In recent years, Voice over Internet Protocol, or simply VoIP, has been making advances in all kinds of businesses, and we are quite sure that soon, it will kick legacy telephony systems out of the market. Indeed, its benefits can’t be ignored and are forcing more and more companies to revamp their telephone practices.
However, businesses are not the only ones who can benefit from implementing VoIP. Today, we’d like to take a closer look at the reasons why hospitals and other healthcare institutions should be next in line.
Lower costs
Hospitals can’t possibly function without everyday telephony communication, especially long-distance calls, as often medical experts and patients live in remote locations. This results in hefty telephone charges and higher prices for medical services. It’s an old truth that customers look for cheaper prices, and so by reducing the costs through VoIP, medical institutions can attract more clients. For instance, Longmont United Hospital was able to cut 60% of its telephone expenses by incorporating VoIP solutions.
Better organization
With VoIP in hospitals, inbound calls can be sorted and prioritized to achieve better customer service. The use of this technology will also simplify patient registration and handling of bills, sending appointment confirmations, and general interaction between patients and doctors.
Doctor-to-doctor communication will enjoy a boost from VoIP as well: medical specialists will no longer have to meet in person to discuss clinical trials and innovative treatments; instead, they will be able to use high-quality video communication any time of the day.
Medical secrecy is important, and VoIP offers a higher level of sensitive info protection – especially if you take into account the security tips we described earlier. Furthermore, it allows for data storage, and to have access thereto around the clock.
Flexibility
Implementing VoIP in medical institutions will help evaluate the volume of inbound calls and define the number of staff required to process them. For instance, calls to a number of offices can be forwarded to one receptionist. Conversely, a hospital might conclude that it doesn’t cope with the number of inbound calls effectively enough and decides to launch a small call-center. The beauty of VoIP is that its size and functionality can be adjusted to the actual needs of a certain medical institution.
No downtime
Healthcare institutions can’t afford not being connected for even a couple of hours, and the implementation of VoIP doesn’t force them to. The bulk of the required infrastructure is already in place in most hospitals. Therefore, the new system can be implemented while the old one is still working to ensure sufficient time to adjust and provide training for the hospital staff.
Add system reliability and faster disaster recovery to the equation and you will see that implementing VoIP in a medical institution is simply the best course of action. Time means life in healthcare, and VoIP can ensure that no precious time is lost.
