In a word, we can describe the post-pandemic world as “hectic”, and this is especially true for medical professionals. Faced with overwhelming caseloads, increased public scrutiny, and mountains of administrative work, many clinicians and administrators are burning out and leaving the profession they love.
Although this has amounted to a crisis in healthcare in several developed nations, it also represents an incredible opportunity for Microsoft’s Cloud for Healthcare technology to streamline healthcare processes, improve the patient experience, and let doctors get back to being doctors. Let’s explore some of the possibilities.
Improved Vendor Relationships
The email subject line simply read “URGENT: Blood Tubes & Hemodialysis Machine needed”. Typically, that would be a great sign for a salesperson, but Jeff knew he was working with Lucia, a very busy hospital administrator who had recently switched to the night shift. Between that and a time difference, he knew it would be a challenge getting a meeting with her to get the necessary specifications.
Still, Jeff replied to the email, doing his best to find a time that worked for both of their schedules. Yet, two weeks into the process, the meeting still hadn’t happened – and who knows what that meant for patients who needed bloodwork and dialysis.
Hospitals, and even independent medical practices, are very complex organizations that require a great deal of maintenance to function effectively. Indeed, one of the stress points highlighted by the pandemic has been the procurement of necessary supplies such as masks, gloves, blood tubes, and surgical equipment, all of which saw shortages over the last few years.
Historically, procurement has been handled by human-to-human relationships involving vendors and hospital administrators, which costs both time and money. However, with the advent of Cloud for Healthcare, vendors are able to benefit from automation of key tasks through Microsoft’s CRM technology, as well as additional capabilities driven by cloud-based artificial intelligence. This includes AI-generated product recommendations, automated reminders for salespeople, and Configure-Price-Quote capabilities that help automate proposal generation for complex orders.
From the perspective of a hospital administrator, the connections and data tracking facilitated by artificial intelligence and cloud computing can allow them to place complex orders with vendors no matter the time of day. Administrators can also benefit greatly from automated reminders and AI-driven recommendations. When Cloud for Healthcare is engaged on both sides of the hospital-vendor relationship, the result is a seamless system that ensures that supplies flow to where they are needed – when they are needed.
Billing & Patient Portals
John rubbed his arm where the bloodwork needle left a small mark. “So, when do I get the results? Last time you said my cholesterol was way too high, I’m hoping my diet helped.”
The nurse smiled. “We actually have a new patient portal, where you’ll be able to view your test results, as well as pay for them. You can also view your prescriptions, request refills, and lots more. We’ll get you set up after we run the last test.”
Although the words “healthcare” and “e-commerce” don’t always go together, Evenica believes having an integrated Cloud for Healthcare solution can simplify your patient’s experience by giving them a central place where they can view their treatment history while paying for things like testing and prescription medication. This saves a lot of time for both clinicians and clerical staff, who would otherwise be chasing down patients for payments.
In hospital settings, a comprehensive cloud solution offers patients a smartphone or tablet app that they can use to review their case history, test results, appointment dates, and even contact their care providers with questions or emergencies. Additionally, apps provide hospitals with an e-commerce platform that can simplify – or even automate – payment processing, further reducing strain on clerical staff. Benefits can accrue to smaller practices as well, allowing a tight-knit team to manage larger caseloads more efficiently.
Bringing E-commerce to Healthcare
Fundamentally, e-commerce is about making the customer’s experience as seamless and enjoyable as possible. In healthcare settings, where administrators and clinicians must juggle many responsibilities, having a technological platform that offers personalized and contextual support can be the difference between having supplies and having shortages. Vendors who make use of Cloud for Healthcare gain better client relationships, improved sales performance, and increased visibility into the needs of the hospitals they support.
By working with key partners in the Microsoft ecosystem, Evenica translates technological capabilities into high-quality user experiences. Particularly in hospital settings, which require extremely complex implementations and a wide variety of vendor and patient use cases, our expertise can bring best-in-class solutions to the urgent problems of modern healthcare.
Imagine having a cloud-based platform that provides reminders, automates orders and billing, assists with the placement of complex orders, and gives both clinicians and clerical staff a common database to facilitate coordination. Additionally, vendors will be positioned to provide more customized support to hospitals and practitioners, with contextual product recommendations and better overall sales performance. The improved automation offered by Cloud for Healthcare and extended by Evenica also allows for automatic orders and subscription-based revenue models, which may further streamline vendor-client relationships and save both administrators and salespeople time.
What do these capabilities mean for doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers? Less time spent on administrative work, more efficient internal processes, improved vendor relationships, better access to patient records, better contact with patients, and an improved experience for everyone involved.