Why Do Physicians Still Use Pagers?

[RedSox1804]

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Many a' time have I pondered this question. It all seems a bit outdated with cellphones and wifi/bluetooth and whatnot; so why pagers? Perhaps someone can enlighten me?

 

[NotAndrew]

Very quick, very reliable, and not subject to network overloads.

 

[halcyonnights]

It seems that some hospitals have their own communication networks.

http://www.usamobility.com/healthcare/

"Within hours of Hurricane Katrina’s impact, the hospital staff was confronted by another reality: the vulnerability of land lines to any major disaster. USA Mobility’s reliable satellite networks and digital paging provided the cost-effective solution."

 

[Gut Shot]

Many a' time have I pondered this question. It all seems a bit outdated with cellphones and wifi/bluetooth and whatnot; so why pagers? Perhaps someone can enlighten me?

Cell phones are banned in some areas (such as the ICU) due to alleged interference with equipment. My pager will work when I'm deep in the guts of the hospital, where my cell phone gets zero signal. Pagers are proven technology. Pagers are cheap, both in terms of physical cost and network enrollment (this becomes important when an institution is handing our thousands of them each year - and trying to keep up with the pace of lost and broken ones). Pagers are cute.

 

[SouthernSurgeon]

Also, while you could certainly have multiple cell phones instead, it is nice having a work pager that you can simply turn off once you are off duty and essentially leave your troubles behind.

Plus, you always have the option of ignoring a page and not calling back...😉

 

[RRTinCO]

Plus, you always have the option of ignoring a page and not calling back...😉

Exactly....to screen "silly" phone calls

 

[smq123]

Many a' time have I pondered this question. It all seems a bit outdated with cellphones and wifi/bluetooth and whatnot; so why pagers? Perhaps someone can enlighten me?

Someone else asked this question a while ago:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=524134

 

[smq123]

Cell phones are banned in some areas (such as the ICU) due to alleged interference with equipment. My pager will work when I'm deep in the guts of the hospital, where my cell phone gets zero signal. Pagers are proven technology. Pagers are cheap, both in terms of physical cost and network enrollment (this becomes important when an institution is handing our thousands of them each year - and trying to keep up with the pace of lost and broken ones). Pagers are cute.

And you can page multiple people simultaneously - useful for traumas, OB emergencies, and code blues.

 

[bluesmd]

and their batteries don't die like cellphones do, well at least not as often

 

[Raryn]

Because they work.

 

[Cujo]

As stated above, cell phones often lose signal in parts of hospitals, and are even banned in certain departments because of interfering with medical equipment. Same reason they tell you to turn off your cell during flights.

 

[WeAreNotRobots]

Many a' time have I pondered this question. It all seems a bit outdated with cellphones and wifi/bluetooth and whatnot; so why pagers? Perhaps someone can enlighten me?

pagers get better coverage, cause less interference, and offer a backup means of communication if phone coverage goes down. modern pagers are commonly even connected via satellite, which means you'd have to take out a satellite to prevent someone from reaching them (although this may become more common in the future hahaha).

and it's not just doctors these days still using them: the heads of security, safety, and IT at the lab i work at keep pagers on them 24/7 for these reasons. i'm sure there are other professions, like supervisory police/firefighters, that use them.

 

[DrWookie]

As stated above, cell phones often lose signal in parts of hospitals, and are even banned in certain departments because of interfering with medical equipment. Same reason they tell you to turn off your cell during flights.

...Can you leave a pager on during a flight?

I've never been in that situation...so I actually don't know.

 

[Nanon]

...Can you leave a pager on during a flight?

I've never been in that situation...so I actually don't know.

No.

 

[Raryn]

...Can you leave a pager on during a flight?

I've never been in that situation...so I actually don't know.

Wouldn't make much difference either way. Even cell phones don't interfere with modern aviation equipment, the FAA has just never bothered changing the rules.

 

[deleted74029]

When does one start using pagers? I know that sometimes med students are "on call" so do they use them as well?

 

[chessknt]

Because they are

waiting for a call from 1983

 

[chad5871]

Wouldn't make much difference either way. Even cell phones don't interfere with modern aviation equipment, the FAA has just never bothered changing the rules.

Aren't they working on approving cell phones for in-flight use? I don't think most US cell phones would even work on an airplane, though, since they get their signals from cell phone towers (rather than satellites).

 

[chad5871]

a bigger hurdle than the tower vs. Satellite issue is the annoyance to fellow fliers.

qft.

 

[smq123]

When does one start using pagers? I know that sometimes med students are "on call" so do they use them as well?

Yeah. I got pagers for all of my in-patient rotations - in-patient psych, in-patient pediatrics, OB/gyn, surgery, internal medicine. I didn't use them all that much, but when you call consults, it is sometimes nice to be able to give them your pager/cell phone number, and not your intern's or resident's.

 

[nogolfinsnow]

A bigger hurdle than the tower vs. satellite issue is the annoyance to fellow fliers. You just know how irritating it's going to be when you're on a red-eye and the person next to you is on a endless conference call to Frankfurt. Or, worse still, talking about their sex life for all the airplane to hear. I'm personally just fine with cell phones being banned on airplanes.

However, annoyance has never really gotten in the way of revenue, and if it's more profitable to allow people to talk on their cell phones, the airlines will eventually allow it.

my old boss told me he loved the fact that cell phones weren't allowed on flights and there was no internet access because it was one of the few times he could totally relax, read a book/magazine, whatever, and not be constantly bombarded by work.

And I agree with the annoyance factor. Cell phones on planes would lead to fist fights.

 

[Raryn]

Aren't they working on approving cell phones for in-flight use? I don't think most US cell phones would even work on an airplane, though, since they get their signals from cell phone towers (rather than satellites).

I saw a plan a while back where they could potentially add a small "tower" to the back of an airplane. It wouldn't even be that heavy, as its range would (obviously) be tiny.

The annoyance issue is a big one though. IMO, if they let wifi work but disabled any actual speaking possibility, I'd be fine with that. Knowing the airlines though, they'd charge an arm and a leg to use their wifi network.

 

[Dissected]

Aren't they working on approving cell phones for in-flight use? I don't think most US cell phones would even work on an airplane, though, since they get their signals from cell phone towers (rather than satellites).

Check this out. AeroMobile seems to be pioneering airline cell phone use, and they already use it in Emirates airlines. I imagine the reluctance to implement this for other airlines would be the annoyance factor that has been mentioned. In the faq section of the AeroMobile website it says that the flight crew can regulate whether it allows texts, 3G, phone calls or any combination of these to provide the most comfortable atmosphere. I Think the AeroMobile system basically prevents interference with the ground and the cabin of the aircraft while interacting with satellite channels to route the in-flight phone calls.

I saw a plan a while back where they could potentially add a small "tower" to the back of an airplane. It wouldn't even be that heavy, as its range would (obviously) be tiny.

Yea I saw this too! I think it was an in-flight preview for a movie or something on a super long flight.

 

[BlueElmo]

When I first shadowed my doctor and he whipped out his pager, I was like 'man, I haven't since that since back in 1999.' I was pretty incredulous to tell the truth.

 

[Thorpedo]

Aren't they working on approving cell phones for in-flight use? I don't think most US cell phones would even work on an airplane, though, since they get their signals from cell phone towers (rather than satellites).

British Airways allows texts to be sent on business flights between London and JFK. I hope to God that they never allow cell phone calls to be made on flights. That would make already uncomfortable experience absolutely horrific.

 

[Law2Doc]

As stated above, cell phones often lose signal in parts of hospitals, and are even banned in certain departments because of interfering with medical equipment. Same reason they tell you to turn off your cell during flights.

I don't know that they actually cause interference (even on airplanes that's overblown and probably outdated). But you will find that cell phones don't work in very large portions of any modern hospital, due to the interference from diagnostic technology. So they are basically useless-- If someone can't reach you when they need you it defeats the purpose of paging, and those of us who have tried to use cell phones in lieu of pagers have learned that they simply aren't adequate substitutes. So that is why physicians still use them. They are cheap, and they work in hospitals. Plain and simple. Your I-phone or blackberry won't work where you need it to, but the cheapo motorola alphanumeric pager will. Someday the phone technology will be modified to actually fill this niche, but thus far it doesn't.