24.10.16
Four ways to build a better healthcare experience
Terry Espiner, head of UK healthcare at Cisco Ltd, explains how digital technology can help hospitals deliver the highest quality care while improving the patient experience.
The UK population is expected to increase dramatically over the next 10 years, meaning healthcare professionals are faced with a difficult question: how can hospitals continue to give the highest quality care with resources spread so thin? We think the answer is clear!
Digital Transformation
By bringing the technology we already use every day into our hospitals, we can make our healthcare system a whole lot smoother and improve the experience of each patient, each day. Here’s how:
- Beds, equipment and the daily back and forth
The traditional IT set-up in hospitals isn’t always practical or efficient. It involves a lot of running back and forth, and a lot of logging in and out of different systems. But it doesn’t have to be this way. With Cisco’s mobile devices and smart network, doctors and nurses can be contacted on the move. They can also access vital information anywhere. With location services, they can even track and allocate beds and equipment. Staff can spend less time waiting for the things they need and more time caring for patients.
- Get home and get better
Discharging patients can be a bit of a waiting game. It means co-ordinating with different consultants, specialist transport providers, social workers, therapists, pharmacies, carers…the list goes on. While that’s happening, healthy patients spend a lot of time waiting in bed. But smart collaboration platforms and security-optimised wireless networks can change that. They allow everyone involved to share information with the relevant services and they give doctors and nurses access to that information when they need it, so they can discharge their patients at the right time. Beds can be freed-up much sooner and patients can get back to the comfort of their own homes much quicker.
- Log-in for check-ups
It’s not always easy for a patient to make trips back and forth from hospital, particularly if they’re elderly or they live in a remote area. Remote consultations and video conferencing can help in this scenario. If a patient needs to see a specialist, they can have their first consultation online and get the care they need without leaving the comfort of their own home. Video conferencing is also useful when you need the expertise of more than one specialist, or when you need a translator. It’s a smart way for doctors and nurses to share their skills from anywhere in the country.
- No more waiting around
Hospital waiting rooms are getting busier than ever. This can be irritating if you’re a bored visitor and worrying if you’re a patient who needs to be seen. That’s where Cisco’s smart network and mobile apps come in. Patients and visitors can find directions to departments, wards and even specific beds so they don’t all have to wait in the same crowded room.
Hospitals of the Future
Weaving technology into hospitals will help revolutionise our healthcare system and dramatically improve patient experience. We believe there has never been a better time to transform UK healthcare.
Watch the video to see how Cisco collaboration technology is helping to transform healthcare in the NHS with remote expertise for patients.
To find out how Cisco can transform your hospital head to cisco.co.uk/healthcare