Digitization of the business world has accelerated massively during the pandemic and has now also reached the healthcare sector in Germany, which is often still very analog. So what benefits do the technologies and practices of the digital workplace offer for doctors’ offices, nursing homes and hospitals?
What is the Digital Workplace?
Die Digitalisierung der Arbeitswelten schreitet unaufhaltsam voran. Egal, ob man ihn für einen Fluch oder einen Segen hält: Der digitale Arbeitsplatz ist aus vielen Unternehmen nicht mehr wegzudenken.
The digitization of the working world is constantly advancing. Regardless of whether you consider it a curse or a blessing: It’s hard to imagine many companies without the digital workplace. Of course, some industries are affected more than others. The Corona pandemic has shown that companies and institutions have missed too much so far when it comes to digital progress. Creating a “digital workplace” has therefore become a priority.
Digital workplaces are work environments that are defined by their digital infrastructure rather than their location. The digital workplace can be located in the office, at home, or on the road. In addition to appropriate hardware equipment for employees, access to internal company tools and databases from outside is also important for this type of collaboration. Digital communication channels standardize and simplify collaboration within the company. Greater flexibility makes for greater satisfaction among employees, and less paper also makes work more sustainable.
DHowever, the digitization of the working world offers enormous potential not only for mobile and remote collaboration. For some areas, the step from analog to digital is a milestone that “shakes up” the way they work in a positive sense. These include, for example, care facilities, hospitals and doctor’s offices.
E-health: What are the benefits of digitization in healthcare?
Germany is not a frontrunner when it comes to digital progress in medicine and healthcare. On the contrary, international comparisons show that Germany is lagging far behind. Although new technologies are being developed, they are too rarely deployed on a large scale. Nevertheless, the seriousness of the situation has been recognized and further steps have been taken. These include the “E-Health” initiative of the Federal Ministry of Health. This comprises over 200 measures ranging from new laws to funding programs for the digitization of the healthcare system.
E-Health beschreibt Anwendungen, die digitale Infrastruktur für die Versorgung von PatE-health describes applications that use digital infrastructure for patient care. The advantages of this digital care are:
Optimization of internal and external communication processes through unified communication and collaboration,
Better coverage in primary care through telemedicine,
More autonomy on the patient side through e-prescriptions, electronic health records, electronic health cards and more.
Besonders der Ausbau von Telemedizin stößt bei immer mehr Menschen auf ZustimmunThe expansion of telemedicine in particular is meeting with approval from more and more people. But what is actually behind this component of e-health?
What is telemedicine?
Telemedicine is a healthcare service that uses digital tools from IT and telecommunications technology to bridge spatial and temporal boundaries. In plain language, this means that medical staff use telemedicine to communicate digitally with patients or exchange information with other specialists. The various application options have one thing in common: they require first-class communications solutions.
Video consultations
Via video consultation, doctors can perform examinations and diagnoses from a distance. Video meeting solutions thus help, for example, with remote diagnoses, the follow-up examination of operations or the direct connection of specialists. It is also important to be able to join video meetings from any location. Medical information such as blood values or X-rays must also be quickly visible to other participants via screen sharing. In view of the critical medical care in rural regions, video consultations can help improve the situation.
Cross-location exchange of expertise thanks to UCC
Solutions for unified communication and collaboration make it easier for doctors not only to examine patients, but also to exchange expert opinions. For example, GP practices can obtain expert opinions without spatial restrictions via chat, telephone conference or video chat – in compliance with applicable data protection guidelines.
Inpatient treatment with IP-based support
In addition to advantages for cross-location healthcare, telemedicine also offers new opportunities in inpatient treatment. Hospitals and care facilities benefit just as much from digitization in healthcare. Here, stable IP telephony systems are only the basis for the all-important efficiency in internal communication. Monitoring patients becomes more efficient with UCC software and appropriate interfaces to internal systems. This means that medical staff always have important data on the course of the disease at a glance.
Digitization in practices, nursing homes and hospitals
The digitalization of the working world mentioned at the beginning is also progressing in the healthcare industry. Although e-health and telemedicine are “only” a supplement to traditional medical care, these applications are becoming increasingly important. Communication technologies play an essential role here. Video consultations reduce waiting times and distances. Medical staff can work together more efficiently with IP telephony and UCC software. Thanks to digitization, inpatient facilities spend less time on administrative tasks. All of this is reflected in the quality of medical care in the long term.
Discover how modern IP telephony with UCC features and open interfaces improves everyday work in medical practices and other medical facilities – with STARFACE!