Avaya introduced this week a new set of unified communications designed to improve the quality of patient care while increasing ROI and savings. The new solutions allow health care companies to address key processes such as care coordination and patient flow, and helps ensure their efficient operation.
According to IDC, global IT spending in health care is projected to rise more than 6.2 percent in 2010 as hospitals and care providers seek solutions to efficiently manage care for patients. Avaya estimates the market for unified communications enablement in hospitals in 2010 is $1.5 billion in North America and $3 billion globally.
“Addressing care coordination in health care is critical so nurses and clinicians can spend more time caring for patients,” Sanjeev Gupta, general manager of Avaya’s Healthcare Solutions group, said in a statement. “Efficient patient flow is also essential to help health care companies improve operating margins. This is where Avaya’s new solutions are uniquely positioned to lead-with automated solutions purpose-built to address these challenges, so health care personnel can focus on first-class clinical care.”
Included in Avaya’s new unified communications are modules for mobile device checkout, nurse call response, patient appointment reminder and patient admit coordinator. The mobile device checkout is available today, while nurse call response and patient appointment reminder will be available in June and patient admit coordinator is scheduled for release in July.
According to Avaya, the mobile device checkout can offer ROI in six months and frees hospital and nursing staffs from the tethers of the nurse’s station by letting them communicate and receive notifications from anywhere in a hospital using a personalized WLAN mobile device.