Virtual Office Resource

There are few business sectors as telephone-intensive as healthcare. Healthcare providers make and take a lot of phone calls, and rely heavily on messaging and automated channels. As demands on their communications escalate, many healthcare providers are finding that their legacy phone systems can’t keep up. Instead, they’re turning to voice over IP platforms that can provide them with reliable but flexible service and better features.

The features healthcare providers are coming to rely on most heavily are productivity-enhancing tools that can cut down the amount of time administrators and healthcare service providers must spend on calls and other contacts. These productivity-enhancing features – difficult if not impossible to implement in legacy phone systems --  might include simple-to-configure call routing, self-routing auto attendant features, auto-dialing, messaging and voice mail transcription and even video for telemedicine.

VoIP communications company Vonage (News - Alert) recently announced a new enterprise service package designed specifically for the healthcare market. The additions come via Nexmo, the Vonage API Platform.

According to Vonage, healthcare professionals can use Nexmo technology to connect with patients and clients in real time via video, SMS or voice. The Nexmo APIs integrate directly with the tools healthcare professionals rely on every day, along with specialized services that are in compliance with healthcare privacy guidelines and regulations. Notable features include the Nexmo Verify API to enable two-factor authentication fraud prevention services; and Nexmo's OpenTok Live Video API, which enables telehealth capabilities via a real-time video platform that is HIPAA-compliant with encrypted media streams and recordings, advanced security and detailed analytics.

"The launch of Nexmo's Enterprise Plan for the healthcare market enables us to provide enterprise-scale cloud solutions for customers while eliminating the pain points often associated with this kind of undertaking," said Eric Le Guiniec, SVP of Sales for Nexmo, in a statement.

The goal, according to Vonage, is to allow healthcare professionals to add communication functionality to their existing business applications to transform the way they connect with their patients, whether it’s via video, voice, SMS, and chat, regardless of where the patient is located.