Grandstream demonstrates how we can improve Healthcare with Unified Communications

With all the technology on offer, you would think that communication and collaboration platforms used in healthcare would be far more up to date and modern than it is. According to a study, nearly 80 percent of hospitals still use pagers and a survey showed that almost 52% of physicians said that these devices are one of their most significant sources of frustration. Pagers work on a much higher frequency than mobile phones, thus allowing doctors to be reachable despite x-ray proof walls and poor mobile phone coverage. So it seems like pagers won’t be going anywhere any time soon, but with all of the technology around us, how can we get healthcare professionals better communicated? Grandstream Networks have covered this topic in depth, enabling healthcare workers to become more advanced and efficient with the latest technology.

How to improve this situation?

There are many other communication processes not related to pagers that can improve, but a lot of hospitals and clinics are missing the opportunity to give better services to their patients. For example, discharge times could dramatically reduce if staff had the chance to communicate more efficiently with the right tools. This simple change would lead to a lot more open beds for new patients. Just a simple change in the way doctors and patients communicate with the nurses’ or streamline the discharge process by avoiding interaction with so many different people, would help to achieve this goal. Solutions like Grandstream’s Wireless DECT IP Phones could help this happen. Features such as Push-to-Talk, call queues, and shared call appearance, are ideal for these scenarios.

Making Healthcare Professionals more Efficient

 Doctors say they spend only about 45% of their time interfacing with patients, in large part, because they must deal with inefficient communications technologies. They can cut this time through the use of unified communications (UC) platforms that would allow them to interact with their teams in the shortest amount of time, including all the features they need to be efficient, such as voice, video, IM, mobility, and more. For example, Grandstream’s UCM IP PBX Series allows doctors to host a conference with their peers or patients with just a few clicks, no matter if the other participants are using a desktop IP Phone, a video-conferencing device, or simply their smartphones. Additionally, productivity-focused features such as SIP presence and BLF/speed-dial keys help streamline staff’s communication processes.

Telemedicine

  Telemedicine is another missed unified communications opportunity for healthcare professionals and is as straightforward as patients attending an appointment through a video conference on their computer. Quick evaluation and diagnosis of common issues such as colds, rashes, or ear infections could be achieved by uploading patient photos, utilising IM and video conversations. UC platforms and endpoints support video capabilities that enable remote care for patients. This technology would save time for both healthcare professionals and patients, and would also simplify follow-up appoints for simple check-up procedures. Grandstream VoIP Video Phones enable doctors and nurse practitioners to conduct these procedures entirely from their desk.

 In conclusion, the healthcare industry needs to take a step forward when it comes to communications. There are now secure, reliable, and cost-effective options that allow healthcare facilities to streamline processes that provides better services to their patients and makes healthcare professionals more efficient.