Why Healthcare Industry Professionals Trust Microsoft Teams
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about changes in how we do things—from business to education and even healthcare. Yet, with the scare of contracting the virus and lockdowns still imposed in various parts of the world, even going to the doctor is a time-consuming process and an even riskier proposition. But what do we do if we need to see our beloved physician?
The answer, of course, is telemedicine. With teleconferencing now part of the norm, we can still consult our healthcare professionals safely from our homes. The challenge is consolidating other integral parts of the consultation to be within a few keystrokes and clicks away.
Enter Microsoft Teams. This tool will help your healthcare organisation stay organised and on track, enabling you to provide excellent patient care. Therefore, the healthcare industry stands to benefit significantly from Microsoft Teams’ features developed specifically for them.
Here are the top features of Microsoft Teams that would be perfect for your clinic or hospital.
Virtual Consultation with Electronic Healthcare Record (EHR)
With Microsoft Teams, it is possible to schedule, manage and conduct virtual visits with patients. Integrating Microsoft Teams with EHR will allow physicians and their patients to easily conduct virtual consultations. Plus, EHR can also directly bring in other healthcare professionals during the consults. However, if the facility is not using EHR, it is still possible to use Microsoft Bookings and the Bookings app in Teams.
Teams Policy Packages
This feature allows users to define who can access which files at any given time, depending on their role in the healthcare organisation. For example, health allied professionals such as physicians, registered nurses, charge nurses, social workers, etc., have full access to chat, shift management, call and meeting functionality of Microsoft Teams. Other workers like hospital administrators, IT personnel, finance personnel, safety and compliance staff will likewise have access to their chat, calling and meeting rooms.
Priority Messaging
In healthcare matters, seconds count. Prioritise a message and it will notify the recipient repeatedly until the message is read. The sender can also request a ‘read receipt’ to indicate that the recipient has, indeed, received and read the message. Urgent messages are given top priority with these two features, increasing confidence in patients and healthcare providers alike. Plus, both features being policy-based means they can be assigned to either individuals or entire teams.
Collaborative and Coordinated Care
Patients in hospital wards require close coordination to receive the best care possible. If a patient is at home, this challenge is magnified many times over. Microsoft Teams can bring your entire health team together for collaborative and coordinated care.
Microsoft Teams allows physicians, clinicians, nurses and other health allied staff to collaborate in more ways than you can imagine.
- Chat Communications
Health teams can have a continuous conversation regarding the needs of different patients without confusion, as each patient conversation can have a single chat channel.
- Calling and Meeting Functions
Health team members can set up individual or channel meetings in more urgent cases to manage daily sessions effectively. In addition, Microsoft Teams has video, audio, screen share, recording and transcription features that will make record-keeping a breeze.
- File Storage and Sharing
Microsoft Teams allows access of vital patient information to health team members so they can apply the necessary health care protocols. This reduces the time needed to physically access and share files with team members as the entire health team can collaborate on Office documents.
Teams Templates for Hospitals
Microsoft Teams Templates for specific use in hospitals have been developed and are in continuous development. It will allow healthcare workers to provide coordinated and collaborative care for patients in hospitals, especially in different care departments or wards, like cardiology, the ICU, etc.
There is an ever-growing need for adequate healthcare, especially with COVID-19 looming over our collective heads, and safety constraints also make health care access even more challenging. Microsoft Teams, however, has created a workaround with the features that specifically address the needs of patients and healthcare providers, allowing for a better, safer experience all around. The new normal will undoubtedly have Microsoft Teams as part of it.
