Top 7 uses of In-app messaging & Real-time communication in Healthcare:
In our previous blog, we discussed in detail about why the healthcare industry requires a more connected ecosystem. A quick recap and you will realize that with efficient communication, about 80% medical errors can be avoided and the average inpatient stay would be reduced by 0.77 days. Considering this, the cumulative annual saving for the industry would be $52bn.
In this blog post, we would look into real-life use cases of Real-time communication in the Healthcare Industry, and the benefits thereof:
- Patient-Physician (1–1) Chat:
A dedicated conversational interface for each patient to communicate directly with their care provider and vice versa. A great way for patients to be in touch with their physicians at all times. Ideal for post-hospitalization care, effective drug management and emergencies.
2. Present Medical Reports Directly In Conversations:
Paper-based medical reports are subject to damage and loss. It also incurs additional mailing/faxing charges and effort. Presenting all medical reports as attachments on a messaging client is both spontaneous and relatively much cheaper.
3. Patient Centric Group Conversations:
A dedicated conversation interface corresponding to every patient. This is ideal for bringing the complete healthcare team together for powerful team dialogue. Promotes more coordination and transparency, also ensures the formulation of a more informed and collaborative treatment plan.
4. Telemedicine Platform:
Remote diagnosis and treatment of patients by means of IP-based Audio/Video Calls. Can be effectively used for remote patient monitoring, store-and-forward (asynchronous telemedicine) for sharing patient info with physicians at a different location and interactive telemedicine allowing patient and physician to communicate in real time.
5. Personal Nurse:
Remote patient care is one area of service, i.e. still unexplored. One way is to send timely reminders to patients for adherence to drug routines, regular medical checkups and diagnostic tests. This ensures better rehabilitation care, thereby increasing the likelihood of full recovery, and also makes up for lapses in patient hand-off communication if any.
6. Internal Communication:
Internal communication within any healthcare setup still relies on antiquated modes like desk phones, pagers, emails, paper charts, etc. which are susceptible to bottlenecks. Switching to a real-time setup makes communication faster and more efficient.
7. Healthcare Bots:
Although chatbots can never replace an experienced doctor, self-diagnosis tools powered by AI can help people find a solution to most common problems. The real benefit of Chatbots in healthcare is its ability to provide advice and information for a healthy life.
Chatbots in healthcare can span any of the following niches:
- Fitness
- Mental Health Support
- Nutrition Coaching
- Symptom Checkers
- Medication Adherence
- Diabetes Support etc.
Real-time communication by means of In-app Messaging and IP-based Audio Video calling can help the healthcare industry provide the best patient care, ensuring data confidentiality.
To sum it all up, the benefits of Real-time communication in healthcare are:
- More efficient workflows due to better coordination between hospital staff and practitioners.
- Enables faster information sharing by means of transmitting diagnostic reports, treatment schedules, etc. directly on chat.
- Instant Messaging can guide practitioners to reach the area of the hospital, which needs their attention spontaneously, thereby reducing personnel response time.
- Seamless communication between care team and the patient ensures quicker treatment, enabling physicians to treat more patients in the same time.
- Messaging improves the accuracy of appointment scheduling and also the efficiency and speed of hospital admissions.
Did we miss any other use case of real-time messaging in healthcare? Let us know in the comments section below.
Originally published at www.applozic.com on May 16, 2017.
