Unified Communications Continues to Reshape the Healthcare Space

Last year, healthcare costs for a family of four were estimated to be nearly $20,000, a dramatic increase from seven percent from the previous year, according to consulting firm Milliman Inc. This was actually the fifth consecutive year in a row that healthcare costs rose between seven and eight percent. To combat this costs, those involved in the rapidly growing space are increasingly turned to next-generation platforms such as unified communications as way to cut costs and drive efficiency.

An integral element of any UC system is video conferencing. Through giving workforces the option of being able to look at whomever they are attempting to communicate with helps to ramp up project completion time significantly in addition to ensuring everyone involved remains on the same page. HD video conferencing is bringing this face-to-face solution to a whole other level, offering a much richer quality of video resolution than previously seen.

In a recent blog post from Teo, it was revealed that HD video conferencing is being leveraged heavily by the healthcare industry due to the fact that “the technology improves the efficiency and efficacy of physician responsibilities, which in turn allows for the patient experience to be greatly improved by the use of video conferencing solutions.”

Say, for instance, a patient needs immediate attention for an ailment but can’t physically travel to his or her physician’s office. With video conferencing, this problem can be quickly resolved as patients can remain in the comfort of their own home sweet home while still receiving urgent care. Appointments will never again be missed, helping to keep the public healthier and happier since they didn’t have to worry about transportation to and from their doctor visit.

Moreover, in spite of the fact that corporations are usually the ones being touted as largely responsible for bringing UC to the spotlight, public divisions of a variety of countries as of late have begun to implement these solutions as a way to slash costs and ultimately increase customer satisfaction via communicating in a variety of channels.

Traveling down under, the Australian Parliament has seen many advantages from its recent purchase of a one way ticket to unified communications land. The decision was made after Parliament Member Bill Shorten realized that nearly $235,000 was wasted in only half of a year as spent on specific travel-related expenses.

However, with video conferencing in place, traveling costs were cut down by nearly half last year when compared to the previous year. In the future, public officials in the country where koalas roam free will be utilizing this way of communicating even more.