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By David Gutillo, Director of Healthcare Solutions, Ascom Americas
Hospital nurse call systems have a reputation for longevity—sometimes lasting 15 to 20 years or more. At Ascom, it’s not unusual to encounter Telligence systems installed in the mid‑2000s that still “just work,” as our Patient Systems Product Manager Kyle Ahern often hears from customers. And while reliability is essential, today’s healthcare environment demands more than basic tone and visual alerts.
Modern clinical workflows, rising patient acuity, smarter medical devices, and new interoperability expectations mean there are compelling reasons for hospitals to consider upgrading now. Here’s why the timing matters.
Earlier-generation nurse call systems were primarily designed for tone and visual with basic patient-to-staff communication. Modern clinical communication platforms now support interoperability across the patient care environment, helping clinicians reduce manual tasks, improve response prioritization, and streamline coordination between care teams.
· EHR/EMR integration (Epic and others) enabling assignment sharing, ADT, alert management, tasks management and automation.
· Virtual Nursing integration (e.g. Ascom’s integration with Avasure) to improve “wayfinding”, response time and staff / patient satisfaction
· Medical device integration (e.g., Ascom’s integration with B. Braun digital IV pumps) to improve workflow, alert management and care coordination
· Smart bed connectivity (e.g., integration with Stryker smart beds) to support patient safety initiatives and fall avoidance
· Patient room digital whiteboard integration with partners such as HCI to enhance clinical surveillance, task coordination and patient engagement
· IoT and building automation connections to streamline environmental and clinical workflows
Many of these devices simply weren’t “smart” 10 -15 years ago. Now, the ability to coordinate alerts and workflows across systems dramatically improves nurse efficiency, care team responsiveness, and patient management.
Today’s nurses care for more patients per shift, many presenting with multiple chronic conditions and higher acuity. Smart nurse call systems help offload manual tasks, reduce unnecessary steps, and standardize care processes across units and even across entire health systems.
Telligence 7 is built on a modern software architecture, allowing Ascom to deliver:
This ensures hospitals always have access to the latest capabilities that improve safety, efficiency, and patient outcomes.
Large hospitals—especially those with 100+ beds—consistently cite configuration flexibility as a game changer. With Telligence 7, clinical and IT leaders can:
A recent example: one hospital reconfigured its ED workflow to automatically notify behavioral health staff, enabling earlier intervention and reducing escalation risk. What previously took weeks for reconfiguration now takes minutes.
Many hospitals still view nurse call as a facility requirement rather than a strategic clinical platform. But once leaders see how the Ascom Healthcare Platform scales across their enterprise and supports deep workflow configurability, it becomes clear:
Nurse call is a powerful tool for standardizing clinical best practices and improving KPIs such as response times, documentation, patient satisfaction, and communication efficiency.
Modern clinical workflows, rising patient acuity, smarter medical devices, and new interoperability expectations mean there are compelling reasons for hospitals to consider upgrading nurse call now
The Operational Reality: Aging Infrastructure Creates Risk
Even if your legacy nurse call “still works,” aging systems introduces operational risk. The need for proactive lifecycle management mitigates that risk.
Hardware lifecycle management is an important consideration. Nurse call hardware lifecycle management must account for component obsolescence and parts availability, as end-of-life devices can create service risks, extended downtime, and higher support costs when replacement parts are no longer manufactured. At the same time, hardware viability is increasingly tied to software dependencies and the need for innovation, making hardware changes more than just a “surface level” facelift. When it comes to hardware replacements, think holistically and how this will future proof your nurse call system.
Understanding the interdependency with hardware and software is critical to lifecycle management and this includes firmware, operating systems, and cybersecurity support. Coordinated software update and upgrade planning are essential to maintain safety, interoperability, and regulatory compliance. Considerations for support timelines, security patching, and regulatory compliance are critical as unsupported versions expose hospitals to cybersecurity risk and operational disruption. Proactive upgrade planning is critical to avoid forced migrations, compatibility gaps, and unplanned outages that impact clinical workflows.
Maintaining the latest software is critical for:
Ascom’s software maintenance agreements help ensure systems remain supported, secure, and optimized—yet outdated hardware eventually becomes incompatible.
Hospital CIOs and IT directors should regularly review their vendor’s innovation roadmap. Ensuring alignment with future infrastructure plans protects capital investments while knowledge of committed and planned software releases guides collaboration and planning to innovate together.
Transform Your Care Delivery With Telligence 7
Healthcare organizations are under increasing pressure to improve outcomes, support clinicians, and operate more efficiently.
Modern nurse call systems play a larger role in that mission than ever before. They connect caregivers, devices, and workflows in ways that help reduce complexity and improve care delivery.
For hospitals still relying on legacy infrastructure, the question is no longer whether nurse call technology should evolve – but whether the organization is ready to take advantage of what modern platforms can offer.
Telligence 7 was designed for smart, modern clinical workflows—far beyond simple tones and lights. It's a fully integrated clinical workflow platform that helps hospitals:
Ready to move beyond legacy nurse call and see what a modular, scalable, configurable and enterprise-ready platform can do?👉 Book a demo with the Ascom team and experience the difference Telligence 7 can make.
