Combing the Galaxy: Imprivata is helping customers locate recalled Samsung Galaxy Note 7s devices in their facilities

One of my favorite parts of working at Imprivata is the ability to work on things that improve people’s lives. My days are usually spent with teams designing and building features for Imprivata Cortext that marry the security of our secure messaging platform with the convenience of healthcare grade texting.

And it’s rewarding. I frequently get to visit customers and hear that they’ve saved time, eliminated frustrations, and improved patient care since incorporating Imprivata Cortext into their workflows. We see the huge impact that Imprivata Cortext has on the day-to-day lives of providers, and they take it very seriously.

I’ll never forget the time I was visiting on the floor of an ICU and had just been introduced to a nurse who was under the impression that I was there to take away Imprivata Cortext. I don’t know where she got that idea from, but she gave me a piece of her mind. “If you try to take it away, I will kick…” She didn’t stop there, but I’ve been told by our HR department that I’m not allowed to type what she actually said. Needless to say, that nurse really relied on the solution and I’ve made it my mission to make sure she keeps Imprivata Cortext and remains happy.

So my job is rewarding, but nothing like this week.

By now, most of you have heard about the Samsung Galaxy Note 7. This device has been recalled by Samsung due to an issue where the device “can overheat and catch fire, posing a serious burn hazard to consumers,” according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

One of the side effects of delivering a cloud-based service like Imprivata Cortext is that we know which devices providers are using in the hospitals. So when we heard about the seriousness of the recall, we realized we were in a position to help a lot of our customers find these devices and remove them from their facilities. And that’s what we did.

Over the last two days, Imprivata employees from across the company have been calling each of our customers and letting them know exactly who in their environment is still using a recalled Samsung Galaxy Note 7. I spoke to a few of them myself and, as much as I enjoyed the intensity of support for Imprivata Cortext from that nurse in the ICO, I think my new favorite story is that of the overwhelming gratitude I received from a hospital IT director when I told him the names of the two people that still had recalled Samsung Galaxy Note 7s in their pockets.

You might expect an effort like this to get hung up in corporate legal or support or that a company might run into trouble finding volunteers to make the calls, but if you do it’s because you haven't worked at Imprivata. Projects like this are pretty common here. It’s rewarding to work in a place where the culture is all about doing the right thing for the customer.

Paul Russell is Vice President of Product Management for Imprivata Cortext.