Verizon and Juniper Networks partnerships are working towards revolutionising the health sector by enabling partners within healthcare systems to work together and find innovative ways to address the challenges they face
It’s still a daily occurrence. As GP practices prepare to open their phone lines in the morning, the call-handling teams know that thousands of people are already dialling in to book appointments. Some will get through immediately, but significant numbers inevitably have to wait on hold or call back multiple times.
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The eight o’clock scramble is just one example of a broader problem. Just about every healthcare provider - public and private - is seeing demand rising at a time when resources are stretched.
There is a degree of understanding. No one wants to wait longer than necessary for an appointment or suffer the stress of postponed treatment but there is awareness that providers are doing their best in the face of funding constraints, staff shortages, post-covid backlogs and a host of other problems.
What patients do expect, however, is a positive experience when they book appointments, access services, interact with practitioners, and manage their personal health journeys.
The kind of experience that is offered by other sectors, the banking industry, for example, enables customers to check account details, make transactions and talk to advisers across a range of channels, including apps, browsers, social media and call centres. It’s an omnichannel offer.
Digital transformation is providing a means to optimise the delivery of healthcare
This has been recognised by the NHS. During the covid crisis, millions of people downloaded the NHS app or registered to use services via a desktop login. The goal now is to develop a digital gateway that will enable patients to manage most (if not all) of their health interactions.
But we really are just at the start of a digital journey that will see the deployment of secure, reliable and scalable networks to provide not just a better consumer-facing experience but also a better use of resources and improved outcomes.
And that’s important. As we all know, experience is not just about booking appointments. It is also about getting the right treatment at the right time. Digital transformation is providing a means to optimise the delivery of healthcare.
Experience, outcomes and the environmental impact. All are being improved by digital tools
For instance, Verizon, Juniper Networks and other key healthcare providers have created a Connected Healthcare Center designed to enable partners within healthcare systems to work together to find innovative ways to address the challenges they face. With Juniper’s Mist AI™ providing smarter, AI-driven insights and automation into the user experience on the network, clinical expertise and data can be shared across geographies and disciplines, meaning care is no longer limited by the resource availability at a particular clinic. All this is underpinned by Verizon’s secure managed networks. The end result: an optimised patient experience.
The benefits of digitisation go beyond customer experience. There can be real environmental benefits from going paperless. Wider use of remote appointments will cut down journeys and carbon emissions. And as new network technology comes on stream, the consumption of power by digital platforms is falling. In other words, digital transformation will help providers to become more sustainable – a key goal for many.
Experience, outcomes and the environmental impact. All are being improved by digital tools.
Discover more on Verizon and Juniper Networks partnership here.
