A single misrouted page in an ICU can delay treatment by hours — and cost lives. Across U.S. hospitals, those small lapses add up to billions in wasted dollars and untold patient harm in an already-overburdened system. To ensure efficient usage of those resources and expedite the exchange of important information, timely communication between care teams is necessary. More importantly, timely information sharing is a critical factor in patient outcomes. Unfortunately, the fragmented and outdated communication systems that are common across medical organizations create costly inefficiencies that undermine operations and care quality.
Breakdowns in communication, caused by everything from IT system complexity and over-reliance on electronic health records (EHRs) to unexpected downtimes, take a financial and operational toll. The impacts are far-reaching and not always evident. Hidden expenses strain budgets and contribute to staff burnout, impede workflows, and compromise patient safety.
Addressing such pitfalls is crucial in helping avoid these challenges. The key lies in the adoption of proactive, innovative approaches to improve cross-team coordination and communication.
Fragmentation & the Interoperability Gap
Over decades, hospitals have cobbled together pagers, phones, messaging apps, and EHRs into a patchwork tech stack — and now that patchwork is fraying. Technology that was developed piecemeal over time struggles to facilitate a seamless exchange of information, which hinders productivity and heightens risks. Using too many of these point solutions makes for a disjointed tech stack that is expensive to maintain and increases the amount of “communication noise” plaguing clinicians.
The overwhelming distractions stemming from multiple disconnected tools — such as pagers, messaging apps, and EHRs — force staff to navigate complicated layers of technology to locate important information. Hospital teams frequently manage 20 or more communication tools as part of their daily workflow. A nurse might toggle between 10+ logins before lunch — an endless loop of signing in, copying info, and re‑entering data — wasting hours a week and creating endless opportunities for error.
Disparate systems that make it difficult to share critical patient information and status updates also lead to delays in care and duplicative work. These redundant and siloed workflows cost more than just time. Failures of care coordination cost U.S. hospitals approximately $78 billion per year. When delays and unnecessary costs converge, the disruption to care continuity threatens patient safety and strains already-overburdened provider teams.
Fragmented tools block interoperability, leaving vital updates stranded in silos. That inefficiency doesn’t just waste time, it costs hospitals $30B a year and undermines the split‑second decisions patient care depends on.
Financial and Operational Ramifications of EHR Downtime are Significant
Nowhere is this dependence on technology more fragile than with the EHR itself. EHRs, while important to clinical care, have inadvertently created new complexities for healthcare systems. When the system holding patient records, orders, and messages goes dark — even briefly — the ripple effect is immediate and dangerous.
Because of the growing dependency on EHRs, downtime events cost hospitals an average of $7,900 per minute. Downtime impacts workflows, increases delays, and risks noncompliance with regulations like HIPAA, which can result in hefty fines for every violation. The episodes frequently hinder clinician access to vital medical records and jeopardize patient care. For instance, downtime can cause test results to be delayed by up to 62%, potentially endangering lives.
Hospital downtimes also damage patient trust and may negatively affect a healthcare organization’s image. Beyond direct financial implications, losses could extend to satisfaction scores on the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey, which directly impacts reimbursement and reputation.
The Human Costs of Inefficient Communication are Rising
Beyond the tolls it takes on finances, operations and patient care, inefficient communication affects the people that rely on it the most. Clinicians contend with overwhelming cognitive loads caused by excessive notifications and frequent interruptions, which have driven burnout rates to alarming levels. Studies show that 85%-99% of alarms are false or clinically insignificant, increasing stress and error rates. Most of those alarms are meaningless, and the barrage can condition clinicians to tune out and potentially miss the rare alert that really matters.
Persistent communication inefficiencies fan the flames of exhaustion and contribute to staff turnover. Burnout affects a large share of the U.S. healthcare workforce, with estimates ranging from 35%-54% among nurses and physicians, and up to 60% among medical students and residents. Healthcare organizations already grappling with workforce shortages cannot afford to lose qualified professionals, especially due to challenges that are solvable.
Unified Communications will Play an Important Role in Healthcare’s Future
The future isn’t about adding yet another app, but it’s about creating one seamless, secure, always‑on communication fabric for care teams. Most importantly, easy changes can quickly improve the things that matter most, such as patient care metrics. Integrating a clinical communication tool and secure messaging platform with an EHR led to a 27% drop in patient safety incidents, according to Carnegie Mellon University research.
Having access to various communication tools through a unified system lets hospitals minimize administrative challenges for IT teams, enjoy seamless sharing between systems, and safeguard patient information by containing data within secure channels. Given these benefits, it’s no surprise that unified communications services in healthcare are experiencing tremendous growth. The market for collaboration tools that streamline communication among healthcare teams was valued at $1 billion in 2023, and it’s projected to reach $2.5 billion by 2032 as the demand for coordinated care increases.
The popularity of cloud-native platforms is also rising, driven by advantages in scalability, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness over on-premise alternatives. A reliable cloud-based infrastructure ensures that care team collaboration remains uninterrupted during outages, protecting patient safety and operational continuity.
The inefficiencies tied to fragmented systems and poor communication are not sustainable in today’s healthcare environment. Hospitals and health systems committed to patient care and clinician satisfaction must prioritize cohesive, interoperable solutions that alleviate unnecessary burdens and contribute to positive outcomes.
Hospitals can’t afford more patchwork fixes — the era of unified, intelligent communication must begin now.
About Saurin Shah
Saurin Shah, Chief Product Officer at TigerConnect, leads product management, design, and product operations to transform communication and collaboration within the healthcare industry. Saurin is an accomplished technology executive with more than 20 years of experience in product management, design, and strategy. Before joining TigerConnect, Saurin held senior leadership positions at leading companies such as Medallia, Salesforce, Experian, and Accenture. Saurin graduated from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, earning a Bachelor of Science in Information Systems. He also holds an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management.
