IDC VENDOR SPOTLIGHT Sponsored by: Poly + Microsoft Digital Healthcare: The Future of Virtual Care, Collaboration, and Communication January 2021 Written by: Lynne A. Dunbrack, Group Vice President, IDC Health Insights Introduction Healthcare organizations faced unprecedented challenges as they responded rapidly to accommodate the surge of COVID-19-positive patients while keeping frontline staff and other patients safe. The industry saw accelerated adoption of videoconferencing and collaboration tools by healthcare organizations to provide care to patients regardless of where patients or clinicians are located while mitigating the risk of exposure to the coronavirus. Using these technologies, healthcare providers can continue to provide a high level of care for their patients via virtual visits and collaborate with colleagues in team huddles, rounding, or tumor boards. IDC's September 2020 Consumer Experiences Survey found that 51.5% of U.S. consumers were concerned or very concerned about the risk of contracting COVID-19 when they went to a hospital or other healthcare facility, and two-thirds of respondents reported that they deferred important healthcare services such as elective procedures, routine care and cancer screenings, and emergency care until the symptoms became more severe. Deferral of care — whether by providers to address COVID-19 protocols or patients fearful of contracting COVID-19 — has had a significant financial impact. The American Hospital Association estimated that U.S. hospitals lost $200 billion in revenue from March 1, 2020 to June 30, 2020 because of deferred services, including lucrative elective procedures. Access to secure unified communications and clinical collaboration solutions is more critical than ever. Access to secure unified communications and clinical collaboration solutions is more critical than ever to build business and clinical resiliency. KEY STATS According to IDC's September 2020 Consumer Experiences Survey: » 51.5% of U.S. consumers were concerned or very concerned about the risk of contracting COVID-19 when they went to a hospital or other healthcare facility. » 66.9% of U.S. respondents reported that they deferred important healthcare services. WHAT'S IMPORTANT Effective communication is more important than ever as healthcare organizations rely on virtual visits and clinical collaboration now and into the next normal. AT A GLANCE
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IDC VENDOR SPOTLIGHT Sponsored by: Poly + Microsoft
Digital Healthcare: The Future of Virtual Care, Collaboration, and Communication January 2021
Written by: Lynne A. Dunbrack, Group Vice President, IDC Health Insights
Introduction Healthcare organizations faced unprecedented challenges as they responded rapidly to accommodate the surge of COVID-19-positive patients while keeping frontline staff and other patients safe. The industry saw accelerated adoption of videoconferencing and collaboration tools by healthcare organizations to provide care to patients regardless of where patients or clinicians are located while mitigating the risk of exposure to the coronavirus. Using these technologies, healthcare providers can continue to provide a high level of care for their patients via virtual visits and collaborate with colleagues in team huddles, rounding, or tumor boards.
IDC's September 2020 Consumer Experiences Survey found that 51.5% of U.S. consumers were concerned or very concerned about the risk of contracting COVID-19 when they went to a hospital or other healthcare facility, and two-thirds of respondents reported that they deferred important healthcare services such as elective procedures, routine care and cancer screenings, and emergency care until the symptoms became more severe. Deferral of care — whether by providers to address COVID-19 protocols or patients fearful of contracting COVID-19 — has had a significant financial impact. The American Hospital Association estimated that U.S. hospitals lost $200 billion in revenue from March 1, 2020 to June 30, 2020 because of deferred services, including lucrative elective procedures. Access to secure unified communications and clinical collaboration solutions is more critical than ever.
Access to secure unified communications and clinical collaboration solutions is more critical than ever to build business and clinical resiliency.
KEY STATS According to IDC's September 2020 Consumer Experiences Survey:
» 51.5% of U.S. consumers were concerned or very concerned about the risk of contracting COVID-19 when they went to a hospital or other healthcare facility.
» 66.9% of U.S. respondents reported that they deferred important healthcare services.
WHAT'S IMPORTANT Effective communication is more important than ever as healthcare organizations rely on virtual visits and clinical collaboration now and into the next normal.
AT A GLANCE
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IDC VENDOR SPOTLIGHT Digital Healthcare: The Future of Virtual Care, Collaboration, and Communication
Benefits of Videoconferencing Solutions Combined with Collaboration and Communication Platforms The benefits of videoconferencing solutions combined with collaboration and communication platforms address challenges brought about by the global pandemic and include the following:
» Leveraging commonly used business solutions. To accelerate the deployment of telehealth services and clinical collaboration, healthcare organizations are turning to unified communications and collaboration (UC&C) platforms they currently use and with which most users, including patients, are familiar. This strategy also reduces the need to purchase another platform, with all its attendant investment in hardware, software, and services.
» Mitigating the risk of exposure to the coronavirus. Key to containing the spread of the virus is limiting exposure to COVID-19-positive people or those who might have been exposed but are not presenting symptoms yet. Virtual care visits and clinical collaboration reduce the need for in-person visits or meetings when they can be accomplished via UC&C solutions.
» Generating much-needed revenue for the institution or the practice. A key priority for healthcare organizations as they respond to the crisis and move to the next normal is building resiliency. Virtual care and clinical collaboration enable critical healthcare operations to continue during the crisis while protecting patients as well as healthcare providers and other frontline staff.
» Meeting future expectations of patients and clinicians. Patients have come to appreciate the convenience of virtual experiences, including receiving healthcare services via a video virtual care visit. According to IDC's Consumer Experiences Survey, 32.4% of U.S. consumers would like to continue to virtually visit their doctor or a healthcare facility after the pandemic. Healthcare organizations will need to put into place a long-term strategy for virtual care visits and clinician collaboration.
Considering Poly and Microsoft Poly partners with the major UC&C platform vendors, including Microsoft, to enable healthcare organizations to leverage their UC&C solutions. Key offerings for healthcare organizations provided by the Poly/Microsoft partnership include:
Featured Poly and Microsoft Healthcare Offerings
Microsoft applications run on a full line of Poly solutions, including headset and speakerphone products that have been Microsoft Teams certified to provide a high level of audio and visual quality. A simplified interface, touchless operations, and native interfaces result in a familiar user experience across multiple devices. Key Poly/Microsoft solutions include:
» Clinical Collaboration. Poly has Teams-certified video and audio solutions designed for small, medium-sized, and large medical office and institution meeting spaces using Microsoft Teams Rooms.
» Poly's RealConnect. The solution enables video interoperability between traditional videoconferencing solutions that are H.323 or SIP compliant and Microsoft Teams meetings.
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» Virtual Visits/Patient Encounters. Desktop devices such as CCX 600 desk phone, Voyager Focus UC headset, and EagleEye Mini camera provide seamless virtual visits and patient encounters from clinicians' offices at a hospital or a clinic. Voyager 5200 UC and Voyager 6200 UC headsets provide a similar experience outside healthcare facilities wherever clinicians may be.
» Telemedicine/Remote Clinic. The Poly Studio and Studio X solutions combine high-quality video and audio, turning the exam room into a remote clinic. High-definition video and speaker tracking create an in-person-like experience for those not in the room.
» Administrative Functions and Consultations. Poly offers a range of devices — noise canceling headsets, desk phones for staff and reception, and videoconferencing — to enable more focused communication between colleagues as well as with external parties such as suppliers, partners, or patients.
» Services Suite for Microsoft. Poly offers a wide range of planning, migrating, and optimizing services for integrating its solutions with Microsoft Teams to support the companies' joint healthcare customers through their transformation journey, including extending their telehealth capabilities.
Challenges and Market Opportunities
The challenges that Poly and Microsoft, as well as their customers, face can also present opportunities for companies with a strong services offering and a broad product portfolio:
» Rapid pace of change. During the course of the pandemic, COVID-19 protocols have changed on a weekly, daily, and sometimes hourly basis depending upon the situation and volume of patients being treated. This level of change management requires the ability to communicate rapidly revised processes to staff regardless of where they are working — across campus or from home —at any given moment.
» Security. The swift deployment of technology to enable staff and clinicians to work from home accessing hospital IT systems and patient information from personal networks and devices increased the risk of a security incident and placed additional strain on IT security teams.
» Intense provider financial cost pressures. With the deferral of services, including lucrative elective procedures, healthcare organizations across the globe experienced significant economic losses. Careful consideration of the total cost of UC&C solutions is essential.
» Multiple virtual care options. Such options create a fragmented marketplace for providing telehealth solutions. Solutions range from comprehensive UC&C solutions and videoconferencing solutions initially designed for business meetings to purpose-built telehealth platforms.
» Competitor portfolios. Poly's competitors also are focused on expanding their solution portfolios in terms of breadth and depth of product capabilities, professional services, and cloud-based options. For Poly, successful strategy execution to broaden the portfolio requires reinforcement of positioning in the enterprise space without alienation of the channel that has been so beneficial to the organization.
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Conclusion In just two to three months, healthcare organizations have seen the equivalent of two years of digital transformation. Literally overnight, healthcare organizations had to change how and where people worked and sought care. Effective communication has always been vital in healthcare. Poor communication is one of the major contributors to medical errors. In the wake of the pandemic, improving communication and collaboration between colleagues regardless of whether they are working at the hospital or clinic or working from home has been essential as healthcare organizations have moved from rapid crisis response to building operational resiliency to entering the next normal. The ability to support a hybrid approach to work and continuing education and training as clinicians and staff rotate between working at their healthcare facility or working from home will require flexible and secure solutions.
IDC believes the virtual healthcare market will continue to grow, and to the extent that the Poly/Microsoft partnership can address the challenges described in this paper, the companies have a significant opportunity for success.
About the Analyst
Lynne A. Dunbrack, Group Vice President, IDC Health Insights
Lynne Dunbrack is Group Vice President for Public Sector, which includes IDC Government Insights and IDC Health Insights. She manages a group of analysts who provide research-based advisory and consulting services for payers, providers, accountable care organizations, IT service providers, and the IT suppliers that serve those markets. Lynne also leads IDC Health Insights' Connected Health IT Strategies program.
Literally overnight, healthcare organizations had to change how and where people worked and sought care.
IDC VENDOR SPOTLIGHT Digital Healthcare: The Future of Virtual Care, Collaboration, and Communication
MESSAGE FROM THE SPONSOR
Poly + Microsoft Solutions Make Virtual Patient and Staff Communication More Human
Today, many healthcare institutions, hospitals and doctors' office are deploying a "hybrid" or "blended" approach for healthcare, well-being, and healthcare. To be successful, healthcare professionals, doctors, patients, and administrators must have the right tools to ensure that these hybrid experiences are engaging and informative for all participants—regardless of their location. Poly + Microsoft Teams solutions are supporting digital healthcare globally, bringing professional quality audio, video, and content sharing into the healthcare institutions, the home, and any space where health and patient care happens. Built-in features like HD video, speaker tracking, and automatic noise cancelation provide a richer, and more distraction-free, experience for doctors and patients. Whether digital healthcare engagement is taking place in the hospital or from home, IT manageability software allows organizations to manage devices remotely, monitor system health, make updates, track usage, and even tally virtual room participants.
View Poly Audio and Video Solutions for Healthcare here.
Contact a Poly + Microsoft Education Expert here.
The content in this paper was adapted from existing IDC research published on www.idc.com.
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