Video collaboration is having a marked impact on patient care as well as on the overall reduction of healthcare costs. It will continue to play an increasingly important role when it comes to the care of patients, the ease of medical administration and record-keeping, and the general education of all parties involved.
This guide, based on a white paper by Polycom, explores the 9 different ways that collaborative video solutions can improve healthcare and reduce costs.
1) Extended reach for high-quality interaction between doctors and patients, no matter where either happens to be: Doctors and patients can collaborate using video even if either are in remote locations. You can collaborate over video anywhere anytime to educate, deliver care, or simply get things done.
2) Decreased unnecessary re-hospitalizations through better consistent patient education and healthcare team coordination: Education to prevent unnecessary re-hospitalizations is a great thing. Patients with chronic disease may find themselves in the hospital on Monday, released to go home a few days later, just to find themselves back in the Emergency Room the following Monday, creating an expensive cycle of declining health. Collaborative video education is breaking this cycle by helping healthcare teams and patients better manage disease through community and home-based education.
3) Enhanced healthcare team meetings via “multipoint” collaboration to save time, travel and money: Video collaboration enables healthcare providers, patients, and ancillary health workers to participate in team meetings to discuss and treat diseases without the need to travel, thereby saving time and money.
4) Supports multidisciplinary teams with associated cost savings: Medical, paramedical and nursing professionals can meet as often as they like in real time, without the need to travel to a single location, thereby reducing cost. Collaborative video solutions also contribute in creating a model of healthcare that is not just cost-effective and efficient, but can also treat patients with greater empathy and understanding due to multidisciplinary collaboration.
5) Increased productivity of healthcare professionals: Collaborative video solutions results in increased productivity, as healthcare professionals can treat greater numbers of patients, as they save on travel time. It also results in less fatigue and directly impacts the quality of care.
6) More effective education of hospital staff, clinicians and the patient community: Remote seminars, training sessions and lectures can be arranged for hospital staff, clinicians and the patient community through collaborative video solutions. Continuing education thereby results in a virtuous cycle, directly contributing to an improved quality of patient care.
7) Increased referrals and a strengthened relationship with local hospital and related health facilities: Video collaboration results in local doctors referring increasing numbers of patients to specialists. It also results in doctors forging better relationships with the local healthcare network in that particular location.
8) Reduced ER loads and decreased patient wait times: Due to an improved and quicker quality of patient care, fewer numbers of patients visit Emergency Rooms (ER). Also, video collaboration positively impacts patient wait times, as doctors are able to treat greater numbers of patients more quickly.
9) Improved access to care: Video collaboration is relevant the world over as we look for ways to improve care, prevent illness, and reduce cost of care. Education due to video collaboration emphasizes prevention and more involvement of the primary care physician and local community health centers. Hospitals also play an important role by providing expert consults as well as collaborative infrastructure. Strengthened relationships between all those involved in care delivers results in better patient care and wellness.
So, these are the reasons why and how video collaboration is becoming increasingly popular in the healthcare domain. It not only brings together diverse health professionals to treat patients, but also facilitates the delivery of healthcare education to those who need it most, especially in the patient community. This prevents disease and also helps diagnosis. Here’s to the seamless delivery of healthcare to those who need it the most!
For more information on how you can set up a video collaboration solution for your business, contact Actis at 022-30808080 or at contact@actis.co.in.
(Content courtesy: www.polycom.com and images courtesy: www.huffingtonpost.com and www.brothercloud.com)