I Hate Dialysis Message Board
Dialysis Discussion => Dialysis: Centers => Topic started by: Rerun on October 14, 2005, 05:57:08 AM
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My Dialysis Center bans cell phones. They say it could mess with the machines. We have Fresenius machines.
I think this is "BS". I can understand no cell phones on air planes, but Dialysis Machines? You can't tell me that the folks who are on home use machines don't have protable phones, remote controlls, microwaves, wireless internet etc.
What do you think??
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My unit doesn't have issues with cell phones. for staff or patients :)
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I go to Davita and I use my cell phone all the time. Even the workers talk on their cell phone. They better not tell me not to use it, because my son is in school while I am on dialysis and I need it on in case of an emergency at his school. If they told me not to use it I wouldn't care I still would, what are they going to do to me ruin my kidneys, break my hips, enlarge my heart, stick needles in me? too late been there done that. >:D
If you go to a center that doesn't allow phones just put your phone on vibrate and talk softly. I personally have my ringer on the highest setting. ;D
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Sounds like a little bit of bs to me. Everyone here has their phones. I sit and play games on mine sometimes and no-one even seems to notice. I would still use it >:D Liz
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Thanks for all your replies. I think I'll contact Fresenius and get their information. Hmmmm although, they may say no cell phones just as a "CYA" clause. But, if nothing else you have given me some ammunition to take to the director of the unit. :-* :-\ :P
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Liz, thanks so much for that idea. I will play games on my cellphone when (a) I can't sleep (b) the television programme on is blah (c) I'm bored.
I think they prefer us to have cellphones at my centre. Then they wouldn't have to answer phonecalls from our relatives or friends checking up on us, or making calls for us for someone to pick us up. (They do this easily without any complaint, however)
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My unit is ther same they do not allow the use of cell phones either.....Jamie-G
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I've switched centers and am at DaVita. I hate it there too, but at least I can use my cell phone and on Saturday I get free minutes. I talked to my Aunt and a friend and the time went by quickly. I feel like I'm being productive. Ya know.... getting a few phone calls out of the way. :o
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i have been worked in diailysis for over 20 years and have never seen or heard of a cell phone to be a problem with a fresenius machine 2008D all the way to the 2008k
but
fresenius has said it may or may not be a problem ( i don't think they know but cya )
in my unit it's ok for patients but not for staff
i want my staff to pay attention to the patient not the phone
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Anyone ever see that show Mythbusters? They did an episode on cell phone's affect on plane avionics and the 800mhz cell phone affected it very negatively but the higher frequency ones 2.5ghz, etc. didn't. But basically the conclusion was that it could be a hazard.
Don't know about dialysis machines though. But I doubt they are as sensitive to EMI as the plane's avionics.
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I work as an equipment technician for a Fresenius clinic so I can help out on this one. The no cell phone thing is out there for a few reasons. The first is that all electronic equipmet must by law accept any incoming interference. That means that the signal coming to or from your phone has the possibility of messing with the electronics in the dialysis machine. Just for example if you hold your phone near your computer speakers when you turn on your phone and you will probably hear some ticking interference sounds from your speakers. It happens with mine and some others that I have talked to. I have Nextel. There have been plenty of debates about this and some phones have been proved to cause problems. Newer phones don't seem to have these problems, so if you have an old phone better safe than sorry. This rule is put into place for everyones protection. The second reason is to help keep the noise down on the floor. Your stuck there for several hours, do you really want to be forced to be sitting next to someone on the phone. I find that really annoying in the clinic and other places like the train. Hope this helps.
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cell phones are not a problem at my clinic.
I know plenty of times when visiting family members in the hospital they say no cell phones. then your in there and the nurses are all walking around with them so how bad can it be.
I can understand not having them in some places (movies) and places like that but really what dif. does it make if the person on the train sitting next to you is talking on their phone or talking to another person on the train.
I realize that some people talk louder on the phone but then again my sister talks that loud all the time, so it's all the same to me.
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I work as an equipment technician for a Fresenius clinic so I can help out on this one. The no cell phone thing is out there for a few reasons. The first is that all electronic equipmet must by law accept any incoming interference. That means that the signal coming to or from your phone has the possibility of messing with the electronics in the dialysis machine. Just for example if you hold your phone near your computer speakers when you turn on your phone and you will probably hear some ticking interference sounds from your speakers. It happens with mine and some others that I have talked to. I have Nextel. There have been plenty of debates about this and some phones have been proved to cause problems. Newer phones don't seem to have these problems, so if you have an old phone better safe than sorry. This rule is put into place for everyones protection. The second reason is to help keep the noise down on the floor. Your stuck there for several hours, do you really want to be forced to someone sitting next to you on the phone. I find that really annoying in the clinic and other places like the train. Hope this helps.
Hello Hawkeye,
Welcome to the site, you are not the only employee of a center on here, we have a few. I welcome your posts and hope you will continue to post and help answer questions from the other members.
- Epoman
Admin/Owner
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Here in France they're not too happy about cellphones in the centers.
I had my cellphone in plain sight a couple weeks ago and a nurse told me to shut it off as it could interfere with the wireless transmitters from the dialysis units ( they transmit reports etc back from the unit to the main computer ).
I think I call bs but what can you do really ??? :-X
I do still play games with the phone all the time but I keep the phone mode off ::)
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In my center cell phones are not allowed. However, I have forgotten to turn mine off on several occasions and there's never been a problem. Once in awhile they've allowed me to use their cordless phone without incident. So I'm hard pressed to believe there'd be a problem with cell phones, at least with our unit's equipment.
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Like I said in an earlier post all electronic equipment must accept any incoming interference. Does this mean that using your cell phone will cause the machine to go berserk....no. Does this mean that using your cell phone can cause the machine to act goofy and alarm...yes. It may even cause readings like BP and kt/v to not record properly. With the newer machine and phone technology this really isn't a factor. It really is an outdated rule that dialysis companies keep around to protect their own butts should something happen.
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Like I said in an earlier post all electronic equipment must accept any incoming interference. Does this mean that using your cell phone will cause the machine to go berserk....no. Does this mean that using your cell phone can cause the machine to act goofy and alarm...yes. It may even cause readings like BP and kt/v to not record properly. With the newer machine and phone technology this really isn't a factor. It really is an outdated rule that dialysis companies keep around to protect their own butts should something happen.
Exactly. Thank you Hawkeye.
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Exactly. Thank you Hawkeye.
My pleasure Rerun.
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My unit had a no cellphone policy but didn't really enforce it. I thought the whole thing was bunk so I tried a little experiment. With the phone in a call and transmitting I moved it physically close to the CPU in the dialysis machine which was a Fresenius 2008 I recall. Sure enough the machine started alarming. Since once is never enough I tried it again with the same results. Was the machine just alarming or could the RF have changed a programming parameter? That I don't know but the experiment proved that there are valid reasons for such bans.
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As Jamie (http://ihatedialysis.com/forum/index.php?topic=157.msg1175#msg1175) said before he died, my hospital does NOT allow them .. but in my Self Care unit I can use mine as much as I like .. because it is not in the actual hospital. So I get the impression it is not the actual dialysis machines but other machines that are related to hospitals. I am on the Fresenius 2008K.
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My unit had a no cellphone policy but didn't really enforce it. I thought the whole thing was bunk so I tried a little experiment. With the phone in a call and transmitting I moved it physically close to the CPU in the dialysis machine which was a Fresenius 2008 I recall. Sure enough the machine started alarming. Since once is never enough I tried it again with the same results. Was the machine just alarming or could the RF have changed a programming parameter? That I don't know but the experiment proved that there are valid reasons for such bans.
Well could it be that you were moving to get the cell phone that close to the machine and you cause an alarm to go off because of the venous or arterial pressures? I have asked several people about the cell phone paranoia and many say it's just like the "Turn your cell phone off at gas stations" ever see the show "MythBusters" they tried EVERY possible scenario to get the cell phone to cause a explosion, but nothing. The techs at my old Davita always used to use cell phones in the treatment area right next to the machines. I personally believe it is just a myth because only some centers do not allow cell phones, every center I've been to allows cell phones. I have used my cell phone(s) for the last 13 years at dialysis many different brands over the years and have never had a problem. And if I am correct the "CPU" of the Fresenius machine is in the back which is accessed through a access panel toward the top of the machine.
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And if I am correct the "CPU" of the Fresenius machine is in the back which is accessed through a access panel toward the top of the machine.
Very close but not quite. The CPU is on the Function card of the machine towards the middle of the top section in the card cage. Basically if you undo two screws on the back the whole front panel (area where the touch screen and other main buttons are) pulls out for access to the card cage.
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:clap; I understand what you mean about cell phones. We can't have them either but it all depends who is working. If you're expecting an important call it's ok. If it's from a doctors office that's ok too. But if it's your pregnant daughter calling to tell you she is having a misscarriage that's a no-no. Screw them. I go under my blanket and use my phone when I want. What they can't see they can't complain about. Try it sometime. :2thumbsup;
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i go to a Fresenius run unit and they have no such rule. i do keep my phones ring on silent though. i have heard cel phones ringing so i know not everyone does. the center i use when i am in oregon, which is run by a local hospital doesn't have a problem with them either. i have a severely, developmentally disabled child, i really don't care where i am i need my phone. the only exception is in the air, because there i can't do anything about problems anyway.
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It seems crazy to me, that patients who are waiting for years for "the call" would be denied cell phone access during a big chunk of their day.
If it were me, I would leave it on vibrate (I would probably use a headset under the pillow too, if I had to make a call.)
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If I could remember to take the damned phone with me most of the time it would be good!
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Use a hands-free unit and pretend you're talking to yourself!
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We have to switch off phones in my unit too. I know a lot of you think it is all bs etc but let me tell you something. I have to wear two hearing aids and if you sit near me with a phone on it causes my hearing aids to go bezerk with all the buzzing that comes from the phone. It is the same if I sit next to or too close to a tv, stereo speakers, a wi - fi PC/Laptop or even if I walk through an electronic sensor that they have in shops.
So you can all dismiss it as much as you like but me, I can hear the inteference and ALWAYS switch my phone off.
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At my clinic they allow them no problem. I use mine at home also and so far no problem....
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Older portable analog cellphones had a fair amount of transmitter output power, on the order of 600 milliwatts or .6 watt. The potential to cause problems was exacerbated by that and the fact that an analog device maintains that amount of power essentially constantly during a call.
Newer PCS digital phones operate at much lower power and higher frequencies and have the ability to reduce power so that only enough power to talk to the cell site is being used.
A cellphone running low power isn't going to spark anything in a gas station. A mobile radio at 50 or 100 watts might. That kind of power can be rectified by dissimiliar metals that contact each other or a metallic object that is resonant at the frequency of the radio. Such an object makes an excellent antenna.
Test the cellphone during a call near your machine, if the machine doesn't alarm or act odd in another way you are probably ok.
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My centre has no rule against using cell phones, and I use mine all the time. On a related note, I visited a friend in another town a week ago, and did my Saturday treatment at a FMC clinic there. My friend wanted to stay with me during the treatment and talk to help me pass the time, but this particular centre didn't allow visitors in the treatment room. The do allow cell phones, however, so my friend just sat in the waiting room for four hours, and we talked to each other "through the wall" on our cell phones. Take care.
Adam
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I have been to 3 centers while doing dialysis and i never had a problem with them allowing visitors, was he underage? that would be the only reason someone wouldnt be able to be a visitor in the clinics i was in. Well, glad you at least had your cell phones. :2thumbsup;
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In my center, visitors have to leave when any patient is being connected or removed from the machine, which is pretty much all the time. There are a couple wives that diligently trot in and out of the room so they can hold their hubby's hand though their treatment. It's kinda cute.
I only IM and use the internet on my PDA when I'm stuck in the chair. I don't want to listen to other people talking on their phone and I assume others feel the same.
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No cell phones allowed in my unit - at least officially. One of the patients uses his all the time - he tends to hike his blanket up around his head and tries to keep the phone hidden. ;D Mine is always on now when I'm in center - it's the number I gave to my transplant coordinater. Besides her, only my family members have the number, and they know not to call me on it when I'm at the center.
I got a wrong number on it the other day while I was hooked up. It about scared me right out of my chair!
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My centre has no rule against using cell phones, and I use mine all the time. On a related note, I visited a friend in another town a week ago, and did my Saturday treatment at a FMC clinic there. My friend wanted to stay with me during the treatment and talk to help me pass the time, but this particular centre didn't allow visitors in the treatment room. The do allow cell phones, however, so my friend just sat in the waiting room for four hours, and we talked to each other "through the wall" on our cell phones. Take care.
Adam
That is so ridiculous! How is anyone going to want to donate if they don't see what we go through! How can some clinics claim it is a health issue and others allow people in. I think it is a power play just like not getting you a drink when you need it. They act as if we WANT to do this and are at their mercy for their help. THEY are PAID to do this.
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I think it is a power play just like not getting you a drink when you need it.
YEP.
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My center has no rule against using cell phones, and I use mine all the time. On a related note, I visited a friend in another town a week ago, and did my Saturday treatment at a FM clinic there. My friend wanted to stay with me during the treatment and talk to help me pass the time, but this particular center didn't allow visitors in the treatment room. The do allow cell phones, however, so my friend just sat in the waiting room for four hours, and we talked to each other "through the wall" on our cell phones. Take care.
Adam
it seems that all fmc centers are not created equal....my centers allows cell phones and visitors. one gentlemans entire family (it appears) comes every time, each one stays about 30 minutes and they keep trading off. if you want to get techincal about it your doctor is a visitor. i'd like to see any center try to keep them out
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it seems that all fmc centers are not created equal....my centers allows cell phones and visitors. one gentlemans entire family (it appears) comes every time, each one stays about 30 minutes and they keep trading off. if you want to get technical about it your doctor is a visitor. I'd like to see any center try to keep them out
All Fresenius clinics have the same policies and procedure as each other all across the US. It all depends on how they actually enforce those policies that differs. I found something that I can post since it is found on a public FMC website regarding cell phone use that backs up my previous posts here on the topic. Unfortunately it has been password protected so I cant copy and paste it here or into a word file to try and post all I can post is the web address.
www.fmcna.com/fusa/fieldbulletins/03fhk005.pdf (http://www.fmcna.com/fusa/fieldbulletins/03fhk005.pdf)
FOR ANYONE WHO LOOKED AT THIS AND FOUND IT WAS BLOOD PUMP ERROR MESSAGES THE LINK HAS BEEN FIXED!!!
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I work as an equipment technician for a Fresenius clinic so I can help out on this one. The no cell phone thing is out there for a few reasons. The second reason is to help keep the noise down on the floor. Your stuck there for several hours, do you really want to be forced to be sitting next to someone on the phone. I find that really annoying in the clinic and other places like the train. Hope this helps.
I really hate sitting next to some chatterbox talking for hours on the cell phone. I dont want to hear their
personal conversation. A short call kept low I can accept. Nurses and techs should keep their cell phones on
vibrate only and keep conversations to a minimum.
Gee it seems that some Nurses forget everything they learned in nursing school. Seems there is not enough time to read your chart, pay attention to your particular needs but plenty of time to gossip and make phone calls.
Of course many nurses are imported from over seas so lord knows what they were taught.
...bdpoe/Orlando
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Could someone if there is a difference in Davita units and the Frensius units? I believe I go to a Frensius but I was unsure if they were same thing basically? One more thing, we are allowed to use cell phones at my unit. Thanks in advance for anyone's response. Have a happy little day!
Tammy
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Could someone if there is a difference in Davita units and the Frensius units? I believe I go to a Frensius but I was unsure if they were same thing basically? One more thing, we are allowed to use cell phones at my unit. Thanks in advance for anyone's response. Have a happy little day!
Tammy
Davita and Fresenius are both Dialysis providers, but VERY different companies.
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I bring my laptop to treatment and I use my cell phone. I would go NUTS without either, it gets so boring at times.
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I just came across this article from Time Magazine last year, but hadn't seen it before:
Thursday, Sep. 06, 2007
Cell Phones in Hospitals: Bad Rx
By Coco Masters
A new Dutch study on mobile phone signals finds that using a cell phone in restricted areas, such as hospitals, can be dangerous. In the study, published Wednesday in the online journal Critical Care, researchers measured the impact of electromagnetic interference (EMI) from cell phone use on hospital equipment such as ventilators and pacemakers. Signals that were equal in strength to those given off by second- and third-generation mobile phones significantly interfered with medical devices, and the study's authors categorized 75% of those incidents as "hazardous," meaning that the interference had a direct impact on patient health, or "significant," indicating that it distracted health care providers. Hazardous incidents included the sudden switching off or restarting of machines — which could mean disruption of a patient's feeding tube, ventilator, pacemaker or dialysis machine — and most events occurred when mobile phones were within 3 cm of critical-care equipment.
Dr. Erik van Lieshout, a critical-care physician at the University of Amsterdam's Academic Medical Center, and his team were prompted to begin their study last year, when they wanted to use 3G mobile phone technology to monitor mobile intensive care units remotely. They asked a Dutch telecom company if it would be safe to use UTMS, or Universal Mobile Telecommunications System, technology — which, like W-CDMA in the U.S., facilitates data transfer — near medical devices. The company didn't know. So van Lieshout and his colleagues decided to evaluate the impact of cell signals themselves; they tested the signals' effect on 61 medical devices and found that 26 (or 43%) were disrupted by EMI. Most incidents were caused by a GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) signal, a mobile data service that handles heavy-duty data transfer in international GSM networks, used by companies such as Cingular/AT&T and T-Mobile.
First-generation cell phones handled only voice data, but subsequent generations have tacked on technology that allows data transmission, which uses more electricity than older phones — it's that extra juice that researchers think interferes with medical devices. Though cell phone technology differs in the U.S., Europe and Asia, the study's authors say that, in general, 10% of medical devices experience interference from second-generation mobile phones, and that while critical incidents are rare they are "potentially lethal and...are not recognized as such."
In their research, van Lieshout and colleagues generated maximum mobile phone power signals with a signal generator, rather than with actual phones, in order to achieve results that could be replicated in other studies. Mobile phones use more power in low-coverage areas or when they're far from a cell tower; with greater coverage and close proximity to a tower, phones use less power. "It's possible that in many hospitals there is low coverage because of the concrete in the building, and it's possible that your mobile phone is transmitting like hell to get in contact with the base station," says van Lieshout. His research team proposes the one-meter rule, which recommends that mobile phones be used more than three feet from medical equipment — or not at all in patient areas, if possible.
All hospitals have restrictions on where mobiles can be used. In the U.S., those guidelines are recommended by the Food and Drug Administration and the Center for Devices and Radiological Health. But van Lieshout says the reality is that "some doctors violate the rules, and there's an increase in the use of cell phones so it's hard to control." Rick Wade, senior vice president of the American Hospital Association, says that hospitals follow recommendations but set their own policies. He agrees that the official rules "don't deter anybody. Three feet is not an enormous amount of space," he says.
That's why van Lieshout wants hospital equipment, such as ventilators and monitors, to be tested and certified as mobile-phone proof. "It's not up to the hospital to test all the equipment," he says, "it should be done by the company."
Another solution might be to minimize the power output of mobile phones altogether by adding an antenna to the hospital to boost internal signal strength, a system that CellAntenna Corp. has installed in several U.S. hospitals. "The barrier to that for hospitals would be cost," says Wade. "Hospitals are investing a lot and my sense is that cell phone towers would not be at the top of the list."
But the question is, given all the variability in signal strength and cell phone use outside the laboratory, do phones pose a real-world threat? Not really, according to a study published in March in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, which found that "normal" cell phone use did not interact with medical devices. That study has a Mayo Clinic committee rethinking the clinic's current mobile phone policy, which is to ban phones from areas in which invasive procedures are being done, according to Jeffrey Tri, an electrical engineer and an author of the study. Tri says that the Dutch study used a signal strength of two watts, which, to his knowledge, is at least three times more power than any U.S. cell phone would emit. According to Tri, U.S. cell phones usually fall below the 600-milliwatt output level, and some are even capped at 250 milliwatts. "We think the value of [cell phone] technology really outweighs the disadvantages and we really couldn't find causes of concern to not change the policy," says Tri. "Our goal is to allow cell phone use everywhere but in pediatric and neonatal intensive care units and surgery because we have not done testing in those areas."
More studies need to be done on the effects of mobile phone use on medical equipment. In the meantime, if not for the sake of technical interference, think about the other reasons people don't yap away on their mobiles in critical areas. "We've all been around people who use cell phones," says Wade. "There is a line you draw — and you have to."
* http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1659417,00.html
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"most events occurred when mobile phones were within 3 cm of critical-care equipment."
3cm?! You'd have to have the phone and your head pressed up against the machine in order to cause a problem then! Who gets that close?!
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"most events occurred when mobile phones were within 3 cm of critical-care equipment."
But the hospital and staff forget to read that part !!! They are just protecting themselves. They don't want anything to happen and then have someone use the phones as an excuse to sue them.
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**imagines someone on top of the dialysis machine, with either 2 15 gauge needles coming out of their arm or tubes coming out of their cath** I think if the person got 3 cm away without the machines going off first, they deserve to talk on the phone. LOL ;D
My center has a no cell phone rule, yet people stlil talk on them. One even puts it on speaker to talk to whoever. Yup. I use mine to text and to call my mom if she's picking me up. That's it. Actually the other day my phone went off when I was holding my arm and the PCT asked if I wanted him to hold my arm so I could answer, so I guess they aren't too picky. But they do have a strict "No food" rule cause people were getting cramps. My center also doesn't allow visitors when people arer going on/off, yet I haven't ever seen anyone STAY in there during anyone's treatment
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I am at FMC clinic in Alabama we use the FMC K2's and I have never ever been told that we can not use cellphones I know one other patient is on his phone most of his treatment and like many other posters have said the staff at my clinic is regularly on their cellphones as well
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I still don't get the no food rule because people cramped? what the...???
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If the one guy who talks all night on his cell phone does not quiet down, I am going to stuff a pillow down him and his cell phone! He talks right at that volume level where you can hear the drone but not the conversation! I hate that volume level!
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If they enforced a new rule at my center that prohibied cell phones, I would celebrate.
This one guy comes in with his father and stays with him for the entire three hours. The problem is, he likes to walk around the clinic yelling on his cell phone. Repeatedly I have to ask the staff to tell him to go outside because he's disturbing patients.
This other guy likes to use his speakerphone on his cell phone so everyone can hear how important he is.
Still another likes to spend the entire three hours making his Playa Phone Calls.
"Yeah, baby. Mmm-hmm. You sound so juicy. No, I ain't sick. I'm just chilling. Chillaxin' atually. What you doin' later? Come on baby, I'm the man. No, there ain't no other ladies. Just you baby. Mmm-hmm."
Non-stop. For three hours. In the chair next to me. Ugh.
Manners and common courtesy are dying a quick, painful death in this country.
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We are aloud to use them. The thing that annoys me is that nurses and techs will walk around the floor making personal calls on them instead of taking off patients, or attending to them.
Troy
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Came across this on the internet - I NEED to get one of those cell phone jammers - sounds like fun LOL :rofl;
What is Cell Phone Etiquette?
Cell phone etiquette involves following some simple guidelines of common courtesy when using a cell phone in public, designed to make public places more enjoyable for all.
Chances are, you've been annoyed at one point or another by someone not practicing proper cell phone etiquette. The man or woman talking loudly into a mobile phone offends those forced to listen to business that's none of their own. Private conversations, arguments, details about how a meeting went, or intimate knowledge of what's in a stranger's refrigerator at home are all things unwilling eavesdroppers can do without.
Aside from overbearing conversations, obnoxious ringtones provide regular disruptions. The ambiance of restaurants and cafes must now compete with ringing phones and one-sided conversations. Distraction is another problem. Drivers talking on phones make last minute decisions or miss what's going on entirely, causing unnecessary delays for the motorists stuck behind them, or worse, traffic accidents. (In 2001 such accidents caused New York to be the first state to ban cell phone use while driving.)
Some people have gotten so fed up with rude mobile phone users they have turned to illegal cell phone jammers. These devices knock cell phone users off their lines and prevent a reconnection with the cell tower until the user wanders out of range. The rate at which jammers are selling speaks to the lack of manners among yappers.
At least one report indicates that while most people are annoyed by cell phone rudeness, most admit to engaging in it themselves. If you're wondering what you can do to contribute to a more polite society, cell phone etiquette can be boiled down to 8 simple rules:
1. When a Private Conversation Isn't Possible. Intimate public settings such as restaurants, public restrooms, waiting rooms, hallways, buses, subways or anywhere a private conversation is not possible is a bad place for a cell phone conversation. To practice good cell phone etiquette, put the ringer on vibrate or silent mode and let the call roll over to voice mail. If it's an important call, step outside or to a secluded area to return the call. If that's not possible and you must take the call, keep your voice low and the conversation brief. Let the caller know you'll get back to them when you're able.
2. Lights Out, Phone Off. Phones should be turned off in movie theaters, playhouses, observatories or any other public place that creates an atmosphere to transport the imagination of the audience. People pay good money to be entertained and a ringer breaks the illusion.
3. Modulate Your Voice. Cell phones have sensitive microphones that can pick up a very soft voice while blocking out ambient noise. Yelling into a cell phone is not necessary. When people are nearby, be considerate and keep your voice low, your tone unemotional and even, and your conversation private. Arguing or airing dirty laundry in public is very poor cell phone etiquette.
4. Observe the 10-foot Proximity Rule. Maintain a distance of at least 10-feet (3 meters) from the nearest person when talking on a cell phone. No matter how quietly you speak, if standing too close to others they are forced to overhear your personal business.
5. Keep It Short. Keep public conversations brief and get back to the caller when you're not in a public place.
6. Love the One You're With. It's rude to take a cell phone call on a date or during a social engagement with others. It's also inconsiderate to take a call in the middle of a conversation. If the caller were present he or she would likely wait to politely interrupt at a more appropriate time. Let the call roll to voice mail and return it later.
7. Drive Now, Talk Later. Multitasking isn't always a good thing. Some evidence shows that accidents are on the rise due to cell phone use. Most calls can wait until you've reached your destination, and if a call is upsetting or distracting pull over to have the conversation.
8. Use Common Sense. Turn off your phone before a job interview, presentation, or boardroom meeting. Leave it off at funerals, weddings, or anyplace a quiet atmosphere is mandated, such as a courthouse, library, museum, or place of worship.
Cell phone etiquette is just a matter of being considerate of others, which pays off for everyone.
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The fact that an article like that NEEDS and HAS to be written just proves that we're devolving as a species.
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... and they want to enable cell phone use on planes.