Call Accounting Helps Healthcare Organizations Bring Telecom Expenditures Under Control
March 08, 2016
By Tracey E. Schelmetic
TMCnet Contributor
Thanks to our increasingly complex healthcare marketplace in the United States, healthcare administration – appointment setting, billing, prescription refills, insurance work, referrals, patient records and more – is a fast-growing profession. It’s also an area in which high telecommunications expenditures are a hallmark: sending and receiving records, consultations by phone or digital means, voice and even video conferencing, mobile devices and electronic patient records all contribute to an increasingly complicated telecom landscape for any healthcare organization.
In fact, the rising trend of medical collaboration has greatly increased the number of media, devices, networks and hardware and software any organization requires in order to stay current. To meet the needs of a healthcare organization and its patients today, networks are getting broader and more robust, and communications are getting more high-tech.
Call accounting solutions can go a long way toward helping healthcare organizations understand how they are using telecom resources and to eliminate abuse and waste. Many hospitals and healthcare practices today are using unified communications to save money and increase mobility and efficiency, and adding a call accounting solution is an easy step, as long as the solution provider understands the rigid privacy rules that underpin healthcare communications.
ISI Telemanagement Solutions (News - Alert), Inc. offers a certified telecom management solution that passes the stringent tests put to the healthcare industry. The company’s healthcare solutions have obtained Certified HIPAA Professional (CHP) and Certified Security Compliance Specialist (CSCS) certifications, and ISI provides the required intensive HIPAA Privacy and Security “boot camp” training for several key staff members, and has in an effort to ensure that ISI has Subject Matter Experts on staff.
“ISI has developed a comprehensive information security program for the privacy and security of patient data that begins with good hiring practices and training, and follows through to auditing the effectiveness of, and adherence to, implemented controls,” according to the company. “Infortel Select, when installed and implemented according to vendor specifications, will allow an organization to meet the applicable and appropriate requirements of HIPAA Privacy and Security regulations. ISI is Certified HIPPA Compliant for both onsite and cloud solutions.”
Lingering on a nearby horizon is telemedicine, or healthcare professionals treating patients via live video conferencing links. It’s an especially compelling prospects for patients in very rural areas. It comes with responsibility, however, for recording, archiving and accounting. Using voice and video recording solutions like ISI’s, doctors or other healthcare professionals can record sensitive conversations with patients and revisit archived interviews quickly and efficiently. By recording interactions with patients and families, doctor liability is reduced. Patients, on the other hand, can request DVDs of the voice and video conversations with the same doctors for their own personal records. At the same time, both healthcare organizations and patients can ensure that privacy laws are being met and regulations are being followed.
Healthcare organizations looking to cut costs, boost efficiency and maintain regulations can consult with ISI to ensure they’re doing everything right. The company provides a simple, quick, cost-free way for hospitals and health care centers to gain control over their telecommunications network spending. ISI analyzes a company's telecommunications expenses at no cost, and provides analysis and an itemized report identifying areas that will provide potential cost-savings.
With healthcare administration costs spiraling out of control, getting a grip on telecom expenditures is a wise move. Companies can use call accounting, recording and auditing to be sure they’re providing patients with the best of care in the most economic manner possible, while still looking out for patient safety and privacy.
Edited by Stefania Viscusi