Top 5 Ways That Unified Communications Benefit Healthcare Organizations

Electronic health records are revolutionizing the healthcare industry, with patients' entire medical histories digitized and archived for reference. Digital information is more practical for a number of reasons; for example, it is easier to store, access, share, and exchange digital data than physical files. What's more, digital records can easily be connected to a unified communications platform, which places more power in the hands of patients and employees—and takes pressure off your team. Read on to find out more about the Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) approach, and discover its top five benefits for healthcare organizations.

What is unified communications?

A unified communications platform connects all systems of communication, across all devices and apps, within an organization. Healthcare organizations, such as medical facilities, clinics, or other care providers, use a UCaaS platform to enhance employee and patient interaction by streamlining one of the most essential functions of any business—communication.

Cloud-based UCaaS solutions combine voice, call recording, chat, video, and conferencing into a centralized hub that facilitates real-time exchanges between all parties involved. Decision-makers, employees, and patients can communicate with each other using any device that's connected to your organization’s network.

Benefits of UCaaS for healthcare organizations

Let's take a look at the top five reasons why your healthcare organization should implement a UCaaS platform.

1. Improve employee experience

The healthcare industry workforce is inherently mobile or otherwise disconnected. Nurses and doctors spend all day on the move, care providers visit patients in their homes, and administrators work in remote offices. Connecting everyone might seem like a huge challenge, but unified communications make it easy. Because a UCaaS platform supports many different ways to communicate and collaborate, everyone in your organization can be more productive and have a better experience during the work day.

2. Enhance customer experience

In the past, healthcare was more prescriptive and less of a collaborative process between providers and patients. Today, patients are more involved in their own care, and there's evidence to show that this increased engagement leads to better outcomes.

As with all businesses, customer experience is everything when it comes to your healthcare services. UCaaS enables patients to communicate with your facility through multiple channels, which decreases the number of no-shows and last-minute cancellations.

3. Support digital transformation

The world is changing, with digital technology now providing new tools and systems that enable savvy business leaders to enhance operations. Implementing innovative solutions, such as a UCaaS platform, places you at the forefront of the market.

By being a pioneer of technology that improves customer and employee experience, you can attract and retain more patients and employees—and increase the number of excellent reviews and recommendations that you receive from them.

4. Increase productivity

Efficiency is the holy grail for all business leaders. Finding new ways to increase productivity is key to long-term success. UCaaS can help you reduce the amount of time wasted trying to locate or connect with a colleague or patent, saving your business thousands of dollars in lost productivity each year.

5. Ensure compliance

Healthcare is one of the most heavily regulated industries on the planet. UCaaS helps healthcare organizations to strike the perfect balance between accessibility and security. Military-grade encryption and multifactor authentication mean all channels of communication, as well as patient and business data, are kept secure.

Streamline employee and patient experience today

If you're ready to increase productivity and improve the way your employees and patients interact, check out 8x8's unified communications solution.