Smooth and efficient communication is arguably more important in hospitals and healthcare centres than in any other kind of workplace. When the fate of people's health (or even lives) is at stake, healthcare professionals need to be able to quickly and reliably contact one another and their patients.
Traditional phone and pager systems are becoming outdated as Australian hospitals become increasingly hectic, but this is giving rise to a new wave of unified communications (UC) technology. UC systems are designed to streamline communications throughout an organisation, and this efficiency is more necessary in hospitals than anywhere else.
Between April 2016 and April 2017, nearly 1.8 million patients were admitted to hospitals in Victoria.
Here are three benefits unified communications platforms can offer healthcare businesses in Australia.
1. Easy transfer of patient information
Between April 2016 and April 2017, nearly 1.8 million patients were admitted to hospitals in Victoria, according to government data. This is an enormous amount of patient information that hospitals are storing, and transferring that data between healthcare facilities can be a headache for nurses and doctors.
With unified communications systems, patient information is easily and securely transferred - whether it's from one end of the hospital to another, or across the state to a different organisation. This in itself can be a huge breakthrough for hospitals that have had a hard time managing and keeping track of medical records.
Hospitals are busy places where time is of the essence - unified communications systems can help.2. Helpful for interpersonal comms across the hospital
In addition to expediting the transfer of patient information, UC platforms allow for quick and clear communication between healthcare professionals. Pagers are useful in this regard, but only to a certain extent - with an internet-based UC system, doctors and nurses can call, video chat, email or instant message one another at the touch of a button.
With a UC system, doctors can call, video chat, email or instant message one another at the touch of a button.
This can be incredibly helpful when someone has a quick question to ask but doesn't have the time to rush around the building looking for an answer. When everyone in a hospital has a mobile device that they can take around the facility with them, it means that they can contact one another at all times with ease.
3. Tool for in-home care patients
In many cases, doctors can be apprehensive to move patients from the hospital back to their own home - what if something goes wrong? How can they check on the patient? With unified communications systems, patients can use their own devices to check in with their preferred doctor.
Same goes for physical therapy sessions or other rehabilitative care. Rather than be forced to leave the comfort of their home to attend a session, patients can tune in on the UC platform to participate in real time. This saves both patients and healthcare professionals time and expenses that would otherwise be wasted travelling to and from the hospital.
Healthcare professionals (and their patients) can save both time and money with unified communications.Should Australian hospitals be getting unified communications systems?
As you can see, there are numerous benefits that hospitals and healthcare facilities in Australia can get from implementing UC platforms as their preferred communication tool. At Fonality, we have a number of different solutions that can be customised to fit the needs of your healthcare business, such as our innovative Heads Up Display.
Communication in hospitals is of paramount importance, so reach out to a representative at Fonality today to learn more about how UC can help.
