In our last post, we discussed the benefits of transitioning from a capital expenditure (CAPEX) model to an operating expenditure (OPEX) model for your telecommunications system. In other words, we discussed moving from physical phone boxes that you have to purchase upfront and manage on-premises at your facility (a common practice among healthcare providers) to something like a cloud-based phone platform that you pay for as a service on a monthly basis.

No major upfront costs. No on-site maintenance.

While going with an OPEX solution can be especially helpful for carrying out lean hospital, clinic, or practice management, it doesn’t stop there. The real game-changer is when you find a single-source provider that is able to deliver a number of your telecommunications needs through a single platform, which prevents you from having to work with a long list of vendors and systems.

Below are a few ways a single-source provider can help you maximize the efficiency of your workflow and your finances.

Consolidated Workflow

All your messaging is in one place. When you use a single platform that covers a number of different telecommunications needs for your healthcare organization or practice (e.g., phone calls, fax, appointment reminder texts, after-hours call routing, etc.), you’re able to consolidate your messaging. By going from logging into numerous platforms to just one, you can significantly reduce the amount of time it takes your team to locate messages, and you reduce the chances of patient and staff communications getting lost in the shuffle. Ultimately, this helps improve your team’s efficiency while also improving the quality of patient care.

It becomes easier to share messages across users to balance responsibilities and accountability. With all of your telecommunications channels streamlined through a single platform, it’s much simpler to forward calls and messages to the correct parties, regardless of what format that communication is in. What helps to simplify sharing is that you’re working with only one user list, which eliminates the redundancy of updating several user lists and keeping them consistent with each other.

There’s improved oversight. With a single platform, you get a bird’s eye view of all the communications that are coming through your organization, helping you to easily spot trends (e.g., fluctuations in communications from patients across numerous channels), as well as potential issues (e.g. insufficient follow-up with patients by staff). With all your logs housed in one place, you’re able to remove unnecessary data silos and capture the information you need much faster in and in a more organized fashion.

Prevent security breaches due to unknown service limitations. As a healthcare organization or practice that is required to comply with HIPAA, it’s important that you work with vendors who are equipped to help you keep patient data private and secure in accordance with the law. With that in mind, it’s much easier to set up and maintain a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) — a requirement for HIPAA compliance — with a single telecommunications provider than with several. Establishing a BAA with one provider that you have researched thoroughly and you know you can trust reduces the amount of legwork required for compliance, as well as potential surprises that could compromise your security standards.

Improved Finance Management

Pay fewer bills. When you have a single telecommunications system partner, you’re spending less time dealing with accounting logistics since you’re only paying one bill instead of several. That gives your team more time in their day and the ability to direct that attention to other more pressing matters.

Get a clearer picture of your cost-benefit analysis. With just one provider, it’s easier to evaluate what you’re paying compared to what you’re receiving in terms of telecommunications services, as there are fewer cost variables to account for (less variability in fees, contact lengths, terms of services, etc.). This type of clarity can help you better assess if you are getting the appropriate return on your investment, and it allows you to make more informed decisions for the future, including in your budget forecasting.

Minimize costs by contributing to less overhead. Service providers always have to account for overhead when setting their fees — so when you work with numerous providers, you’re paying toward someone else’s overhead many times over. In contrast, an all-in-one service provider only has to meet overhead expenses once, so you’re actually making your dollars stretch further by accessing several services from a single source.

All the communications features you need wrapped into one platform

If you’re in need of an all-in-one, cloud-based phone system that is available at an affordable monthly rate, you may want to consider RingRx. In addition to being built for HIPAA compliance, our platforms include all the features you need for seamless patient and internal communication.

RingRx’s features include:

  • Phone: an enterprise-quality phone system available through the latest office and mobile technologies
  • Fax: secure web-based faxing that allows you to send HIPAA-compliant faxes from anywhere, or traditional machine-based faxing
  • Texting: secure team texting that allows for the safe transmission of sensitive information between staff members, as well as patient texting for certain types of messages
  • After-hours call routing (RingRx OnCall): the ability to direct urgent calls to the appropriate on-call staff members after-hours
  • Patient outreach: the ability to stay connected with patients on their terms, such as through appointment reminder texts and important updates to increase engagement
  • Robocall blocking (Privacy Defender): technology that uses artificial intelligence to identify potential spam risks and block unwanted calls

With the right system, you could be on your way to improved operational and financial efficiency for your healthcare organization or practice. To learn more about RingRx, check out our affordable plans or request a free trial.