Sometimes, effectiveness has greater value than efficiency.

Nowhere is that more the case than in the healthcare sector, where patient outcomes and the ability for staff to work smart are the most important measures of success.

Communication, of course, has a critical role to play: today’s modern unified platforms crucial components in organisations’ wider tool sets.

Regardless of the delivery or finance model, healthcare organisations around the world know that investment in technology not only enhances the quality of communication, it also has the potential to improve the level of care they are able to provide.

They (and their IT service providers) need only to partner with a vendor that is fully committed to delivering on both those fronts.

“It’s about asking how can you be the most effective every time that you interact with a patient?” says Robert Oscanyan, Senior Director of Product Marketing at global cloud communications provider Intermedia, whose powerful omnichannel platform is just what the doctor ordered.

“It’s not just about solving their in-the-moment communication needs, it’s also being mindful of the other factors which contribute to the delivery of a high-quality service, such as proactive outreach. Healthcare organisations often have so many different systems aimed at maximizing patient engagement – bringing them together onto a single, all-in-one-place unified communications platform makes it all much more effective.”

Specifically, the Intermedia solution – available direct or via System Integrators and Value Added Resellers – connects organisation’s multiple communication channels with patients’ Electronic Heath Records (EHR). When a patient makes contact, an on-screen pop-up presents agents with a curated dashboard that provides easy access to the EHR and information such as appointments, prescriptions, and billing.

Agents are able to add post-communication notes that immediately update the EHR. There are also self-service tools which enable patients to reschedule appointments, pay bills, and order prescription refills. The platform’s in-built call recording, archiving, and search functionality means users are permanently compliant with all regulatory and governance obligations.

“It can often take too much time to find patients records within an EHR and patients can spend too long on hold,” says Oscanyan.

“The latest statistics suggest that healthcare staff will make something like 5,000 clicks a day using their computer mouse, which can cause significant fatigue. Deploying our unified communication platform simplifies all of the processes and delivers a better experience on both sides.

“Our users can automate a lot of their workflows in ways which do not require them to make manual calls, such as sending appointment reminders. Using the AI built into the platform, they can also offload post-call documentation via an automatic transcription tool that can also be integrated with the EHR. Natural Language Understanding can also help behavioural health departments identify patient sentiment or treatment side effects.”

The platform has telehealth capabilities too – secure video conferencing tools that enable virtual doctor/patient consultations to take place that can transform healthcare delivery in remote or geographical areas, and which can assist the elderly or those with lower socioeconomic status who are unable to travel.

“It enables a patient to call in and share their issue via a locked-down video conferencing call, and for a nurse to triage them and decide the best course of action, which might actually be to remain at home and self-treat,” says Oscanyan. “That represents a very effective call for all concerned.”

For Intermedia reseller partners, the healthcare opportunity is a significant one.

“We truly do work for our partners,” says Oscanyan. “Our end user organisations are our partners’ customers and that will always be the case. They have the local relationships and they know how to help their healthcare customers deliver that localised service. We support our partners fully from the very beginning; with discovery calls, marketing collateral; onboarding; and, of course, 24/7 technical support. If a new partner does not have specialist healthcare sector experience, we can provide all of the training they may require. The market is a substantial one, and we are here to help all parties reap the rewards.”

  • To learn more about how Intermedia can help your and your customers’ businesses benefit from digital healthcare communication transformation, visit the website.


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