Healthcare communication solutions: A comprehensive overview
Healthcare communication solutions are a combination of hardware, software and established protocols used within medical facilities. They facilitate secure and real-time communication among clinicians, patients and administrators, which helps to optimize workflows, minimize clinical errors and improve patient care.
There are many types of communication technology in healthcare, and many ways in which they are used. Detailing every type of healthcare communication system in one place would be impractical, so in this blog, we’ll focus on the three most common uses of electronic communication systems in healthcare.
The history of healthcare communication solutions
Between 1960 and 2000, the amount spent on healthcare in the U.S. increased from 5% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to 13.4% largely driven by the introduction of the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Although the rate of growth at the start of the 21st century slowed, healthcare spending accounted for 17.7% of GDP prior to the COVID-19 crisis.
As the healthcare industry underwent a massive expansion, so did healthcare information technology. At the time Medicare and Medicaid were introduced, using computers to collect and manage medical records was expensive, and only the largest healthcare organizations could afford to develop electronic hospital communication systems.
These systems were good for maintaining medical records, but did little to improve communication between healthcare providers, lacked standard protocols and had security issues. The lack of interoperability, the security issues and cost were barriers to a broader swath of healthcare organizations implementing similar systems, according to the Institute of Medicine.
Even when healthcare information technology became cheaper, and a federal plan was announced to reward the use of Electronic Health Records (EHRs), there was no improvement in communication between healthcare providers, nor between healthcare providers and patients. An analysis of more than 200,000 malpractice claims between 1985 and 2008 found that a failure of communication was a major contributor to the negligent care provided.
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Benefits of healthcare communication solutions
Healthcare communication solutions have several key benefits that contribute to their popularity among hospitals and other facilities. From streamlined operations to improved patient care, the following are the reasons why many healthcare sites are using a hospital communication system:
- Streamlined operations: Hospital communication technology fosters greater coordination between healthcare staff, helping optimize workflows. As such, clinical staff and administrators can prioritize inquiries, share patient data and establish an efficient appointment system that results in fewer cancellations or missed visits, leading to reduced burnout for staff.
- Improved patient care: Communication systems also enable healthcare facilities to enhance engagement with patients, who can conveniently access their health records, book appointments and request prescriptions. Furthermore, virtual appointments and secure messaging promote faster medical access and communication for those who need it.
- Robust data security: Leading healthcare communication platforms help organizations comply with strict industry standards and regulations, including protecting healthcare data. These systems prevent data breaches through robust system access control, securing valuable information from bad actors.
Types of healthcare communication systems
To address communication issues, improve the quality of healthcare and enhance productivity, technological solutions started emerging for every healthcare process. There are now solutions for family doctors to process referrals, for team members to collaborate on a patient’s healthcare, for pharmacists to process prescriptions and for patients to understand aftercare routines following their discharge.
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Outside of communications relating to the direct care of patients, there are technological solutions that streamline patient transfers, the receipt of lab results, insurance payment claims and non-medical internal communications – which now includes the Communication Plan of the CMS’ Emergency Preparedness Rule.
Typically, communication solutions can be divided into three categories:
Provider-to-provider communication systems
The provider-to-provider category of healthcare communication systems encompasses every solution used for referrals, collaboration, issuing scripts, transferring patients, receiving lab results and processing payments. It is also the category of healthcare communication systems that comes under most scrutiny for compliance within the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
In most cases, provider-to-provider communication systems in healthcare have to follow strict guidelines for ensuring the integrity of data. Typically, this means they have mechanisms that log users out of the system after a period of inactivity – which makes them impractical as a provider-to-patient communication system or as an emergency alert and notification system.
Provider-to-patient communication systems
There are many types of provider-to-patient communication systems in healthcare – from SMS appointment reminder systems to more advanced telemedicine solutions that integrate with EHRs. Usually, it is not required for these systems to have the same technological safeguards as provider-to-provider systems, but they must be used in compliance with HIPAA and only after obtaining patient consent.
There are also many types of patient-to-provider healthcare communication systems – from clinical consultation services by e-mail to nurse call systems that alert providers to any change in the patient’s condition. More advanced patient-to-provider systems can also be linked with EHRs to update medical records automatically, and although not necessarily HIPAA compliant, have to be used compliantly.
Emergency alert and notification systems
According to CMS’ Emergency Preparedness Rule, all healthcare facilities in receipt of Medicare or Medicaid payments are required to implement an Emergency Plan. This includes a system to contact staff and other personnel that is “well-coordinated within the facility, across healthcare providers, and with state and local public health departments and emergency management agencies”.
Federally mandated emergency alert and notification systems can also be configured to address internal communication issues, improve the quality of healthcare and enhance productivity by segmenting personnel databases in order to create messaging groups. Additional SMS opt-in and geo-poll capabilities help ensure the right message gets to the right person at the right time and that emergency alerts and notifications are accountable.
How hospitals can choose the right communication solution
There are several considerations and steps that healthcare providers should take when choosing a hospital communication technology that is right for their organization. It is recommended that they take a structured, multi-step approach to ensure they procure the right solution, covering the following key steps:
1. Audit existing workflows and operations
The first step is to perform an audit across the operation to highlight any existing challenges that need to be addressed. These could include having to go through multiple points of contact to reach the right team or individual or failing to get rapid responses from clinical staff.
The audit should also cover what technology staff members need. The solutions may differ across different staff groups, with nurses potentially preferring alarm devices and security staff preferring two-way radios.
2. Ensure compliance with regulatory requirements
Before selecting hospital communication systems, organizations should identify the regulations they must comply with.
This includes data protection laws, such as HIPAA in the U.S. and GDPR in the U.K. and Europe. Therefore, organizations must ensure their chosen communications solution adheres to the law by looking for systems that feature end-to-end data encryption, regular cybersecurity updates and comprehensive event logs.
3. Identify a suitable solution
Choose healthcare communication solutions that address the weak points highlighted in the audit and meet the specific needs of the staff. It’s also important to prioritize systems that promote interoperability and feature an open platform design that integrates with existing medical systems and security technologies. This enables staff to enhance their awareness, optimize workflows and communicate key alerts faster.
It’s also crucial to select a solution that offers multi-modal communication. The best systems support various communication methods, including text, calls, emails and more, each one handling specific types of incidents, from low-priority events to high-priority emergencies.
4. Implement the system and encourage adoption
When implementing the system, make sure to test the solution and proposed workflows to ensure they foster faster and accurate responses. The healthcare communication platform should be user friendly and regular training and refresher sessions should be scheduled so that staff can leverage it efficiently.
Enhance safety and security with communication systems
No single system can provide an integrated communications solution that serves every purpose of healthcare communication. As previously mentioned, the logout mechanisms in provider-to-provider systems make them impractical for emergency alerts, while the capabilities of provider-to-patient systems (or vice versa) do not support mass notification.
The closest there is to an integrated communications solution is an emergency alert and notification system. Provided it is used in compliance with HIPAA, the solution can be used for referrals and to foster collaboration, for provider-to-patient interactions (and in some cases for patient-to-provider consultation requests) and for enhancing facility-wide internal communications. Importantly, integrated communication solutions can improve relationships between neighboring healthcare facilities.
To find out more about advanced, integrated emergency alert and notification systems, do not hesitate to get in touch. Our team of communications experts will be happy to discuss your existing emergency preparedness needs and the ways in which our emergency alert and notification systems can enhance safety, security and communication within your healthcare facility.
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