Research Post: Healthcare Telecommunications in Post-COVID Era

With rapid development of Healthcare IT telecommunications there is an abundance of various solutions in the market that provide reliable and secure services. Healthcare Telecommunications can be viewed as: Telecommunications/Telemedicine and a communication per se within the healthcare installation.  The COVID pandemic enhanced telecommunications development worldwide especially in the field of Telemedicine. In this post we will attempt to look into several aspects of the issue.  

 The subject of Healthcare Telecommunications is a relatively new in the market, as compared to traditional telecoms, so there are not so many sources to explore.  We recommend one of the good sources for theory: Journal of Communication in Healthcare. In particular, the latest issue features an article on the COVID-19 vaccine information war. Jeff Zinger outlines requirements for sustainable health IT systems in his paper Preparing for the on-demand future of health care  

Aside from enabling systems to communicate with one another, there are other key features customer will expect in addition to simple two-way messaging:

Monitoring & Alerting: Inevitably, at some point connectivity may be interrupted for any number of reasons. Competitive interfacing solutions will need to be able to identify an error source, and more importantly, alert key personnel of the issue so it may be resolved proactively.

Scalability: The number of connections to an interface required by your customers will grow over time. With more healthcare providers demanding electronic exchanges of patient data and the growing EMR adoption, a competitive interface engine should be able to grow with the demands of the market.

Compatibility with Different Data Formats: In addition to HL7, your interface engine should be able to handle other clinical standards including the Clinical Document Architecture (CDA), Continuity of Care (CCR), and XML. EMRs are growing as a key driver in healthcare interfaces, so addressing the various clinical formats is critical to meeting an application and provider’s interfacing requirements.

Testing & Maintenance Ability: The ability to match and then test messages against a particular HL7 version (Health Level Seven or HL7 refers to a set of international standards for transfer of clinical and administrative data between software applications used by various healthcare providers including any customer modifications), is essential. It is equally important to be able to provide documentation of any interfaces built and deployed in order to manage the cost of support for each installation

 Thus, let us have a look at certain systems that are in the market.

 

Weave Medical Software and Phones Designed to Connect Instantly With Patients

Weave's VoIP phones and medical software is designed to work alongside your EHR solution to enhance patient communication and maintain organization all in one place. Weave is the hub where all your smart interaction tools exist so that you increase efficiency and delight your patients. Here is a post related to COVID experience: 13 Ways to Minimize Human Contact While Maximizing the Patient Experience. This blog post discusses the ways of offering essential services to the patients while meeting the constantly fluctuating regulations and standards created by society's concern about the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Trillian's HIPAA-compliant messaging platform

Trillian helps keep employees off the phone with desktop and mobile software that fires prompt alerts as new messages demand attention. Chat privately or in groups, surface critical information using urgent messages, and know when messages are read with read receipts.

Watch this review of the system

 

Klara Secure Telemedicine Communication Platform

Klara allows medical professionals to deliver convenience to patients: communicate with them via HIPAA-compliant text messaging, offer seamless telemedicine solutions, and digitize patient workflows for insurance intake, appointment reminders, no-show engagement, and more — all with no patient login or downloads required. Here is KLARA's COVID experience: Setting Up A Long-Term Telemedicine Solution That Thrives Post-Pandemic

 

Virtual Waiting Room - Relatient Patient Engagement Software

A virtual waiting room can have two meanings. In the context of a patient arriving for an in-office medical appointment, a virtual waiting room is the process in which a patient can check-in from their mobile device and remain in their vehicle until an exam room is available. This allows the patient to bypass the traditional waiting room, reducing their risk of exposure to both other patients and germs and viruses present on surfaces, shared devices like kiosks, and materials like magazines, books, papers, clipboards, and pens.

In the context of a Telehealth appointment, a virtual waiting room is a process used by patients to indicate they are ready for their televisit, staff who are viewing and managing a patients televisit experience, and/or a provider who is indicating they are ready to initiate the telemedicine appointment with the patient or caregiver. Major Features:

Administrative

- Patient Appointment Reminders 

-Unlimited voice, email, and text appointment reminder service with missed appointment rescheduling.

Chat & Secure Messaging

- Send and receive texts directly to patients with 2-way chat or secure messaging. - Messenger collects patient responses across all automated solutions. Secure option protects PHI and best practices.

Broadcast

- Self-service, user friendly on-demand messaging. Quickly notify scheduled patients, groups, and staff of delays, office closures, inclement weather, and custom messages.

Satisfaction Surveys & Reputation Management

-Survey patients post visit and generate public reviews to improve your medical practice’s online reputation.

Patient Self-Scheduling & Waitlist

PM/EHR integrated patient self-scheduling tool for 24/7 patient access. No portal, username, or password needed.

eRegistration & Check-in

-A mobile first pre-registration and contactless check-in solution for patient intake. -Enable patient & staff safety, the virtual waiting room, and telehealth.​

Billing

MDpay® & Patient Balance Messaging

Collect more patient balances faster in the office, on the web, or via patients’ mobile devices to save on statement costs and reduce time in AR..

Easy payment plans that auto draft

Text 2 pay

Clinical

Health Campaigns

- Promote patient adherence, target gaps-in-care, reduce readmission, and improve revenue with automated campaigns.

- Set recall messages based on clinical data​

- Educate patients on health topics

- Promote portal adoption

- Support care management

The Ascom Healthcare Platform

Connects devices, systems, information and care teams, creating digital clinical information flow that turns fragmented data into accessible information to support clinicians across points of care: from the bedside, to intensive care units, to operating rooms and more. 

- Bridge digital information gaps by integrating medical devices and vital care information systems such as EHRs and EMRs

- Extend the reach of actionable clinical insight to clinicians through orchestration software, analytics and task management

- Enable informed clinical care at the bedside and across points of care through mobility, patient response systems and care application solutions

 

RADAR healthcare communication platform

RADAR is a complete healthcare communication platform that can be easily integrated into your existing system to achieve secure, closed-loop, automated notifications.

RADAR’s mission is to provide high-quality healthcare communications in support of better clinical outcomes. Whether that communication fosters patient peace of mind or clinical collaboration and decision-making, RADAR is the platform for fast, accurate, reliable results. One of the earliest solutions to the risk and productivity issues involved in clinical communication, RADAR is used in hospitals, physicians’ offices, specialty care practices, labs, and many other healthcare settings.

RADAR is a real-world solution, developed by a radiologist, that makes it easy for you to adapt to changing healthcare requirements.

The Overview can be downloaded HERE

 ZNetRelay - HIPAA-compliant Healthcare Communications Platform

 Information can be taken from any Healthcare Information System (HCIS) and turned into a message sent to mobile devices, NetRelay Messaging Consoles and/or through our NetDelivery hospital data exchange to email, fax, EMRs, etc. NetRelay seamlessly integrates with healthcare information system applications, requiring no interfaces. NetRelay also helps satisfy Meaningful Use 2 requirements for secure messaging, as well as the Joint Commission and HIPAA mandates for patient data protection.

Provides Secure Text Messaging, Improved Message Delivery and Tracking, and Positive Confirmation of Critical Lab Values

 

NetRelay’s main features include:

- Secure, HIPAA-compliant text messaging

- Automated, easy, out-of-the box integration with any HCIS

- True acknowledgment of critical lab values

- Automated reporting for CAP and The Joint Commission

NetRelay Messaging Consoles – Integrate with and receive automated messages from the HCIS

- Customizable message templates

- Escalation of messages identified as important, particularly critical values

- Periodic alerts sent directly to mobile devices and Consoles

- Message filtering determines which messages are important based on rules applied, reducing alert fatigue

With NetRelay, hospitals can see dramatic improvements in communications and workflow. In use in one healthcare facility, NetRelay was able to reduce average critical value workflow time from 45 to 15 minutes, which helped reduce throughput, decrease patient wait times and improve responsiveness to patients. The facility was also able to improve nursing pain reassessment documentation from 78% to 96% through the implementation of automated reminders.