Telehealth

Healthcare providers and IT vendors in the region have weighed in with their predictions for healthcare technology in the new year.

A virtual care CEO says telemedicine means more physicians in the mix, enabling them to delegate less-complex tasks. Health systems should then be able to reduce wait times with that newly expanded capacity.

A change in administration isn’t the only thing that promises an interesting year. Editors from Healthcare IT News, Healthcare Finance News and MobiHealthNews discuss what to look for in telehealth and RPM, and emerging policies in AI and cybersecurity.

As one telemedicine CEO looks to the year ahead, he predicts RPM will improve outcomes for congestive heart failure patients and help manage those on the wildly popular GLP-1 diabetes and weight loss medications.

Overburdened Wi-Fi networks may not be sufficient to meet these needs and cellular signals can vary in strength within a building, impacting patient care and experiences.

Resilient connectivity across your facility is necessary for healthcare organizations (HCOs) to support strategic technology initiatives like telemedicine, IoT devices, EHRs, imaging, and patient entertainment. However, many HCOs rely on WiFi and outdoor cellular towers, a legacy approach that often results in slow data speeds, frustrated patients and staff, and rising maintenance costs.

For call center customers, a great experience starts with skilled, efficient, experienced agents. Most agents need access to multiple channels and apps simultaneously: internal interfaces like a CRM and knowledge base as well as external engagement channels like social media and web chat accounts.

Across industries, IT leaders’ top priorities include eliminating unnecessary expenses, boosting efficiency and generating revenue through improved customer experiences. Implementing a unified communications platform like RingCentral’s can help businesses modernize their practices and realize these goals.

According to a Forrester report, RingCentral’s unified communications as a service (UCaaS) and contact center as a service (CCaaS) solutions result in improved customer experiences and cost savings for businesses. In addition, the study found that businesses using integrated UCaaS and CCaaS platforms benefited more compared to those that used separate unified communications and contact center platforms.

According to an IQVIA study, U.S. patients made 10 times more digital health visits in March 2021 than March 2020, showing that patients have come to appreciate telehealth’s speed and service. Adopting omnichannel patient communications enables healthcare organizations (HCOs) to connect with patients according to their communication preferences.