Claims:CLAIMS
We claim:
1. A communication and management system (100) for institutions, the communication and management system (100) comprising:
a first communication device (101) comprising a processor, a first communication means, and a plurality of buttons including a first set of at least one button, a second set of at least one button , and a third set of at least one button;
second communication device (102) comprising a processor, a second communication means, a signaling device, and an acknowledgement button, said signaling device provides a signal when a service request is received from said first communication device through said first communication means and said acknowledgement button when pressed, sends notification of receipt of service request through said second communication means and switches off said signaling device; and
a third communication device (103), being an output device (smart notifier ) which shows auditory and/or visual based notification sent by said second communication device; and
a request processing system (100), wherein said processing system receives and records the time when service request is sent from said first communication device (101), time of receipt of service request by said second communication device (102), time when service request is closed by said first communication device (101), and the feedback provided by a user through said first communication device.
2. The communication and management system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first set of at least one button is used to send one or more service requests to concerned care professionals and to close or cancel the service requests through said first communication means, and said second set of at least one buttons are used to set urgency level of the service request to high or low and third set of at least one button are used to send feedback on quality of service provided.
3. The communication and management system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first communication device (101) is provided with facility to capture images and send end it along with request or feedback.
4. The communication and management system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said second communication device (102) receives service requests from said first communication device (101) and sends visual and/or an audio signal through said signaling device.
5. The communication and management system as claimed in claim 2, wherein said first set of buttons are selected from the group comprising nursing, doctor, housekeeping, food, bathroom and emergency or other required services.
6. The communication and management system as claimed in claim 2, wherein said first set of buttons include buttons to send one or more service requests to concerned professionals and close or cancel said one or more service requests.
7. The communication and management system as claimed in claim 1, wherein, the first communication device (101) is a plug and play portable device that can be carried by the user.
8. The communication and management system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said system can be used in hospital for effective communication between patients and staff and for monitoring of services.
9. The communication and management system as claimed in claim 8, wherein said system can be integrated with an existing call bell system in a hospital.
10. The communication and management system as claimed in claim 7, wherein, said system comprises a plug and play portable device that can be carried by the staff in an organization.
11. A method for communication and management of services in organizations, said method comprising the steps of: sending one or more service requests using a first set of buttons of a first communication device (101), receiving the service requests on a second communication device (102) by concerned professionals, acknowledging the receipt of service request by the concerned professionals through acknowledgement button of the second communication device (102), displaying sent service request through a third communication device (103), closing the service request on completion of service using first set of buttons of the first communication device (101), providing feedback on quality of service provided by the concerned care professional using a third set of buttons of the first communication device (101), and recording time of service request, receipt of service request and service closure and the feedback provided a customer / user through said request processing system (100).
12. The method as claimed in Claim 11, wherein the service requests are transmitted to the concerned professional and management wirelessly.
13. The method as claimed in Claim 11, wherein the concerned professional assists the user with the one or more service requests.
14. The method as claimed in Claim 11, wherein service request notifications received by said second communication device (102) are displayed in visual and/ or auditory mode through said third communication device (smart notifier).
15. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein time of service request, receipt of service request and service closure and the feedback recorded by request processing system (100) is used to generate reports for management purposes.
16. The method as claimed in claim 15, wherein said reports can be used by the management to monitor services in real time, improve services and appraise efficient staff.
, Description:FIELD OF INVENTION
The present invention generally relates to an effective communication and management system and device. Specifically, the invention relates to a communication and management system and its method for transmitting service requests within an organization and accurately measuring service time by comparing service request time, acknowledgement time and final service closure time leading to generation of reports which helps management in monitoring services and thereby improving staffing, service quality and overall customer satisfaction. More specifically, the invention relates to an effective communication system/device and its method for improving service time by sending requests directly to the concerned professionals and notifying the management about time taken to acknowledge and render the services thereby improving staffing, service quality and overall customer satisfaction. The present system/ device and the method disclosed can be used for effective communication in organizations such as hospitals, hotels, educational institutions, industries and the like.
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
The services industry today faces fierce competition and strives to create a niche market for itself by improving its service quality and being unique in its operations. Customer satisfaction comes at the forefront of this activity and several factors directly or indirectly contribute to this. While the quality of the services provided is central to building customer satisfaction, the time taken for rendering services is equally important and a very important factor in today’s time where people are pressed for time. Also, in certain organizations like hospitals and hospitality industry delivery of services well in time is highly appreciated and contributes to the success/ failure of the organization in building a strong customer base.

In healthcare institutes, such as hospitals and nursing homes, providing quality medical care to patients and providing them an environment where they feel safe is utmost important. Patient’s satisfaction is mainly dependent on the speed and efficiency of care and fast/ timely fulfilment of their requests for services. In order to request for services a patient relies on a means of communication with which he/she can communicate with the service providers.
Till date, a call bell system is the primary mode of communication between a patient and nursing staff. In earlier days, call bell systems were designed with a single button. When the patient pushed the button, it generated a call light and tone at the nurse desk. The nurses responded to this call light and attended the patient’s need. The patient’s need varied from health assistance like pain, medication, emergency etc. to general assistance like housekeeping, food, bathroom etc. Therefore, the information had to be first passed to the nurse and in-turn the nurse passed the information to the concerned care professional.
Various systems have been employed in the past, sometimes in a rather haphazard or makeshift manner, for calling nurses to the rooms of patients. Most frequently, each patient has in ready reach near the bed a push button switch which sends some indication such as sounding a buzzer or lighting a call light at some nursing station. Over the past years the communications means between patients and nursing staff has seen few improvements.
U.S.2736888 discloses an enunciator system which can be used by a patient to indicate specific services. It utilizes a transformer and relay box which needs to be kept on a table beside a patient's bed. The position of this apparatus makes it difficult for a very sick patient to utilize it to make requests.
US 4455548A discloses a call system for use in hospitals and nursing homes where services provided by the hospital staff are classified in three groups in terms of importance in responding to the patient's needs. The three groups include services of lowest importance given by a nurse's aide, services of greater importance rendered by a nurse or a doctor and services of greatest importance rendered by an emergency unit or team. The call system has a call box which includes switch means for energizing the signal generating means and producing a set of coded signals which are prioritized in terms of urgency of need. The patient may select a specific signal calling for (A) a hospital aide, (B) a nurse, or (C) emergency treatment.
U.S. 2,896,021 discloses a communication system by which a patient may converse with hospital personnel and specify needed services. However, the system limits information to conversation between patient and nurse stations, delays arrival of urgent calls when multiple calls are being made, and is cumbersome for aides and nurses already on the floor.
CN202889636U discloses a calling system for contacting special-responsible nursing personnel comprises of a calling apparatus and a nursing management system. The calling apparatus sends calling information to the nursing management system, and the nursing management system in turn sends notification information to the main nurse through a wireless mobile apparatus. The main nurse in turn delegates work to the specified personnel depending on the nature of the service request by the patient. If main nurse doesn't respond to the call, the nursing management system sends a secondary notification to a secondary on-duty nurse.
The problem associated with the above disclosed calling systems is that they require two or more steps for the hospital staff to address the service requests. Also, the presence of dedicated staff at the nursing station is required for receiving such request calls and further delegating it to concerned persons and also take follow up to ensure that the services are completed in time. Mostly hospitals provide intercoms and phones in the patient’s room that can be used to reach out to the staff for their needs. However, the patient needs to figure out the right number that needs to be dialed to get a specific service such as housekeeping or cafeteria, nurse, emergency etc. This poses greater difficulty when the patients are bed ridden or are unable to use the phone based systems to request for the service efficiently. Also, unavailability of personnel at the receiving end due to any reason may result in unanswered phone calls, adding to the patient’s distress and delay in the time taken to fulfil the patient’s request. Such delays in services during emergency conditions are highly undesirable. Efficient and timely response to the patient’s needs is a prime responsibility of the health care provider and reflects upon the quality of care and facilities provided. Most often, this becomes one of the most important deciding factors when one choses a particular hospital over others.
Another issue is that there is usually no provision through which the patient can confirm that his request has been received by the concerned person and is left in ambiguity whether to call again or not in cases when the service is not provided within a certain time. This adds to the anxiety of the patient and also is a general concern for relatives when they have to leave the patient unattended for long hours. Additionally, a patient’s needs may not be specific to the nursing staff at all times, and such systems often increase the time taken by the hospital staff to provide the required services. Also requests by certain patients may be more urgent than others, thus requiring service on priority basis. In such cases there is a need for a more directed communication system that enables the patient to send service request to specific personnel who specialize in delivering the required services.
US9286771 discloses a call bell system that allows the patient to send service request to specific staff depending upon the nature of service required. The system provides need specific buttons such as pain, hunger, emergency etc that can be used by the patient to notify specific staff for the services required. The patient may send more than one type of service request at a time and these service requests are received by the concerned staff and queued in order of priority. Such a system helps organize the patient service requests and helps the staff to offer services in an organized manner. Although this system overcomes the drawbacks associated with a generalized communication system, it has been noted that there is a lot of dissatisfaction among patients in various health-care facilities worldwide with respect to the time taken to service their requests. The time taken for rendering services depends on a number of factors like the patient load in a hospital at a given time, the number of personnel dedicated to each task, the means of communication between the patient, individual working efficiencies of the staff and the overall management of such services.
It is of great importance for the hospital management to provide utmost satisfaction to patients not just in terms of medical aid, but also provide a comfortable stay. There is no effective means employed by the hospital management to monitor the working efficiency of the staff in terms of time taken to complete the service requests sent by patients. The current systems do not accurately measure the time taken by the staff in fulfilling patient’s requests and mostly depend on manual methods for logging/recording time taken for completion of services which are highly error prone. The management therefore cannot effectively monitor and manage the patient services and plan ways to improvise the same. None of the existing prior art discloses a system of accurately measuring patient request service time and thereby improving the staff efficiency.
Similarly other service industries like hotels, industries and educational institutions need a communication system that will help their personnel to improve their services and also monitor and manage staff effectively.
Therefore, there is need for an effective communication and management system that can be used by hospitals or any other organization to improve the quality of services that they deliver.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide an effective communication and management system that can be used by the organizations to improve the quality of services that they deliver.
More specifically, the present invention discloses a communication and management system that helps users send service requests to the specific personnel so that services are delivered without much delay and also helps the management monitor the working of the staff by measuring service request time, service request receipt time by the staff and service completion time.
According to an embodiment the invention provides a simple, easy to use and well defined customizable interface to enable the healthcare management to deliver and monitor the services provided by their staff in real time and improve their services accordingly.
According to a further embodiment the invention provides a communication and management system that can be integrated with the existing call bell system in a hospital set up to send service requests to the specific hospital staff, so that services are delivered without much delay and to manage and monitor the working of the staff by measuring service request time, service request receipt time by the staff and service completion time.
According to yet another embodiment, the present invention provides a system for communication between patients and staff and to generate reports providing data relating to service times and feedback provided by patients that can be linked with individual staff members to be used for management purposes.
In an embodiment, one or more service requests are sent by the patient to specific staff simultaneously. According to yet another embodiment, the patient may use the device to cancel one or more requests at a time. In a preferred embodiment, the device is configured to be used by the patient to set urgency level for the service request. According to yet another preferred embodiment, the device may receive estimated service time for the request made to the specific service staff. In another embodiment, the device is used by the patient to close the service request on completion of the service. In a further embodiment, the device is used by the patient to provide feedback on the quality of the service rendered.
In another aspect, the present invention discloses a method for communication and management of services in a healthcare organization. In the disclosed method, the patient send a services request to specific staff and closes the request once the service is provided and the system monitors and measures various parameters such as request acknowledgement time by the staff, service closure time and generates a report that can be used by the management to monitor and manage services. In an aspect the present method can be integrated with existing call bell system in the organization wherein, the patient calls the nurse using the existing call bell system and the nurse send service requests to specific staff depending on the nature of service request.
In yet another aspect, the present method is used for management of services and staff in a healthcare organization to improve efficiency of services provided.
According to yet another concept, the present method is used for management of services and staff in any organization such as a hotel, educational institution or industry to improve communication and manage staff effectively.
In an aspect, the present method may be used for rating the performance of staff based on measured service efficiency in terms of time taken to provide services and the feedback provided by the patient.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the communication and management system comprises:
a first communication device, wherein the first communication device comprises a processor, a first communication means, and a plurality of buttons, said plurality of buttons comprises a first set of at least one button for making at least one service request and closing or cancelling the service request; a second set of at least one button to set urgency level of service request and a third set of at least one button to give feedback for the quality of service provided; a second communication device, the second communication device comprises a processor, second communication means, a signaling device, and an acknowledgement button; a third communication device, wherein the third communication device is an output device (smart notifier) which provides auditory and /or visual based notification to the concerned staff and management when a service request is sent by the patient or the patient’s attender or nurse and a management software, wherein the management software maintains logs of the service request time, request acknowledgement, request closure time and the feedback given by the patient.
According to an embodiment, the first set of at least one button has pictorial representations of the service requests or needs of the patient. For example, a picture of plate for food, a glass for thirst, a commode for bathroom, capsule for medicine, a cross for an emergency and broom for housekeeping. These buttons and pictorial representations are customizable, as per the needs of the hospital.
According to another embodiment, the communication and management device is a plug and play portable device which can be carried by the user or placed in vicinity of the user. According to another embodiment, the communication and management device is an analog device.
According to yet another embodiment, the effective communication device is a remote computing device. Examples of computing devices usable with embodiments of the present invention include, but are not limited to, personal computers, smart phones, laptops, mobile computing devices, and servers. One of ordinary skill in the art would understand that any number of computing devices could be used, and embodiments of the present invention are contemplated for use with any computing device.
Many other advantages, features and additional objects of the present invention will become manifest to those versed in the art upon making reference to the detailed description and the accompanying sheets of drawings in which preferred structural embodiments incorporating the principles of the present invention are shown by way of illustrative example.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
Fig1. Shows the first communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention;
Fig2. Shows the communication and management system according to present invention
Fig3. Shows the communication and management system according to an alternate embodiment of the invention.
Fig4. Shows a flow chart diagram for the method of communication and management according to embodiment of invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION
As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, which can be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed structure. Further, the terms and phrases used herein are not intended to be limiting but rather to provide an understandable description of the invention.
The present invention relates to an effective communication and management system and its method for improving service time for serving customers in an organization such as a hospital/hotel by sending requests directly to specific care professionals and monitoring the time taken by the staff to acknowledge and render the service by comparing service request time, acknowledgement time and final service closure time leading to reports which can be used to improve service quality and overall customer satisfaction.
Fig 1 shows first communication device (101) according to the present invention. The device (101) may be a simple portable device for sending one or more service requests to specific staff in a hospital or any other organization so that the services are provided without much delay. In a preferred aspect, the device (101) can be used by the user to communicate with specific staff in a hospital or any other organization in case of need. The buttons and the pictorial representations on the device are customizable.
In an embodiment, one or more service requests may be sent to specific staff simultaneously. The user may use the device (101) to cancel one or more requests at a time. The device (101) may also be used to set urgency level for the service request. The device (101) may be configured to receive estimated service time for the request made by the specific service staff. The user can close the service request on completion of the service using the device (101). In a further embodiment, the device may be used by the user to provide feedback on the quality of the service rendered.
The device (101) may also be provided with facility to capture images and send it along with request or feedback. For example if the AC is leaking or wall has moulds on it. They can simply capture and send along with the request while generating it for reference of the department, similarly, for feedback of a task.Fig. 2 shows a communication and management system (10) according to present invention. The communication and management system comprises:
a first communication device (101), wherein the first communication device comprises a processor, a first communication means and a first set of at least one button for making one or more service requests and closing or cancelling the service requests; a second set of at least one button to set urgency level of service request and a third set of at least one button to give feedback for the quality of service provided;
a second communication device (102), the second communication device (102) comprises a processor, second communication means, a signalling device, and an acknowledgement button ;
a third communication device (103), wherein the third communication device (103) is an output device (smart notifier) which provides auditory and /or visual based notification to the concerned staff and management when service request is sent by the user ; and
a request processing system (100), wherein the request processing system (100) maintains logs of the service request time, request acknowledgement, request closure time and the feedback given by the user .
As shown in Fig 1. The first set of at least one button are pictorial representations of the service requests or needs of the user. For example, a picture of plate for food, a glass for thirst, a commode for bathroom, capsule for medicine, a cross for an emergency and broom for housekeeping. These buttons are customizable, as per the needs of the organization.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the communication and management device is a plug and play portable device which can be carried by the user or placed in vicinity of the user. According to another embodiment, the communication and management device is an analog device.
The first communication device (101) is a remote computing device. Examples of computing devices usable with embodiments of the present invention include, but are not limited to, personal computers, smart phones, laptops, mobile computing devices, and servers. One of ordinary skill in the art would understand that any number of computing devices could be used, and embodiments of the present invention are contemplated for use with any computing device.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, in the first communication device the first set of buttons are configured for making service requests including but not limited to nursing, doctor, housekeeping, food, bathroom and emergency. The nature of service requests may be configured by different organizations depending upon their specific needs. The first set of buttons are also configured to close or cancel the existing single or multiple service requests made by the user. The user may cancel multiple service requests at a time which will be transmitted to the third communication device (smart notifier) and also recorded by the request processing system (100). The second set of buttons include separate buttons which are configured to set urgency level of service requested wherein, the urgency level may be high or low or medium. The third set of buttons is configured to give feedback for the service rendered.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the second communication device (102) receives requests from the first communication device (101). In a preferred embodiment, the request processing system (100) records the time of the service request, request acknowledgement time received through the second communication device and the request closure time.
According to an embodiment, the third communication device (103) is the Master (Web) Station where a compact view of the requests is provided available for the department Heads. The third communication device can be used for acknowledging and marking requests, reports and for viewing other measurable KPIs. It generates auditory & visual based notification for alerting the concerned staff of the service requests received from the user. It comprises of a button for acknowledging the receipt of service that has been requested by the user. The service request acknowledgement time is transmitted to the request processing system (100) and recorded therein. The smart notifier may be placed in close vicinity of the area where the staff is working.
Fig. 3 shows communication and management system according to an alternate embodiment of the invention. A backup server (104) may be provided in addition to various component described with reference to Fig. 2.
Fig. 4 shows an exemplary flow chart diagram for the method of communication and management according to embodiment of invention in a hospital set up. According to an embodiment the method for communication and management of services in a healthcare organization comprises the steps of: patient sending one or more specific service requests using the first communication device (101), service request being received by concerned care professionals through the second communication device (102), acknowledgement of receipt of service request by the concerned care professionals through the third communication device (103), rendering services to the patient, closing the service request on completion of the service, optionally patient providing feedback on service quality through the first communication device and notifications on the time of service request, service request acknowledgement time and service closure time being sent to the request processing system (100).
According to another embodiment, the communication and management system can be integrated with the existing call bell system of a hospital wherein the system comprises an additional/optional feature called as smart nurse solution.
In an aspect, the smart nurse solution is an easy to use application which can be installed on any smart devices that can be carried by the nurse to generate specific service request on behalf of the patient. The smart nurse solution can be used by hospitals who want to retain their existing nurse call bell system.
According to an embodiment, the method of communication and management in the smart nurse solution comprises the steps of; patient calling the nurse using a regular call bell, nurse taking the requests and sending the patient’s service request to the concerned staff through the smart nurse application, concerned staff receiving the service request and acknowledging it, the concerned staff completing the service requested, closing the service request on completion of service and sending notifications of the time of service request, service request acknowledgement time and service closure time to the processing system.
The smart nurse solution stores the feedback from the patient to improve the quality of service rendered to the patients. The step of transmitting the service request to the concerned care professional and management is performed wirelessly.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the method further includes the step of closing or cancelling the existing single or multiple service requests by the user by using first set of one or more buttons on the first communication device (101). According to an embodiment of the present invention, the service request is a selection of a request type from a group of service requests including but not limited to nursing, doctor, emergency, food, housekeeping and bathroom.
The service requests are assigned to a concerned care professional based on the request type. The requests may also be prioritized as per the organization’s needs. A time limit can be set for each task by the organization. If the task is not acknowledged/completed in given time, it shall be escalated and a notification shall be sent to the department head/Supervisor or as decided by the organization. Reminders for pending tasks, and notifications on completion of concerned tasks for example housekeeping department get reminders and notifications for their department only, may also be sent using this method. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the method further includes the step of getting simple and easy feedback in visual and auditory modes. According to another embodiment of the present invention, the method further includes the step of making announcements for emergency situations like fire, natural calamity etc.
In an embodiment of the present invention, the method comprises storing data relating to time of service request sent through the first communication device (101), acknowledgement time of the service request received by the second communication device (102) and the service closure time sent through the first communication device (101) on completion of the requested service. In yet another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the method comprises storing the feedback of the service rendered sent through the first communication device.
Accordingly, the present inventive subject matter discloses a method for effective delivering, monitoring and management of customer services in organization by providing a wireless mode of communication and recording service times leading to generation of reports that can be used by the management to improve services and also appraise efficient staff. Provision for checking active staff time by tracking user login, log out and other activities is made into the system to make the services efficient.
In another aspect the present method can be used by management to identify service areas where more staffing is required or service quality is compromised. In yet another aspect, the present method can be used by the management to identify peak areas or time slots where service times are compromised and hence require more staff.
Alternately, the present method can be integrated with existing call bell system to effectively improve communication and services rendered to patients in a hospital setup.
In an exemplary embodiment according to the present invention, data may be provided to the system, stored by the system and provided by the system to users of the system across local area networks (LANs) (e.g.,organization networks, home networks) or wide area networks (WANs) (e.g., the Internet, cellular transmission carriers). In accordance with the previous embodiment, the system may be comprised of numerous servers communicatively connected across one or more LANs and/or WANs. One of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate that there are numerous manners in which the system could be configured and embodiments of the present invention are contemplated for use with any configuration.
Although the invention has been described with reference to hospital management, it can be devised for effective communication in any organization such as an educational institution, industries, hotels etc.