Surgical Teams Benefit from Pryme Push-to-Talk Button

There are numerous models for delivering anesthetic services in the healthcare system in the United States. Physician anesthesiologists (MD) are paired with certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNA) or certified anesthesiologist assistants (CAA) under the anesthesia care team (ACT) strategy. Communication amongst team members is essential when multiple practitioners are working in multiple surgery suites at the same time. It's challenging to communicate discreetly, swiftly, and safely, though.

Austin Anesthesiology Group (AAG), which employs 130 anesthetists and 75 physicians, uses the ACT model to provide services to 19 ambulatory surgery clinics and five hospitals in the Austin region.

Troy W. Gras, MD, medical director of AAG said, “On any given day, our team may be working in four different operating rooms (OR) simultaneously. An anesthetist stays in each room while the primary physician anesthesiologist covers all four rooms.”

Gras covers all operating rooms (ORs) and concurrently conducts patient interviews and gets ready for the next procedure. Wearing a surgical mask makes it challenging to manage cellphone conversations between team members and patients, and it can also be bothersome when a patient is present. In the end, Gras discovered a workaround that is uncommon in OR settings..

“Last year, we began using the Zello voice messaging app as a way to communicate operational details between team members,” explained Gras. “The only problem was, every time I needed to speak on Zello, I had to stop what I was doing to pick up and unlock my phone.”

He recently discovered the solution on Zello's website under the "compatible hardware" section: the Pryme BT-PTT-ZU Wireless Super Mini Button. With a Velcro strap that attaches anyplace, it allows one to talk on Zello by simply pressing a button.

“I clip the button to my ID badge within easy reach to speak with Zello. To hear messages, I wear earbuds or keep my phone mic side up in the breast pocket of my scrubs,” Gras said.

When interviewing or preparing patients for clean procedures, the communication system is mostly utilized in the operating room. Practitioners never touch their phones after putting on sterile gloves. On the other hand, new communication possibilities during sterile procedures were made possible by the wireless PTT button. Now, all Gras has to do to communicate on Zello is ask a helper to press the button on his ID badge.

“Pryme’s PTT Button has been a Godsend. If we need to act quickly, the seconds it saves accessing Zello can make a critical difference,” Gras said.

Following his discovery of this new communication method, Gras sent an email to all his colleagues saying, “I thought I would share the information in case anybody else has the same problem.”