As Voice over Internet Protocol costs drop, the health care industry is increasingly using VoIP to streamline hospital unified communications (UC) systems and to improve the integration of various clinical, patient registration and billing systems. This article shares 18 examples of how hospitals can benefit from using VoIP.
As health care organizations update their computing capabilities in order to support electronic health record (EHR) systems, interoperability and standardization, many are considering whether to replace their existing phone system. As with any product purchase, IT executives are looking for real ROI in order to justify the cost.
In recent years VoIP providers have been making their products more flexible, to the point where many may be integrated with business applications. With the line between "phone" and "desktop" fading, enterprises are in some cases eliminating the need for handsets and moving toward application-based phones, also known as softphones.
While the total cost of ownership was high for many VoIP early adopters, those figures are dropping -- and there are several immediate, prolific benefits to gain though from VoIP implementation. Vendors such as Cisco Systems Inc., Avaya Inc. and ShoreTel Inc. now offer telephony systems that enable strong integration with hospital systems, including EHRs, patient registration, appointment scheduling, collections and patient calling.
Health organizations always focus on identifying platforms and solutions that will ensure enhanced patient care and streamline clinical workflows while still help reduce operational costs. Using a VoIP system help achieve these goals.
However, one key factor cannot be overlooked -- some of the auto attendant functionalities reduce the personal interactions among staff and patients. Convincing these users that talking to a machine is actually an improvement will be difficult, but it is an important step in effectively using VoIP in health care.
Ten tips for using VoIP in a clinical setting...
Eight more tips: Using VoIP for patient registration and billing...
Read more at http://searchhealthit.techtarget.com/tip/Using-VoIP-to-improve-clinical-billing-registration-processes