“Hypercare has completely transformed the way we handle communication at our clinic. [...] With Hypercare’s ability to streamline and prioritize messages, communication has become seamless, and I’m able to focus more on patient care without unnecessary interruptions."
- Dr. John Bojescul, M.D.
Hospitals and clinics have long relied on physical pagers for on-call communication. While these devices were once the gold standard for reaching physicians quickly, they have become outdated in a healthcare landscape that demands real-time, reliable communication. The limitations of pagers - missed messages, administrative inefficiencies, and costly answering services - have made them a growing liability for modern medical teams.
Augusta-Aiken Orthopedic Specialists, a premier orthopedic surgical center with a team of over 20 highly skilled clinicians serving patients across two states, recognized these challenges firsthand. For years, they depended on a combination of paper-based schedules, answering services, and traditional pagers to manage on-call coverage. The process was cumbersome and prone to errors, leading to delayed responses, administrative headaches, and significant costs. By adopting Hypercare’s Virtual Pager service, the practice transformed its workflow, reducing costs by at least a third, improving physician response times, and eliminating communication frustrations that had plagued the clinics.
John Bojescul, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon and leader at the practice, used to spend between 30 and 40 hours every six months manually building the on-call schedule, which meant significant lost revenue from time not operating or seeing patients. This process, done entirely on paper, required constant updates and modifications. When changes were necessary, clinic administrators had to track him down, adjust the schedule, and then notify the emergency department manually.
The emergency department often had difficulty reaching orthopedic specialists in time-sensitive situations. Physicians were forced to juggle multiple numbers, frequently encountering incorrect or outdated contact information, leading to communication breakdowns that disrupted patient care.
On top of these inefficiencies, the practice was spending between $30,000 to $40,000 annually on an answering service to manage call routing. The financial burden, combined with operational inefficiencies, made it clear that the existing system was no longer sustainable.
Seeking a solution that could streamline communication and eliminate unnecessary administrative work, the practice turned to Hypercare’s Virtual Pager offering. The impact of this change was immediate. Instead of managing multiple phone numbers and relying on outdated paper schedules, teams were now able to call a single on-call number, which automatically routed them to the right on-call provider. Hypercare’s system ensured that any changes to the on-call coverage was updated in real-time.
For the team at Augusta-Aiken Orthopedic Specialists, the shift was equally transformative. With Hypercare’s messaging features, urgent calls could bypass Do Not Disturb settings, ensuring they were always received. Call schedules were now managed digitally, drastically reducing the time spent on administrative tasks. In a matter of months, the clinic saw a 90% reduction in the time spent managing call schedules.
“Hypercare has completely transformed the way we handle communication at our clinic. Before Hypercare, on-call physicians were constantly juggling urgent and non-urgent issues. I was also managing administrative overhead with manual changes to our on-call schedules. Now, with Hypercare’s ability to streamline and prioritize messages, communication has become seamless, and I’m able to focus more on patient care without unnecessary interruptions" said Dr. Bojescul, M.D.
Beyond the operational improvements, the financial impact was substantial. By eliminating the need for an answering service, the practice instantly saved over $30,000 a year—funds that could be redirected toward improving patient care.
The transition to Hypercare’s Virtual Pager did more than just save time and money. It fundamentally improved the way the orthopedic team collaborated with other clinical departments. There was no longer any guesswork to determine who was on call or which number would connect you to the right provider. Physicians, in turn, could focus on their work without constant disruptions and time spent on administrative overhead.
The experience of this orthopedic practice is part of a larger trend in healthcare. Traditional pagers, once essential, are increasingly being replaced by digital solutions that offer greater reliability and efficiency. Virtual pagers, unlike their physical counterparts, integrate with scheduling systems, ensuring real-time updates and seamless communication. They eliminate the need for outdated answering services and reduce the likelihood of missed calls and miscommunication.
For clinics still relying on physical pagers, the question isn’t if they should switch but when. The benefits—faster response times, lower costs, and improved collaboration—are too significant to ignore.
Interested in transforming your clinic’s communication? Book a demo of Hypercare’s Virtual Pager today and take the first step toward a more efficient, reliable, and cost-effective solution.
