VoIP can help a doctor’s office or medical practice stay connected to patients through advanced call routing features and also help reduce overall communication costs
As the UK waits with bated breath for the roll out of the largest vaccination programme in history, the world has been in pandemic mode for close to a year and a half now. During this time, GP practices have had to dramatically change how they provide care for their patients in these unprecedented times. Under NHS guidance, remote consultation (via telephone, online message or video) has been rapidly introduced to replace face-to-face consultation with great success.
The approach to using digital tools in healthcare, largely driven by the NHS long term plan, forcing surgeries into a digital transformation only exasperated by the current pandemic. The ambition of the plan set out to offer digital-first primary care – where patients use online tools to access primary care services remotely by 2023/24. Despite this recent rapid adoption of digital technologies, the healthcare system still remains at the early stages of digital health, with many tools replicating physical methods and the use of outdated communication systems which hinder full transformation, such as the use of traditional ISDN lines.
The ISDN decline
ISDN channels were initially intended to provide end-to-end simultaneous handling of voice and data on a single link and network. However, as technologies have evolved, these channels have struggled to keep up with the rate of change. The increased desire for flexibility is at the heart of the ISDN decline. As of 2025, ISDN will be switched off and those remaining will be required to transfer over to VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), a telecommunications technology that’s hosted in the cloud, meaning you can use IP handsets, mobiles, or even a desktop application to make and receive calls.
The benefits to cloud communications
Today, surgeries are having to deal with new-fangled issues, such as virus mutations and a second wave of the virus. Achieving targets like reducing costs, improving communication with patients and increasing efficiency can seem a lesser priority, but a VoIP telephone system can support your surgery’s busiest periods and help put long-term solutions in place to reduce problems for patients and staff alike.
Another major benefit of transferring to the cloud, is the large cost savings when compared to traditional phone services. Cloud based communications eliminate the need to pay up-front for heavy and expensive installation, not to mention the regularly occurring maintenance charges. For many surgeries trying to manage more on less, this reallocation of budget can go along way and make substantial differences that directly impact patient care.
There is also the issue of lengthy patient wait times, which is attracting growing public attention due to the negative effects of waiting patients’ satisfaction levels. This combined with a huge influx of calls in a short timeframe can add real pressure to the running of a surgery, particularly in the morning for same-day emergency appointments. To support those turbulent moments, the flexible suite of tools, such as voicemail, call queuing, call recording, video, email, and automatic attendants, can be modified to meet the individual demands of the industry.
Aside from these benefits, a VoIP phone service fully supports remote and mobile working; GPs and other healthcare professionals can stay connected regardless of location, and a performance dashboard identifies call volumes that assists with the management of service demands.
VoIP is changing the way the medical world stays connected, regardless of the practice size. It provides a plethora of benefits for healthcare professionals by improving interactions and enhancements. By utilising these features, meetings, discussions, and seminars can be set up virtually, anywhere, at any time. It also allows for collaboration with patients and external experts as well as shared ideas, documents and file shares in a secure environment, through a call conferencing tool.
NHS England requirements
As part of the migration to cloud communications NHS England set out a series of regulations which surgeries and practices must comply with, these include:
- Is the solution based externally in the Cloud?
Hosted telephony is where phone systems are cloud-based, rather than taking up valuable space and resources in an office.
- Does the solution integrate with the clinical system to make outgoing calls?
Hosted telephony can integrate with industry-specific CRMs, can keep a record of call history and interactions with patients, as well as screen-pops on inbound calls to create a sense of customer service and care when answering calls.
- Can I access outside practice premises to make outgoing calls?
Take your surgery line with you wherever you go. With our hosted phone system, you can easily manage calls, video conferences, instant messaging and online meetings from any location.
- Does the solution have features which manage peak demands?
Our hosted telephony solution has a built-in receptionist console which helps reduce the time it takes for a call to come in and be transferred to the necessary department or individual. There are also features such as auto attendant, call queuing and statistic analysis to help your team plan and prioritise.
- Does it meet the current needs of our surgery?
It’s easy to add and manage users in minutes. No fixed hardware means connecting employees instantly, so you can scale up and down to suit your business needs. And, you can add and remove features as and when you need them to support you through the busiest moments.
- Does it have visibility over wait times for patients?
Our solution allows patient’s calls to be queued at network level before they are delivered to a handset at the practice. Comfort messages can be played too, which will give patients reassurance that their call will be answered soon and provide information such as opening hours.
The solution – Horizon, a cloud-based phone system for your business
Horizon addresses all these needs and more. Designed for surgeries looking to improve productivity, increase collaborative team working and accelerate decision making to better serve patients and healthcare professionals.
For patients the experience is greatly improved instantly, calls can be answered in order, reducing frustration and complaints; less time is wasted on generic calls, as practice staff see a patient’s record when they call through on the ‘phone, and calls can be recorded and associated with the patient record to help GPs’ better understand a patient’s needs.
Simple to use powerful features
Easy to use interface
Horizon provides a broad range of call handling features that are accessed via the web. The dashboard gives you convenient access to information such as your call history, voicemail and recorded calls. Personalised settings are quick and easy to set, ensuring your calls are handled effectively.
Administrator Interface
Horizon provides IT managers with a powerful administrative management capability while giving employees freedom to control calls quickly and effectively. Set up is quick and easy and you can choose to pass down control to the user or you can retain control of the individual user features.
Call Recording
Record inbound, outbound or internal calls for compliance, customer service or audit purposes. This optional feature allows secure online playback and retrieval of call details. Set Horizon to record some calls, all calls or record calls on demand. Pause and resume a recording using the in-call menu option on the Horizon desktop app and certain handsets from the Horizon range of devices.
Auto Attendant
You can use Auto Attendant to provide callers with call routing options for different areas of the business or create announcements to inform callers of details such as opening hours and website address when the office is closed.
Collaborate
Available as a simple upgrade to Horizon, Collaborate offers instant messaging, presence, voice and video calling with conferencing along with desktop, application and document sharing. Driven through a set of end user applications for Windows, Mac, Android and iOS.
Integrator
Open up even more of Horizon’s capabilities across your desktop with Horizon Integrator, a powerful piece of software that gives you control of your Horizon service from your desktop without having to log in to your Horizon portal. It also provides interaction with key programs such as Microsoft Outlook® and Skype® for Business.
Integrator CRM
Integrator CRM takes the Integrator software a step further. Compatible with over 20 of the top CRM packages including Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics, Integrator CRM helps users to be even more efficient and productive by providing quick access to contacts and the ability to dial directly from your CRM system.
Call Queuing
Horizon Call Queuing helps you present a professional image to your customers by managing incoming calls effectively and delivering them to groups, as soon as users become available. It’s a low-cost way of managing your incoming calls professionally and provides constant information and choices to callers, reducing the risk of missing valuable incoming calls.
Receptionist Console
Manage incoming calls and call routing to single or multiple sites via a simple, easy-to-use interface. Horizon Receptionist Console adds a low-cost way of managing your key call routing and monitoring of multiple contacts or sites, where this is not achievable through a more traditional phone and sidecar solution. It ensures that every one of your calls is answered professionally and efficiently, improving customer service and increasing business efficiency.
Akixi Management Reporting
Through our partnership with Akixi, the leading hosted call-management service provider, you can now get a data feed for your Horizon service, which will let you export the statistics you need to help manage your business.
- Instantly see what needs to be changed to improve customer service
- Monitor time to answer and manage calls more efficiently
- Analyse internal call patterns
- See how many calls are being abandoned with the ability to return them
- Optimise resources by ensuring the right number of operators are always in place
Post COVID-19 future
It is difficult to predict the long-term impact and outcome for working practices, especially in the grips of a global pandemic. The rise of the digital revolution is impacting and changing many aspects of our lives, reshaping industries and transforming many aspects of our healthcare system.
The rapid expansion of technology and digitalisation is going to play a major role in how healthcare is managed on a day-to-day basis. In the last few years there has already been a major shift in how certain aspects of healthcare are managed particularly in relation to cloud based telecommunication, and this trend is likely to continue exponentially in the coming decades.
To meet today’s needs of an ageing population, and to extend geographical reach, health systems will be required to expand their digital options if they want to service these patients and help them track and manage their care outside of the doctor’s office. A VoIP phone system provides a host of productivity features that can enhance the workforce, mobility, improve operational efficiency, and optimise the speed and quality of patient care.
About Eastern Voice and Data
Having provided totally integrated technology to businesses, government bodies and local authorities for over 25 years, Eastern Voice & Data take the hassle out of modernising your technology. Whether you are moving premises, refurbishing or need to upgrade your current Business Telephone system, IT Network, Structured Cabling or changing to a VoIP/Hosted system. They will design the optimum solution based on your needs and budget, using best in breed technology that just works. Their specialist team will handle every aspect of the installation from beginning to end and will train your staff to use the systems, which means you will gain from your investment.
To find out more book your free site visit today – https://www.easternvoicedata.co.uk/contact-us