Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s 55 patient transporters average approximately 550 transports per weekday and 425 per day over the weekend. The dispatch system that coordinates transport is fully automated.

In July, patient transporters unclipped their pagers once and for all, and picked up iPods instead.
With pagers, the transporters had to find a landline and phone the dispatch computer to pick up the job assignment, and phone the computer again to confirm patient pickup, and again to signal any delays, and again to signal job completion.

The iPods help speed coordination by supporting text messaging between the dispatch computer and the patient transporters.

David House, assistant manager of Patient Transport, said response times are quicker, total time from dispatch to completion is decreasing and staff like the new system.