Clinical communication is vital to the delivery of safe, high-quality patient care. Effective and timely communication among everyone managing patient information is essential to optimally perform tasks that support patient care. Providers use tablets, smartphones, and other mobile devices for secure messaging, video, voice, and critical alerts. Ideally, this communication would be on a single platform with fewer devices.
Today’s successful healthcare institutions view their mobile platforms as mission critical. Choosing the right platform is an essential enterprise decision directly affecting the quality of patient outcomes. Investments made by technology partners, hardware, and software alike have significantly advanced healthcare developments in this arena. The commitment to enhancing clinical communication is invaluable, improving experiences for both clinicians and patients. Here we highlight Apple’s contributions.
Apple’s Clinical Communication Ecosystem
In recent years, Apple has made significant strides in the healthcare industry, leveraging its powerful ecosystem to revolutionize clinical communications. Today, a single Apple device equipped with third-party iOS or iPadOS applications (such as Electronic Medical Record integrated applications) enables clinicians to manage alerts, coordinate care, document patient observations, and complete interventions. Additionally, Apple enhances home health operations by facilitating two-way communication between patients and their care teams beyond healthcare facilities. iOS is packed with amazing healthcare features that offer institutions powerful ways for clinicians to stay connected to patients, provide useful information, keep data secure, and protect patient privacy—ultimately improving patient outcomes.
Empowering Clinicians
Apple’s devices—including the iPhone, iPad, and iMac—have become indispensable tools for healthcare professionals. By utilizing healthcare applications via an iPhone or iPad, clinicians benefit from secure, integrated communication capabilities on a multipurpose device. These devices enable seamless patient care, whether at the bedside or remotely. Clinicians can access health records and data in real-time, ensuring they have the information they need to make informed decisions. Workflows are improved by providing tools that can conduct barcode validation, ensure accurate medication administration, facilitate specimen collection, capture clinical images, perform bedside ultrasounds, and even estimate blood loss post-surgery or labor and delivery. The intuitive interface and powerful hardware of Apple devices streamline workflows, allowing healthcare providers to focus on what matters most—their patients.
Enhancing Patient Engagement
Apple’s technology also plays a crucial role in keeping patients connected to their care teams with their ecosystem of healthcare products being described as bold and ground-breaking. With apps on iOS and iPadOS, patients can manage their health, track their progress, and communicate with their healthcare providers between office visits. The Health app and HealthKit-enabled devices simplify the process for patients to record and share their health data, fostering a more personalized and proactive approach to healthcare.
Innovating Medical Research
Apple’s commitment to healthcare extends to medical research as well. The ResearchKit and CareKit frameworks enable researchers to create custom applications for their studies, making it easier to enroll participants, capture informed consent, and gather data more frequently. This collaboration with the medical community pushes the boundaries of what is possible in health research, ultimately leading to better patient outcomes.
Security and Privacy
In the healthcare industry, security and privacy are paramount. Apple has built its devices with robust security features, including encryption, secure authentication, and device management tools tailored for healthcare organizations. This ensures patient data is always protected, giving both healthcare providers and patients peace of mind.
Investing in Clinical Communication
Innovative technology is transforming clinical communications in the healthcare industry, making it more efficient, personalized, and secure, creating a future where healthcare is more human and connected. When leveraging the best devices, whichever platform you choose, you are investing in the potential for future innovation across multiple use cases. From empowering clinicians with cutting-edge technology to enhancing patient engagement, improving communication is at the forefront of healthcare innovation and improving patient care.
The modern healthcare environment demands innovative approaches to mitigate expenses, eliminate inefficiencies, alleviate provider fatigue, and boost patient outcomes. Connection delivers all-encompassing solutions tailored for healthcare organizations, aiming to streamline workflows, safeguard sensitive information, and enhance the experiences of patients and healthcare providers alike. Visit our dedicated healthcare page for more information.
Kelly Kempf
Kelly Kempf is the Healthcare Strategy Manager for the Industry Solutions Group at Connection, Inc. Her key responsibilities are to contribute to the healthcare go-to-market strategy, support strategic client and vendor engagement, and lead healthcare training for the company. Kelly serves as a trusted advisor and vertical subject matter expert for both Connection employees and their clients, concentrating on healthcare organization business outcomes such as improving patient outcomes, clinical staff experiences and healthcare data security protocols. She also attends healthcare industry events throughout the country, representing Connection within the healthcare technology industry, and to maintain an exceptional level of healthcare industry awareness. Additionally, Kelly holds her Certified Digital Health Professional (CDH-P) Certification from CHiME. During her 11-year tenure with Connection, Kelly held roles as National Healthcare Business Development Manager for the Business Solutions Group and Professional Services Manager for the Microsoft Cloud Services Team. Prior to working at Connection, Kelly prepared for her current position by gaining experience in Business Development, Product and Project Management, Communications, and Quality Assurance in both healthcare and non-healthcare focused fields and earned her bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
