Dr. Kevin Pho, unter seinem Bloggernamen KevinMD weitbekannt, betrachtet es als unvermeidlich, dass Pieper (oder Pager) demnächst von Smartphones abgelöst werden: Will smartphones replace the pager?. Die Vorteile einer Smartphone-Lösung wären einfach überdeutlich:

A recent study showed that 64 percent of doctors use smartphones, such as an iPhone or a BlackBerry. Medical schools, such as Georgetown University and Ohio State University, are beginning to give them out to students. And I can certainly see the allure. They’re more powerful than PDAs, and there’s a wealth of medical applications that are being written for the devices. More importantly, they can replace several devices – namely, the PDA, phone, and pager – and instead of a Batman-like belt of electronic tools, doctors can simply carry one. As always, there will be people concerned about patient privacy, especially as sensitive information is being transmitted and stored on smartphones. But we’re past the tipping point. The pager is growing more extinct by the day.

Brian Dolan von mobilehealthnews weist in seinem Beitrag Prediction: Smartphones to replace pagers in hospitals auf eine Voalte hin, eine iPhone-Applikation, die Paging auf ein neues Level hebt:

While the iPhone supports a number of pager-like apps, one service of note is Voalte. The Sarasota, Florida-based start-up has been turning heads since its launch last year with its voice, alarm and text functionality. Voalte describes itself as a “unified communications solution enabling phone calls across the hospital VoIP system, text messaging via the user directory, and user-friendly alarm management.” Voalte enables caregivers to receive and respond to alarms dispatched by more than 200 hospital systems and devices. The service also touts its flexibility: Users can add additional applications to the iPhone allowing them to customize the service to particular departments or user groups.