Do More with Less:

Integrating Systems for Efficient, Cost-Effective Notification

For most, this means thinking and operating “creatively” in order to maximize existing technologies or justify the acquisition of new ones. Integration of disparate systems can often help address these needs and add value to existing third-party or proprietary applications while decreasing the workload of already-overburdened resources.

Take emergency notification technology, for example. Though a critical part of any continuity strategy, these systems typically lie in wait until a contingency occurs. Regardless, they still require resources for adding or updating contact data, testing notification scenarios and so on. To capitalize on these investments, an Application Programming Interface (API) provided by the notification vendor can prove most useful.

APIs enable organizations to develop communications paths between their emergency notification solution and other third-party or proprietary software and/or databases. They generally support multiple programming languages, such as .NET, JAVA, C++, PHP and COBOL, and can be implemented through a basic web services model. APIs also often use Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP), making integration quick and hasslefree for development/IT personnel.

McLeod Health, a health care network managing three hospitals, 30+ physician practices, hospice and home health agencies throughout 12 South Carolina counties, utilizes their notification system’s API to develop innovative, value-added applications.

The API allows McLeod Health to initiate “calling codes” throughout its facilities, automatically alerting personnel of critical situations via overhead page. These codes advise staff, patients and visitors of security issues, lockdowns and other situations requiring immediate attention. The API is also utilized to augment daily communications, triggering scheduled announcements for concluding visiting hours, planned activities, etc., via public address.

The API is used to set off communications with in-network personnel based on on-call schedules. Utilizing the organization’s existing databases, nurses, physicians and others are automatically contacted to fill positions by location. If the need is urgent, out-of-network individuals (whose contact information resides in separate databases) may be notified to meet patient demands.

McLeod Health also utilizes the API to improve their emergency preparedness measures. Typical uses include announcing drills and exercises and providing instructions for inspections and/or review facility-wide. Additional current and planned uses of the API and emergency notification technology inside McLeod are:

• Volunteer recalls
• Blood donor outreach
• Patient surveys
• Weather announcements

Like McLeod Health, many other public and private organizations (e.g., retailers, public utilities and government agencies) are now using an API to augment both critical and routine communications. Not only are they reducing the time and resources required to maintain various systems and data, they are expanding the use of an application normally only called upon in contingen cies. And, they are doing so on their own terms and at a rapid pace.

Among the benefits experienced by these innovative, cost-conscious operations are:

• Less manual entry, improved quality of data
• Flexibility and freedom to develop interfaces as needed
• Two-way information exchange, greater reliability of systems
• Adaptability to most any computing environment

Any organization can benefit from the integration of systems and/or databases. This is especially true now when so many disparate solutions and data sources must be maintained by fewer and fewer resources. The use of APIs, like the ones from today’s notification providers, really does help in doing more with less. And, as evidenced by McLeod Health and others, done easier, faster, and, in some instances, even better.