are unquestionably having an impact on improving the way we work. Within a hospital environment these technological developments can help aide our clinicians to be more mobile and retrieve information on the go, rather them looking for the information.

A topical example is the barcode technology that can be used as patient identification, drug identification and medical management. Barcode based systems can help improve the accuracy of records, management of medication and availability of reliable information at the point of care. Which in turn can minimise errors and enhances the overall safety of care.

While technology cannot replace clinical skills and decision making, some innovations like the barcode technology can help make healthcare safer and simpler. 

Nurse Call solution enabling proficient workflows enters the Australian market

Last week, Ascom officially released its North American product, the Ascom Telligence Nurse Call system in Australia and New Zealand.

Ascom believes that Nurse Call systems in today’s healthcare environment needs to be able to deliver communication solutions that are cost-effective, superiority patient care and process efficient.

The unique platform seamlessly integrates with a variety of healthcare applications including medical equipment and real time location systems for optimal caregiver workflows.  

Telligence empowers clinicians with the right tools to bring the right information to the right staff at the right time. 

For more information on Ascom Telligence Nurse Call system please call 02-9698 9000 or email au-marketing@ascom.com

Ascom & Schneider Electrics Proud Sponsor of Australian HealthCare Week 2015

Ascom & Schneider Electrics partnered together to sponsor the coffee cart stand at the Australian Healthcare Week. The event was held at the Australian Technology Park in Sydney on 23rd -25th of March.

With more than 500 delegates that work with the design, development, technology provision, patient experience and project management of Australian health facilities projects allowed for some great conversations and the chance to learn from industry experts and further discuss with key individuals their experiences of particular projects and upcoming deployments. 

Furthermore it allowed Ascom the opportunity to showcase the newly launched smartphone that was designed around the needs of the nurses, the Ascom Myco. Feedback on the device was enormously positive, exemplifying that our R&D team has hit the mark on the design and functionality of the device.

All in all it was a great couple of days, and a fantastic chance to engage and talk to experts in the industry.

Ascom visits St Stephen's Hospital

Last month Ascom joined a group of health professionals for an official site tour at Australia's first fully integrated digital hospital (St Stephens Hospital), located in Hervey Bay, Queensland. The event was organised by Health Informatics Society Australia (HISA). 

As part of the tour, Ascom's Sales & Marketing Director - Feargal O'Farrell was asked to present to the group as Ascom were responsible for the deployment of the Workstation on Wheels (WoW) solution, which provides a fully integrated, fully mobile nursing station. 

The Advantech AMiS-50 workstation on wheels solution features: 

• Integrated Medprox medication dispensing cabinets, to help enhance critical clinical systems such as bedside documentation and beside medication administration.
• Neat cable routing to avoid snagging and for easy cleaning and management
• Fanless operation for improved infection control
• Larger wheels for easy movement on all floor types
• Industrial grade battery for longer computer run time & to last throughout a shift 

Ascom would like to thank HISA & St Stephens hospital for having us, the event was very successful. 

If you wish to find out more about Ascom and our solutions please call 02-9698-9000 or email au-marketing@ascom.com

Annual Sales Meeting

The Ascom sales team gathered in Melbourne last week for our Annual Sales Conference. 

A lot was achieved over the two days, the major topics discussed:

• The successful launch of Ascom's latest innovation, a smartphone designed around clinicians, the Ascom Myco.
• Ascom's complete product portfolio 
• The Unite offering, Unite Connect, Core and Axess
• Nurse Call Market Update

As well as business reviews and planning for the year, participants enjoyed guest speakers Joakim Heino from Ekahau and Dan Ehrhardt from Ascom US presenting on our Unite application suite.

We also recognised our outstanding achievers for 2014, with Ian McLachlan winning Sales Executive of the Year and runners up Andrew Weiss.

Thank you for all who participated and we look forward to a great year ahead!

Ascom's Recap of 2014

Welcome back from your holidays and we hope you had a great well deserved break. Ascom would like to thank everyone for making our 2014 such a success!

Some of our highlights from 2014 include:

• The launch of a new smartphone designed for Nurses, the Ascom Myco. Ascom Myco was officially launched in October and followed on with 3 exciting product launch events in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney. We have already received great feedback on the device, click here to see article recapping the event
• The completion of a wireless communications platform for Port Macquarie Base Hospital (NSW), as part of their recent building expansion project. 
• The successful deployment of an all-in-one integration of mission critical communications at Wyndham Private Clinic in Melbourne
• Roll out of Workstations on Wheels (WoW) to provide an integrated innovative hospital at St Stephens Hospital in Brisbane

If you want to learn more about Ascom please contact us on au-marketing@ascom.com to join our Solution set Webinar on 10th of the February

Thanks again for your support in 2014 and we look forward to the year ahead!

Ascom launches its latest innovation - Myco

• MYCO Launch Event - Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney
• Guest speakers from GE Health Care & Health Informatics Society of Australia (HISA) 
• Purpose Built Smartphone for Clinician and Nurses • Help to deal with the threat of “alarm fatigue” 
• Key features: Touch screen, 3G and Wi-Fi, Top display, long-lasting swappable battery and a robust design

Ascom Australia launched its latest innovation, Myco - a purpose built smartphone designed around clinician and nurses. The launch event was hosted in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney on 10th-12th of November.

Feargal O’Farrell, Sales and Marketing Director of Ascom, unveiled the key features of Myco and outlined the importance of the dedicated Nurse User Interface. “Our User Experience team have spent a lot of time workshopping with nurses and caregivers to understand what is required to build a user interface that helps nurse’s process alarms and information better”. “Through a single sideways swipe can exit the Nurse User Interface and access the standard Android screen and the other installed applications, and with another swipe can revert back to the Nurse User Interface. The Nurse User Interface addresses the core issues of building a safer environment of patients with better alarm handling.”

An overview of some of Myco key features:

• Top Display for "At a Glance" notifications 
• Barcode scanner
• Carrying clip 
• Durability
• Long-lasting swappable battery 
• Prioritised mission-critical Apps. 
• Patient-centric user experience.
• Fully centralised management.
• Compact, lightweight, and highly ergonomical design

The session programme comprised of not only discussions from Ascom, but also presentations from Paul Merrett - GE Healthcare, describing Simplified Patient Alarm Management and Greg Moran from Health Informatics society Australia (HISA) presenting on HISA, strategic priorities and on e-health -observations of current market trends.

Ascom are proud to finally release Myco to the world of healthcare, and welcomed active discussions around the device - overall positive feedback was received.

For more information on Myco visit www.ascommyco.com or further articles from the launch event from Australian Ageing Agenda & IT Pulse. 

Ascom Myco Update

On October the 1^st, Ascom announced the release of our new Smartphone the Ascom Myco – “My companion”.

We’re really excited about Myco, it’s a smartphone designed for nurses & clinicians. Myco has all the standard features of a smartphone, such as a touch screen, 3G and Wi-Fi, but in addition it has a robust design for withstanding knocks and drops, and also moisture and dust for maintaining hygiene.

Additional features include, a top display that can show scrolling messages and a coloured LED to show the priority of the message. A Barcode reader enables patient and medicine identification for improved safety using current and coming technologies.

We focused on three important areas: to reduce alarm fatigue, mobilise the information to the point of care and improve clinical workflows. 

The official launch event of the Ascom Myco will be held at the below states: 

• Melbourne November 10th
• Brisbane November 11th
• Sydney November 12th

There will be live demonstrations, exciting guest speakers and a great chance to meet the team and find more on what we have installed for MYCO.

Enquire now to see if there are still spots available to attend

Ascom Launches a New Solution for Integrated Workflow Intelligence in Healthcare – the Ascom Myco Smartphone

On the 1st of October, Ascom released a new purpose-built smartphone for healthcare. The Ascom Myco, specifically designed for nurses and clinicians.

Together with Ascom Unite middle-ware, nurse call systems and 3rd party apps, Ascom Myco is an important influence when solving the equation of managing with limited resources and high demands on quality of care.

See full press release for further information or visit www.ascommyco.com

Ascom Solution Set Webinar

Last month Ascom conducted a Solution Set Webinar, focusing on some of our key products and solutions.  People joined in all across Australia, from a range of various companies all with an involvement in healthcare (please note Ascom also provides to several different industries including Aged Care, Corrective & Prisons, and Industrial industries, Retail, Education, Rail and Hotel).

Feargal O’Farrell our Sales & Marketing Director, presented a detailed overview of some of Ascom’s most significant solutions. These included:

• Mobile Duress
• Critical Messaging
• Call Systems
• Patient & Asset Tracking
• Clinical Computing

Starting off with a brief background into Ascom and the benefits involved, we then moved on to the importance of alarms, the different types of alarms and also critical messaging through Duress systems, Nursecall systems, and Patient Monitoring.

The different types of patient and asset tracking devices were discussed, along with RTLS. Clinical computing concluded the presentation discussing the Amis-50 cart and our smartphone app Unite Axess.

There was a great response to the webinar, those who attended left with a strong understanding of Ascom’s range of solutions and were only eager to find out more.

For this reason we will be holding another webinar on the 30^th of October, that will include further information related to our new product release the Ascom Myco smartphone.Please email au-marketing@ascom.com if you are interested in attending.

Ascom releases major software upgrade for DURAsuite

Ascom has released a major upgrade of its DURAsuite application that is specifically designed to manage critical messages and alarms. 

The release of DURAsuite 5 further safeguards the security and wellbeing of staff and patients for a complete High Availability (HA) architecture with automatic IP failover and complete data replication. These enhancements provide a complete redundant solution with minimal downtime and near zero data loss.

Click here to read the full Press Release 

Aged and Community Services Australia Conference 2014

Ascom recently attended the 2014 Aged and Community Services Australia National Conference (ASCA) in Adelaide.

The theme this year was based on ‘Coming of Age, Redefining Ageing’. ACSA designed the conference to redefine the experience of aging in our communities as the sector has swiftly matured and is ready to create a new image/pathway for Aged Care.

Delegates met to network with associates old and new and to learn how providers of residential and community services are adapting to change and will help in redefining ageing. Along with presentations and talks from some of the most valued in the industry, businesses had the chance to present their own products in the exhibition.

Ascom exhibited and showcased core products as well as practical demonstrations of Nursecall & Messaging illustrating how to prioritize messages & alarms to enable better workflow for the users with ability to display these message’s on Ascom i62’s and Smartphone with the Unite Axess application. Overall it was a great 3 days & Ascom received some really good feedback and interesting discussions.

If you wish to learn about Ascom product's visit www.ascom.com.au or email au- sales@ascom.com 

Health Facilities Design & Development Victoria Conference

Ascom partnering with Schneider Electric exhibited and sponsored the coffee cart stand at the Health Facilities Design & Development Victoria Conference, to help fuel the delegates over the two days at the Bayview Hotel in Melbourne.

However it wasn’t all about the great coffee, the conference highlighted cutting edge insights from experts that shared their tails and tribulation. The purpose of the conference was to inform and demonstrate to health facilities the changing needs of the local health demographic. Specialists from a variety of businesses worked together to create tactics to successfully achieve the core objective. Projects that where showcased to mention a few was VCCC, Monash Children’s, Bendigo Hospital and The New Midland.

It was great opportunity for healthcare professionals, construction specialists, contractors, and architects to join in the one room and collaborate together, whilst listening to high quality presentations. All delegates left the conference feeling more familiar about strategies required to ensure successful development and completion of their upcoming projects. 

HICS 2014

Last week Ascom attended Australia's Health Informatics Conference, at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (11-14^th of August), held by the Health Informatics Society of Australia (HISA).

HIC is Australia’s premier digital health, e-health and health informatics conference centered around investing in e-health, improving the climate for investment and innovation in e-health and strategic opportunities.

The conference bought together stakeholders from various roles of healthcare so they could assist and collaborate on each other’s health informatics projects. The programme was jam-packed with several workshops, informatics events, networking opportunities, and Australia’s largest e-health expo.

Joining together with our partner Advantech Australia in a shared stand was the perfect opportunity to present our range of products that can support the health industry. Some of the solutions on display was Advantech AMiS-50 Workstation-on-Wheels (WoW), Pocket Pad (an industry grade tablet). Ascom Nursecall and Mobility products (I62, Unite Axess).

In all aspects HIC 14 was a fantastic conference. Delegates enjoyed their time, we made use of the opportunity to talk and demonstrate how our solutions can improve workflows and increase productivity in the workforce and the response we received was nothing but encouraging.

PRESS RELEASE: ASCOM AND UNITINGCARE HEALTH ENABLE MOBILE POINT-OF-CARE

UnitingCare Health, one of the largest providers of health and community services in Australia, announces successful signing with Ascom for the provision of a Workstation on Wheels (WoW) solution for St Stephens Hospital in Queensland. 
The roll-out of the Workstation on Wheels (WoW) solution aims to provide a fully integrated nursing station that optimises the patient care process by enabling mobile point-of-care. Click here to read full article. 

AMIS-50

Want to learn more about how Ascom's mobility offerings along with solutions such as AMiS-50 can improve your hospital contact us
au-marketing@ascom.com or 03 9677 8907