Howard Thurlow | NEC Today

Deploy Facial Recognition for Safety and Security

The healthcare industry is increasingly turning to biometric solutions to help combat not only fraud, but also medical identity theft. Research predicts that the healthcare biometrics market could reach $2.8 billion by 2021, with North America seeing the largest increase among regions. Fueling this growth are HIPAA and other regulations affecting the handling of healthcare data.

Facial recognition can be used to ensure that only authorized healthcare staff get access to critical patient data, particularly when used as part of multi-factor identification. Facial recognition combined with either a passcode or key card helps make ID more secure. Administrative staff can more quickly process admissions and discharges by using biometrics for patient identity. Healthcare providers are able to access the right patient information when they need it.

For patients, facial recognition gives them access their personal health information, reducing the chance for identity theft of healthcare records. Another application of facial recognition or other biometrics method (finger or palm prints, vascular palm/vein pattern, etc.) is patient identity within a healthcare facility. Secure identification improves safety and security, helps prevent errors and lets staff quickly identify allergies or pre-existing conditions in patients’ records in case of emergency.

Efficient Communications Improves Responsiveness

Things move fast in a healthcare facility — especially during times of emergency. Healthcare officials need a contingency plan to ensure the ongoing safety of patients, staff and visitors during a threat situation. Emergency notification solutions quickly communicate the source and severity of a developing situation and ensure an adequate response by both hospital staff and public safety officials.

Hospitals and other healthcare facilities also experience day-to-day health emergencies, which require responsive communications as well. Mobile communications systems provide for anywhere, anytime communications, which could save precious minutes. Nurse Call and messaging solutions help alleviate alarm fatigue by making sure the right messages get routed to the right staff members

Infrastructure Key Component to Secure Data Access

Privacy and protection of patient information is central to reputable healthcare organizations. The data must be secure, but easily accessible when needed. Comprehensive data management and storage solutions provide protection along with secure accessibility of patient data and information.

Cloud infrastructure offers a reliable solution needed to support information-intensive workflows within a healthcare facility. A secure and resilient infrastructure is a suitable option for highly connected healthcare facilities and the dynamic caseloads they manage on a daily basis. A high availability infrastructure from NEC delivers a multi-tiered resilient environment that recovers quickly in times of disaster, by using Five 9s Fault Tolerant servers, disaster recovery software and SAN and Scale-out Grid Storage options.

Peace of Mind for Patients and Healthcare Organizations

Technology solutions can go a long way toward providing a sense of security and safety for patients and healthcare organizations. The right integrated solution that includes IT, unified communications and collaboration and biometrics can:

Increase security of sensitive patient data by controlling access and preventing fraud and ID theft

Provide greater levels of patient satisfaction by reducing wait times and helping ensure more efficient and error-free information management

Improve physical safety for healthcare personnel and patients alike, especially during emergencies

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As a consumer, your customer exprience often drives your purchasing decisions. This edict holds true whether you’re having dinner at a restaurant, upgrading to a new smartphone or buying a new pair of running shoes.

Why should the consumption of heathcare services be any different? Unlike many purchases, healthcare customers usually have less mobility in how and where they receive healthcare services. It’s relatively easy to go to a new restaurant if you encounter bad service or to switch retailers when you have a negative experience. It’s not so simple to change insurance carriers or go to a different healthcare facility. The delivery of patient care is made even more complex when considering regulations, compliance and privacy issues. That’s why improving the healthcare “customer experience” has become so important.

Making the patient experience better and enabling healthcare staff to be more efficient falls to the healthcare provider. Fortunately, providers have a myriad of technology options that can help them improve service delivery.

Enable Better Calling Experiences

Digital transformation creates environments to help patients make more informed decisions about their healthcare. One of consumers’ biggest complaints is the inability to easly communicate with their healthcare providers—the phone line is always busy or it rings and rings before someone finally picks up the call. As if being sick weren’t bad enough!

A communications solution designed to rapidly and efficiently handle large call volumes is an ideal option for healthcare providers. A more efficient call system enables more individualized interactions between patients and caregivers and reduces wait times. Contact center and attendant solutions provide the ability to direct calls based on rules that route calls to personnel who have the skills and training to respond to certain inquiries. Calls from patients with similar questions also can often be handled through automated systems, further reducing wait times.

The Ability to Deliver Personalized Treatment…Remotely

Sometimes it’s not possible or convenient for a patient and a caregiver to be in the same place at the same time. Long-distance services such as telediagnosis, telemonitoring, self-monitoring or e-prescriptions use technology to extend the reach of heathcare providers. Video conferencing solutions expand facility services to offsite and remote locations so that dispersed team members are able to connect and consult more seamlessly. Video conferencing can*:

Promote knowledge sharing in real time
Reduce travel costs
Enable faster decision making
Build value-based service models
Increase care collaboration

^{*Before video conferencing is used in a healthcare setting, check HIPAA compliance requirements to avoid potential violations.}

Further, a unified messaging solution enables healthcare facilities to better manage the flurry of alerts, texts, messages, calls and notifications being sent out. Unified messaging ensures that the right information and alerts are sent to assigned personnel, reducing alarm fatigue and enabling focused care delivery to patients without unnessary distractions.

Helping Caregivers be More Responsive and Collaborative

Being responsive to patient needs is one of the critical aspects of a caregiver’s daily routine. A comprehensive healthcare-focused unified communications and collaboration solution such as NEC’s Nurse Call system brings together voice and messaging to enable anytime, anywhere availability that puts patients first.
Being mobile ensures that healthcare staff can commuicate easily with colleagues and patients within the demanding environment of a healthcare facility. With mobile handsets and software-based clients, caregivers stay connected so that they can share information or request assistance immediately. A seamlessly integrated healthcare environment helps ensure better interactions with patients and improves delivery of attentive care where and when it’s needed most.

A Reliable Infrastructure to Back Up UC&C Capabilities

Since they often deliver critical life-saving and emergency services, healthcare facilities cannot tolerate service outages. By deploying a high-availability infrastructure, healthcare providers have a strong operational foundation to prevent potential service disruptions. Comprehensive protection of critical applications along with communications and collaboration give providers peace of mind as they provide ongoing patient care. A multi-tiered environment that recovers quickly should disasters occur provides added reassurance for healthcare providers. A high-availability solution supports a healthcare facility’s mission-critical capabilities and provides backup and recovery as necessary.

Consumerism will Continue to Drive Healthcare Delivery

As it has in many of industries, rising consumer awareness continues to have a profound effect on healthcare delivery. Using technology to improve service—from setting up an appointment to enabling staff communication to video diagnosis—will go a long way toward improving the patient experience, ultimately resulting in better patient outcomes.

Learn more about NEC’s smart healthcare solutions.