Research: Replacing Overhead Paging with Smartphones to Reduce Hospital Noise

Hospital noise is associated with adverse effects on patients and staff. Communication through overhead paging is a major contributor to hospital noise. Replacing overhead paging with smartphones through a clinical mobility platform has the potential to reduce transitory noises in the hospital setting, though this result has not been described. The current study evaluated the impact of replacing overhead paging with a smartphone-based clinical mobility platform on transitory noise levels in a labor and delivery unit. Transitory noises were defined as sound levels greater than 10 dB above baseline, as recorded by a sound level meter. Prior to smartphone implementation, 77% of all sound levels at or above 60 dB were generated by overhead paging. Overhead pages occurred at an average rate of 3.17 per hour. Following smartphone implementation, overhead pages were eliminated and transitory noises decreased by two-thirds (P < 0.001). The highest recorded sound level decreased from 76.54 to 57.34 dB following implementation. The percent of sounds that exceeded the thresholds recommended by the Environmental Protection Agency and International Noise Council decreased from 31.2% to 0.2% following implementation (P < 0.001). Replacement of overhead paging with a clinical mobility platform that utilized smartphones was associated with a significant reduction in transitory noise. Clinical mobility implementation, as part of a noise reduction strategy, may be effective in other inpatient settings.