Microsoft Teams – A Digital Solution To Revolutionize Healthcare
Microsoft Teams is a popular platform that enables online collaboration through messaging, video conferencing, and much more for a variety of sectors. In recent years, it has been increasingly used for online learning and business meetings. Since the COVID-19 breakout, however, Microsoft Teams has been actively used in healthcare for rendering telemedicine services. In fact, it has great potential to revolutionize this sector moving ahead as more hospitals and practices choose to offer telemedicine services and have online consultations.
How Can MS Teams Be Used In Medicine?
The pandemic has, without a doubt, shaken the healthcare sector. Visits aren’t as easy to set up as before as the number of patients has increased drastically and the healthcare professionals have tenfold the normal amount of work to do. This is exactly where e-visits shine. Microsoft Teams not only enable patients to meet their doctors, but also healthcare professionals to collaborate with each other. Besides, virtual visits are:
- Safer – as they require no in-person contact
- More accessible – as they can be done from anywhere, at any time
- Faster – as they solve the problem of queues and appointments
Microsoft Teams Features That Can Be Useful In Healthcare
Surprisingly, the list of useful features offered by MS Teams for healthcare is way longer than expected. Some key features that could be beneficial for healthcare include:
- Secure messaging: Teams has implemented extra safety measures to messaging, making correspondence between patients and doctors even more secure.
- Smart camera: It’s not just helpful for document sharing but also ensures safety as well. All the content you capture and share using the smart camera feature stays only in Teams. It is not stored in the mobile devices of the users or the care providers.
- Priority notifications: When an urgent message is sent to a healthcare team, the users can send priority notifications for that message to all the team members. They will be notified every 2 minutes for the next 20 minutes.
- Microsoft Healthcare Bot: It’s an AI-powered tool that supports online healthcare. The healthcare bot is equipped with healthcare intelligence, a built-in symptom checker, and a list full of medical terms and content. It can also collaborate with systems such as EHRs.
- EHR Integration: Electronic Health Records, or EHRs in short, enable medics to view patients’ health records digitally and discuss them with other professionals. Teams is now integrated into some top-of-the-line EHR software and can be launched directly from the EHR tools.
Biggest Concerns Addressed
Naturally, this new way of maintaining health raises a lot of questions. However, they’ve been mostly addressed by Teams. Here are some major concerns that might arise in someone’s mind.
Is my information safe?
Yes, thanks to security additions to MS Teams, there is no risk of any information being leaked to someone other than the medical professionals.
Will the visit be as useful as a normal one?
Unfortunately, online visits have their limits. You often need a physical examination to get the proper treatment. Although, most of the times, Teams has got you covered. Just describe your symptoms to the professionals, and they prescribe the cure then and there.
Do I need specific equipment and preparation?
The answer is no, not more than what you need to do during a normal visit. The only things needed are an internet connection and a device to answer the call on.
With technology taking over our lives more than ever, the implementation of new technologies in healthcare is a welcome addition. Luckily, we learned to adapt to this change, and thanks to services like MS Teams, healthcare services will be available right at your doorstep soon.