It’s 1 p.m. on a Wednesday. After waiting patiently, you and your colleague have finally been seated at the restaurant around the corner from your office that everyone’s been raving about. After all, it’s hump day, and the wait will totally be worth it.

But before you've had chance to salivate over the impressive wine list or admire the stylish décor, in strides Mr. Big Shot. He’s like a ramped-up Wall Street stereotype from an 80’s movie – straight out of Trading Places or Weekend at Bernie’s. He’s bellowing into his mobile phone about how improving efficiencies is “a matter of life and death”. And he’s headed straight for the table next to you.

As well as ruining your well-earned fancy lunch, Mr. Big Shot’s also highlighting how business hyperbole has hijacked and desensitized a very real issue faced by other industries; when Mr. Big Shot talks about “life and death”, he really means that inefficiencies are affecting the business’s bottom line. But unless he decides to use his saliva-soaked-smartphone as a lethal projectile against junior employees after lunch, nobody will actually die.

In the aged care sector on the other hand, improving efficiencies isn't just about minimizing costs and maximizing profits. It can mean the difference between somebody surviving, or not surviving a heart attack. This is an industry where efficiency actually can be a case of life and death – and so helping aged care facilities minimize response times and reduce double-up through innovation is a serious business…

IP-based call systems

Unlike the call systems that first appeared in hospitals and aged care facilities in the 1980s, modern aged care call systems use data-crunching internet protocol (IP) technology to advanced functionality. Today’s systems include impressive features like “pattern controllers” and “wandering trackers”, all of which allow care staff and families to keep close tabs on residents.

That same IP technology also allows prioritization of different types of calls to help allocate staff resources, and a routing system that can ensure distress calls go to the nearest career’s mobile device.

Smartphone alarm prioritization

Gone are the days of the hospital ward matron barking orders at quivering nurses – for today’s healthcare professionals, day-to-day movements could soon be managed by specially-designed smartphones. Specially-designed smartphones are now able to give hospital nurses a visual priority list of alarms, solving the problem of distracting beepers that ring constantly. Its interface gives an overview of patients in the nurse’s area of responsibility, with alerts sent corresponding to that area rather than all areas.

And recent Information Technology in Aged Care Hall of Fame inductee George Margelis believes the technology could also be a great tool in aged care settings, saying: “providers which have been slow to adopt technology might leap into their ICT journey with this type of cutting-edge solution.”

One of the most prominent systems is the Spectralink REACH, which "brings together nurse call systems and wireless handsets to deliver alerts to mobile staff from any in-building location. This direct access allows nurses to answer patient calls without walking back to the nurse station or the patient’s room." That's a benefit list even Mr. Big Shot may raise an eyebrow to...