I’ve had this app for years but in the past number of months (latter half of 2018) battery usage by this app has gone through the roof. Even though I haven’t actually used the app in days it has been responsible for 63% of my battery usage in the past 24hrs (69% over past 4 days). I otherwise am happy using the app for secure messaging, including photos, at work. Please fix the battery usage issue!!
I am an end user of Vocera, my employer requires it. Ours is a mixed network of Vocera handheld devices and the Vocera cell phone app on personal cell phones, and the Vocera desktop app at our workstations. There are too many ways for a communication to fail on this platform. Is the caller on the Vocera network or off network, or on a cell network, or on another local network? These will impact your ability to connect, and how you should attempt to call. Is the recipient’s app open on their phone, app closed, personal cell privacy settings on? Was the communication sent via text, or template? Was the caller using the desktop computer application, their cell phone app, or the personal device? Not all cross-talk, and will impact if the recipient receives the call. There are too many uncontrolled variables. Some calls only work device to device, some only work on-network to off network. Vocera needs to improve the cross-communications of their platform’s app, device and desktop versions. Needs to be uniform. We professionally accept the high rate of communication failure as a norm. It’s one of the weakest points in our organization.
Dont go by the somewhat dated UI appearance but if you look beyond that, the app is a solid accompaniment to any clinician that’s trying to juggle multitude of priorities on a minute by minute basis. Vocera delivers the most important alerts & alarms, allows me to collaborate using patient information with other colleagues on my floor or across my health system. It has integrated secure texting as well as “alexa-like” voice calling capability to, for instance, “call the on-call physician” without needed to look up who it is or needing to remember their phone number. Similarly, using voice, I could “Page Doctor McVille” and a text/page would be sent.
I hate this app, because it’s not safe for hospitals.
Unlike competitor MH-Mobile (I used at my previous institution), this app doesn’t deliver messages well over cell signals. Instead, one must be on the wifi designated just for Vocera. If someone is on another wifi (even at the hospital), then there are issues. Imagine what happens when a nurse needs on-call physician help for a rapidly deteriorating patient, and vocera doesn't work well because of the connection of the user’s phone?! The foreseeable poor outcomes are vast. Please fix this app. Also, make it look and feel like it belongs on iOS 16. Your UI is awkward with random controls at the top and bottom of the screen (tough to use with single hand when controls have this spread).
Sometimes I get messages with hours or a day of delay, even having great wifi connection. In addition, my Iphone battery is drained by this app. It’s nice to have something separate from the personal messages but this app doesn’t do any better than regular text messages or WhatsApp, both are easier to use and you can send voice messages very quickly.
Can’t put a newline/paragraph in text messages. Why not? Who knows. Sounds the text message alarm even though you have the app open and are typing a message. Why? Who knows. Constant banner pop ups asking you to turn on Bluetooth. It needs to get to your devices, you see, even though there’s no reason for it to. Can you turn it off? No. Sending a text message is pretty straightforward in every other app like this (e.g., TigerText), but Vocera makes you click three or four different buttons to do it. Finally, Vocera is frequently incompatible with iOS upgrades, so they send messages not to upgrade. They often send these messages after the upgrades have already automatically happened. Avoid this app. It is really, really bad.
When you receive a call end your phone is not open (locjed screen) and you answer it, Vocera app Disconnects and then 10 seconds later it Reconnects to the user. This is not very helpful, especially in emergency situations.
This is the worst app and company to ever be forced upon us by hospital administrators.
I’m forced to use this app as a physician. Slow, dysfunctional, voice recognition is trash. Have to take off mask all the time for vocera to understand something. Inexplicably no touch function to signin or add yourself to groups, have to go through the voice system which wastes minutes each time I have to go through it. Calls that come to me EMERGENTLY via vocera never goes through.
Sound configurations don’t work. Get random “phantom” banner notifications on my screen, then when I go to open the app there’s no message. I get the worst alarm sounds that one has ever heard coming through the app even when ALL notifications are set to OFF plus my phone is on SILENT plus my phone is on DO NOT DISTURB. This is the worst app I have ever downloaded. No exaggeration.
Message received is very delayed from when the message was sent. Also there should be a way to clear the message from your iwatch, it would help immensely.
This app works for HIPPARCHUS compliant communication. It is a pain in the rear for two major reasons. I It does not show its message on the iPhone lock screen, even once “Face ID” identifies you. You have to unlock the phone, tap the app to see the message. You should be able to see your message once the phone identifies you. The app desperately needs an “acknowledge” button with a distinct sound so one could acknowledge message receipt. Currently, acknowledging with a “thanks” or similar results in a new page requiring you to take out the phone and open the app to see that the polite dope on the other end sent a “you’re welcome.”
Every other time this app gets “active” though it is always on in background, it crashes requiring a restart. Every single time. It’s pathetic. Using up to date iOS.
At my hospital, this has been chosen for the preferred method to call out the heart catheterization lab for STEMIs (heart attacks) and it doesn’t work over 70% of the time! It logs you out if the app (and doesn’t give you a warning) so you miss EMERGENCY calls!!!
With IOS it seems there are multiple glitches that make frequent use VERY FRUSTRATING. Calls are almost always „ missed“ screen responsiveness is delayed. Awful for busy ICU providers.
This app is always asking to use my microphone and Bluetooth. Won’t let me just deny it once. Pop up occurs at least 20 times a day....very annoying. Did not use to do this in the past. Deleting.
Halved my battery life, doesn’t have an API for integrating third party messaging, looks like it was design for iOS v1.0, isn’t formatted to fit iPhone X, notifications routinely missed and delayed, customer service is incompetent at best and rude on average.
Not only does Vocera eliminate camera use, but it is also causing my contacts to freeze. I have to use Siri or go through my text messages to make phone calls. Also, it keeps sending all of my vocera calls straight to voicemail. This last update was terrible.
My podcasts are now no longer interrupted, or audio in general. I can now listen to an audio book and not worry about missing alerts, and without having to press play every couple minutes. Something that has been quite annoying, am happy it's not giving me problems anymore.
Like other reviewers have said this app breaks all audio on the app. This includes Apple Music and podcasts. The app seems to pause whatever you are listening too, without rhyme or reason. Its also depletes my battery quickly. Stuck using this app while at work but immediately delete it so my phone is useful at home. This has been persistent with this app. From iOS 9- iOS 11. Multiple iPhones. Terrible terrible app.
I work at a large academic medical center and partcipated in the pilot testing for a new secure messaging system. This app was working well until a spring 2016 update introduced new interference with iphone audio. Podcasts and audiobooks stop after 1-2 minutes when this app is installed. This bug was reproduced and reported to Vocera. We are now almost six months later without a fix. I am disappointed in this app and this developer.
The call log in the app is nice. But, why does it have to fill up my phone's recent call list also. Also hate that it pauses my audio after a few minutes. I have to remember to exit out of the app before I listen to audio.
This app continues to crash my camera, which makes me need to exit the app. Then, I forget to reopen it, so I miss a bunch of calls. Other folks with this app are having the same issue, please fix it!
Is there a reason that spaces must be entered when sending texts to a specific room. For example you must text “4 8 0 2 nurse” you can’t type “4802 nurse”. Extra time wasted. Also, when I type 4 8 0 2 I then have to scroll down past 4 8 2 0 and 4 2 0 8 to find 4 8 0 2. This should be fixed When using a template, is there a way you can stay on that screen after clicking send? Finally, this app drains battery life. Please fix There are so many ways you could fix this tool, I wish you included staff more when you were creating.
App was never updated for the 4.7/5.5 inch screens used since iPhone 6 and above. Doesn’t support the iPhone X screen. It also has only worked once for me. This is a seriously disappointing app.
I wanted to echo the review from DR5ash. This app interupts any audio you are playing and causes it to pause every few minutes. Extreamly annoying and I had to delete.
Drains battery, constant background activity, Bluetooth device battery drain
What a waste of technology. After multiple tickets to support for battery drain I didn’t get anywhere. Also, randomly missing calls throughout the day. Even when off the private network of employer with cellular turned off both in server and device. Embarrassing for me representing my organization’s support to my customers. Not much going on in the improvement sector here folks. Still drains the battery over 75% background usage when not even using the app of the iOS device. We’ve tried turning background app refresh off and makes no difference. Bluetooth device battery drains quicker than normal when app is running. I’ve sent several logs to my IT communications staff and directly to Vocera and they still haven’t corrected the issues. Personnel using an android device have stated there’s less battery drain. But I don’t want to switch from my iPhone just for one app!
Enterprise-class clinical communications including secure messaging Vocera Collaboration Suite is the industry’s leading enterprise-class, HIPAA compliance enabling voice and secure texting smartphone application that allows you to call by name, group, or broadcast, and integrates with more than 140 clinical systems. Providing real-time situational awareness and actionable patient data to inform clinical decisions, care team members can easily communicate and collaborate, improving the experience of the patient and caregiver. This solution creates a seamless user experience, combining the unique calling, texting, alerting and content distribution capabilities of Vocera into one, secure and easy-to-use mobile application. Instantly connecting care teams inside or outside the healthcare facility improves staff productivity, patient safety and the overall care experience. Vocera offers a choice of end-user devices to ensure the continuous flow of critical communication. For those clinicians who rely on smart devices, Vocera Collaboration Suite offers the convenience of voice technology with the security to text critical data, and the functionality to integrate with key clinical alerts and alarms systems. Key Features: Vocera Collaboration Suite • Support for shared and personal devices to match BYOD policies • Functionality inside or outside the facility over Wi-Fi or cellular networks • Provides secure and auditable delivery and response reporting for alerts and texts • Allows care team members to reach the right person or group at the right time via Active Directory authentication • See and interact with Vocera contacts across multiple sites and manage personal favorites lists of users, groups, and global address book entries • Presence and availability indicators • Management of critical alarms and messages delivery through on-call scheduling • Deliver content such as videos, audio files, documents, spreadsheets, and images securely to devices to ensure critical information is at everyone’s fingertips • Permission based access to patient data and care teams with optional access to waveforms and vital signs through integration • Eases user transition between the smartphone application and the Vocera Badge when hands-free communication is needed Vocera System Requirements • Vocera Messaging license • Vocera System software 5.8 (compatible with version 5.3 and higher) • Vocera Secure Messaging software 5.8 (compatible with version 5.3 and higher) • Vocera Engage software 5.5 for patient data access • Vocera Care Team Sync software 2.5.0 for care team data access • Vocera SIP Telephony Gateway • Vocera Client Gateway • A Vocera user profile
