How can Microsoft Surface devices help simplify the complexity across healthcare?
For the third in our series of blogs about mobile technology in healthcare, we look at how integrated, cloud-enabled devices like Microsoft Surface can help organisations radically simplify cumbersome processes and streamline admin to the benefit of patients and staff alike.
It’s fair to say that complexity is an in-built feature of a modern healthcare system. An ageing population, shrinking budgets and ever more sophisticated treatment methods, combined with the need to manage and nurture an increasingly stretched workforce… all these add layers of intricacy to the running of an NHS Trust. And that’s before we mention the unprecedented systemic shock created by the pandemic.
Taming complexity with tech
But unnecessary complexity is a different matter. Despite the acceleration of its digital transformation programme to cope with COVID-19,1 the NHS still has some way to go to free itself from the cumbersome, disjointed legacy processes that still place a burden on staff and patients.2
According to 79% of Healthcare CEOs, all aspects of care delivery are set to transform in the next three years.3 Despite this, administration hasn’t been a major focus for policymakers and leaders, and yet it’s hard to overstate its importance.
According to a recent study, the coordination and administration of care were the strongest predictors of satisfaction among cancer patients.2 Allied to that is the obvious potential to improve care standards in general and provide a better working environment for exhausted staff. All things considered, it’s easy to make the case for radical, tech-enabled simplification of NHS processes – of a type that frees clinicians and administrators to perform at their best.
The greatest leap in the shortest time?
With its rollout of Microsoft 365, the NHS has opened itself to the transformative benefits of cloud connectivity, and with it, the ability to integrate and streamline processes, facilitate collaboration between clinicians and ensure swift, secure access to data.
How can NHS Trusts gain maximum benefit from this development? By investing in high-performance, ultra-portable mobile devices like the Microsoft Surface range, which places power and flexibility squarely in the hands of their workforce.
When combined with their natural partner, the Microsoft 365 app suite, and enhanced by tailor-made products like Microsoft Cloud for healthcare, Surface devices bring the power of an integrated infrastructure alive on a daily basis. Here are some of the ways:
- Clinicians (in-house, mobile and remote) can access and update Electronic Medical Records and treatment plans in real-time, making each consultation as efficient as possible and freeing up time for engaging constructively with patients
- Thanks to Unified Communications capability and a consistent UX across all devices, collaboration within teams and with individual specialists becomes easier
- Surface offers a range of different device types and configurations for different roles and functions, from on-site and mobile clinicians to administrators
- Devices boast multiple healthcare-specific accessories, as well as antimicrobial cases and wipes that facilitate sanitisation on the go
- They can also be stored and charged centrally in a convenient location between shifts, allowing for an efficient changeover
- With a Surface device, administrators are equipped to get the best from essential productivity tools, increasing flexibility and enabling them to access systems of record from anywhere
- Zero-touch deployment and Microsoft Endpoint Manager allow IT staff to roll out, update and control firmware functionality both on-premise and via the cloud
- Most importantly, security is built into every layer of the device, from firmware to operating system, while lost or stolen devices can be remotely wiped
The speed, ease and process integration enabled by Microsoft Surface can help NHS Trusts move from old-style, acute care models to a more holistic, joined-up approach where multiple specialists can collaborate economically to enhance a patient’s overall health
This radical simplification helps organisations reduce medication and admin errors, hospital readmissions and more, while allowing them to redress technology and improve “shortcuts” made during the pandemic.4
How could Microsoft Surface delivered by Daisy revolutionise, integrate and simplify processes in your facility? Explore the possibilities, and the full range, here.
Sources:
1Healthcare CEO Future Pulse, KPMG
2Kings Fund: Admin Matters NHS Patient Care
4Health Org: Securing a Positive Health Care Technology Legacy from Covid-19