Standard Register to bring NFC to hospitals

The medical communications specialist, which counts 62% of US hospitals among its clients, is working with Poken to provide new ways for hospitals to improve the way they communicate with patients.

Standard Register Healthcare
POKENHEALTH: 'Gives hospitals the means to establish stronger connections with meeting participants'

Standard Register Healthcare has teamed up with NFC social and business networking specialist Poken to introduce PokenHealth, an NFC-based healthcare information service. Standard Register, which counts 62% of US hospitals among its clients, will exclusively market the service in North America.

PokenHealth uses a combination of NFC phones, keyrings, tags and apps that are designed to allow patients, healthcare professionals and suppliers to interact with each other and to collect and share information.

“Healthcare is a highly competitive market where hospitals are challenged to attract patients (i.e. fill beds) and top healthcare professionals (doctors, nurses and others in allied health specialties),” a Standard Register spokeswoman explained to NFC World. “At the same time, healthcare reform is putting greater focus on improved communication among healthcare providers and patients. Hospital marketing and communication departments are playing a lead role in developing communication strategies to engage these audiences as well as benefactors and the community at large.

“Meetings and events give hospitals a way to showcase their services and support specific populations. The meeting may, for example, be focused on heart health, offering preventive guidance. Or it may be part of follow-up program for heart patients who may need guidance on proper nutrition, exercise and personal care. PokenHealth gives hospitals the means to establish stronger connections with meeting participants, allowing them to network at the event and to continue to interact through the private online hub. For participants, it’s also a way to network with people with a common interest.

“In addition to hospital marketers, we are seeing strong interest among healthcare professional organizations. PokenHealth is currently being used by several healthcare technology associations and a healthcare foundation. We ourselves used the platform at our own conference on patient safety, as well as our trade shows.”

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