Communication is key to an effective medical system. Without the proper tools, health care professionals and patients cannot talk with one another. Unified communications provides the necessary people with efficient technology to improve patient engagement and industry-wide conversations.
Increasing patient participation
Stage 2 of the the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services requires doctors to have 5 percent of their patients access portals, according to InformationWeek. While patient satisfaction increases with the use of these websites, the struggle is providing enough incentive to drive traffic there. Health care providers need to make portals the one-stop shop for everything patients could need. UC can fulfill this goal.
Portals that utilize UC include multiple methods for patients to interact not only with their doctors, but with their conditions. Users can see their lab results and medical records as soon as their doctors can, Forbes magazine explained. They can also access information concerning their illnesses that allows them to better understand what they face after diagnoses. This gives them the opportunity to get a basic knowledge that permits them to ask more in-depth questions once they have a chance to talk to their doctors.
That communication is also simplified with UC. Instead of trying to reach one another on the phone, providers and patients can utilize UC solutions, such as email, instant messaging, audio and videoconferencing and voice mail, in the patient portal to reach out to the other, as stated in the source. The constant ability to communicate allows people to ask questions or convey information as soon as they have them instead of waiting for a phone call. The portal also allows patients to take care of bills and medical appointment scheduling.
Improving communication
According to a recent survey by Harris Poll and PerfectServe, 69 percent of medical professionals feel that care is hindered by waiting for information about patients. A lack of communication, as well as awareness of knowing who to contact, impedes doctors' and nurses' ability to immediately care for patients. UC solutions through portals and EHR software allow instant connections between the necessary parties.
By having access to patient portals and electronic medical records at sick people's bedsides, doctors can check test results, see other professionals' online presences and determine treatment immediately, Forbes explained. Having everything at hand also allows physicians to share their EHRs with other health care providers who are seeing the same patients, which eliminates each person's responsibility to bring his or her records from doctor to doctor. Everything is online and accessible for everyone involved with EHR interoperability and UC.
Increased communication between doctors, patients and their families also allows for improved care coordination, which creates efficiency in hospitals by providing mobile health tools. All involved can access patient records and medical information to increase understanding of a person's condition, according to InformationWeek. Mobile monitoring also allows doctors to keep an eye on patients while freeing up hospital beds.
With UC tools, everything patients and doctors could need for managing health is in one place. This increases patient engagement while improving EHR interoperability.
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Ronny Bachrach
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