What health systems can learn from tech giants

Digital communication is transforming healthcare, but so far the transformation has been piecemeal. Health systems need to identify technologies that facilitate communication between clinicians and with patients. These solutions need to optimize every step of the patient journey, handle a wide variety of data, offer telehealth services, and connect seamlessly with other systems such as EHRs.

One of the issues in healthcare communication is that the “communication space” even between small teams is huge – which leads to siloed information, where one part of the team is missing crucial data held by other team members. In the end, it’s the patient who suffers.

The problem with point solutions

Right now, many health systems use a piecemeal collection of point solutions to perform communication and workflow tasks.

Because none of these point solutions are connected, providers must log in and out of multiple apps to get work done. Time is wasted, the risk for errors increases, and providers are stressed.

Learning from tech giants

For health systems, building better communications means more than just replacing pagers with texting on providers’ smart phones. They need a platform that provides answers for questions like: How do you empower collaboration with all the members of the care team, including labs, radiology and external providers? How do you know who’s on call, and who is taking the next shift? How do you expedite admissions, transfers and discharges, and how do you engage with patients?

Health systems need to take a page from tech giants when it comes to driving communications innovation. Tech companies use communication platforms to unify multiple tasks and channels instead of point solutions that run independently. They get the most value from communication platforms by linking them to the business strategy and having a holistic understanding of how all their elements have to work together.

About Backline

Advanced communication platforms such as Backline enable health systems to switch from piecemeal point solutions to an enterprise platform that optimizes the entire clinical workflow.

Designed by actual clinicians, Backline is a healthcare-specific platform that helps manage the complexity and urgency of today’s clinical environment. In addition to providing secure communications and telehealth, we deliver a virtual workspace that brings together providers to collaborate across units and disciplines. Health systems that use Backline elevate their efficiency, while increasing clinician and patient satisfaction.