Stryker's Sync Badge: Revolutionizing Healthcare Communication and Collaboration

Stryker (NYSE:SYK), a global leader in medical technologies, has announced the launch of the Sync Badge, a hands-free, wearable communication device designed to enhance collaboration and communication in the fast-paced environment of hands-on patient care. The Sync Badge is set to transform the way care team members communicate and collaborate, ultimately improving patient safety and outcomes.

The Sync Badge offers advanced features that help enhance efficiency and communication in dynamic, hands-on patient care environments. These features include:

1. Hands-free communication with wake word: Care team members can wake up the Sync Badge by saying, "Okay Vocera," and use voice commands to reach contacts by name, role, group, or extension. This enables seamless communication across units and roles, helping drive fast and reliable communication.
2. Dedicated panic button: In an emergency, team members can request help quickly by pressing the dedicated panic button. Security and safety personnel can see the staff member's name and location, hear what's happening, and communicate directly if the situation allows. This feature helps ensure that care team members remain safe and supported in high-pressure situations.
3. Do Not Disturb (DND) mode and urgent call breakthrough: To enable focus on critical patient care tasks, care team members can enter DND mode for 5, 10, 15, or 30 minutes – or an undefined duration. Escalation paths can be configured so that a normal-priority call will automatically route to another user, or an urgent call can break through. This feature helps reduce interruption fatigue and allows care team members to stay focused on the task at hand.
4. Integration with connected devices and software platforms: Care team members are able to receive alarms and critical lab results or STAT order notifications directly on the Sync Badge.* Through integration with Stryker's Vocera Engage middleware, the Sync Badge can receive information from the EHR, nurse call, patient monitoring systems, medical devices, scheduling systems, connected beds, stretchers, and more. This integration helps ensure that care team members have real-time, relevant information at their fingertips, enabling them to make better-informed decisions and respond more quickly to changes in a patient's status.

The Sync Badge's launch comes at a time when nursing shortages continue to pose a significant challenge to healthcare systems worldwide. As healthcare environments remain unpredictable and demanding, the Sync Badge can help simplify workflows and connect care teams to essential people and information. By providing care team members with the tools they need to communicate and collaborate more effectively, the Sync Badge can help improve staff satisfaction, reduce burnout, and ultimately enhance patient safety and outcomes.

In conclusion, Stryker's Sync Badge represents a significant advancement in healthcare communication and collaboration. By offering a comprehensive suite of features designed to enhance efficiency, safety, and communication, the Sync Badge is poised to become an invaluable tool for care team members worldwide. As nursing shortages and high workloads continue to pose challenges, the Sync Badge offers a solution that can help improve patient safety, reduce burnout, and ultimately enhance the quality of care provided to patients.

*For the U.S.: Delivery of secondary alarms requires Engage Medical Device Alarm Notification (EMDAN), FDA 510(k)-cleared middleware, part of Stryker's Vocera Engage middleware. Capabilities are based on your facility's protocols and technology configuration.
*For Canada: Delivery of secondary alarms requires Engage Medical Device Alarm Notification (EMDAN), part of Stryker's Vocera Engage middleware. Capabilities are based on your facility's protocols and technology configuration.