Picture This! Unified Communications in Healthcare

re: Picture This! Unified Communications in Healthcare

Guest — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 05:04:43 GMT

Why would I buy UC from Microsoft if I can get Skype with same functionality for free?

re: Picture This! Unified Communications in Healthcare

hlthblog — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 06:20:34 GMT

Guest,

We're talking about scalable enterprise solutions here. Many customers can benefit with very little added cost.

Bill Crounse, MD

re: Picture This! Unified Communications in Healthcare

Joseph Kim, M.D. — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 07:35:00 GMT

I think this is a fantastic concept that will have incredible uptake, especially with recent graduates, younger healthcare professionals, and those who have strong interests in technology. The need for improved communication is immense as more information gets exchanged on a routine basis.

Also, data transmissions must be secure. Many consumer modalities may not offer the type of security that is required to maintain patient confidentiality.

re: Picture This! Unified Communications in Healthcare

Guest — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 05:41:48 GMT

So you are saying that Skype is not scaleable and not enterprise ready? It is not true. It is in use by far more people in the world then UC which proves that it is far more capable in scale than MS Unified Communications. And as for cost, it is FREE - not even 'very little added cost'.

re: Picture This! Unified Communications in Healthcare

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re: Picture This! Unified Communications in Healthcare

Anon — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 03:52:05 GMT

I don't think that's what Bill is saying. Skype is a consumer tool, not enterprise. It's great for consumers like my parents, but is hosted (not on-premise) and doesn't integrate with Outlook, Exchange, Active Directory and the other server software that most large enterprises use. Skype doesn't allow you to place calls from the context of your e-mail in Outlook, or collaborate on data using Live Meeting, as the video demonstrates. These are some of the differences between Skype and Microsoft UC.

The Impact of UC in Software, A Healthcare Industry Example

Chris Mayo's Blog - What we have here... — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 18:45:25 GMT

Since I got into the software industry, I've always been looking for technology that has the ability

re: Picture This! Unified Communications in Healthcare

Sanjay Gidwani — Sat, 10 May 2008 19:50:43 GMT

This is great stuff. One thing that might be helpful is patient status information. Some twitter-esque application could be helpful in communicating a patient's current status.

re: Picture This! Unified Communications in Healthcare

Mark L — Wed, 21 May 2008 22:24:29 GMT

So how many out there have the money and staff to implement this on top of all of the other things you have on your plate....... My guess is that most organizations will have to wait until their preferred clinical applications provider integrates it into their application suite.

re: Picture This! Unified Communications in Healthcare

hlthblog — Wed, 21 May 2008 22:37:02 GMT

Mark,

Thanks for writing. While some customers will no doubt wait for that to happen (and several vendors including GE are working with us to leverage UC in their applications) many of our most innovative customers are moving forward themselves. The reason is simple; a new generation of clinicians and patients are demanding this kind of connectivity, communication and collaboration. Furthermore, smartly applied UC can save lots of money. For instance, advances in voice and telecom technology make it possible to dramatically decrease the number of staff needed to "answer phones" and route routine calls.

Bill Crounse, MD

Microsoft HUG--Wish you were here Day 2

HealthBlog — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 23:52:20 GMT

If you want to go straight to the really sexy stuff , scroll toward the bottom of this entry and see

re: Picture This! Unified Communications in Healthcare

Steve Wheeler — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 19:24:01 GMT

I am very interested to know how much of UC is really available and working and who can we talk to at Microsoft regarding pricing, implementation etc.?

Also, is the video on UC available to download and be shown to others?

I will look forward to hearing from someone at Microsoft.

re: Picture This! Unified Communications in Healthcare

hlthblog — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 19:42:11 GMT

Steve,

The unified communications technologies in our video are very much available today and are being deployed by Microsoft customers around the world, including many of our most progressive, innovative healthcare customers. How to purchase the technology and from whom depends on the size of your organization and where you are located. If you want to contact me using the e-mail button at the top of the screen, I will help you get the information you need.

The video is not available for download, but you can certainly stream it from the Microsoft Health home page at www.microsoft.com/health or from my Blog.

Bill Crounse, MD

re: Picture This! Unified Communications in Healthcare

Mike England — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 23:09:31 GMT

I noticed a few comments about both Skype and OCS both of which I think are great tools for specific circumstances. It will be interesting to see how Skype develop their enterprise solutions in the future, interopability is a major issue and that would be a big step forward for them. Hope to learn more at the Unified Communications Expo - www.ucexpo.co.uk where you can hear over 60 presentations for free. These will cover all of the UC technologies including a rare keynote from Skype for Business as well as many Microsoft OCS partners.

re: Picture This! Unified Communications in Healthcare

Mike England — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 23:11:09 GMT

Sorry link didn't come up from last comment, try http://www.ucexpo.co.uk

re: Picture This! Unified Communications in Healthcare

Sukanta Ganguly — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 02:56:23 GMT

Bill,

Though Microsoft is retro-fitting Unified Communication to the HealthCare segment and I think they are doing a good job in that, we do have to agree that the solution offering is unclear at best. The heart of the solution in Microsoft's Exchange and then add-on to it. Microsoft is a very good desktop application company and they have done a darn good job in developing enterprise applications as well. But this space is quite different. I have worked with the UC division integrating my VoIP platform with MS's HSM, OCS offering. Knowing a lot about the internals, I was disappointed with what they have.

Special Webcast: Unified Communications in Health

HealthBlog — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 00:40:05 GMT

Regular HealthBlog readers know that I am a big fan of unified communications technology and how it can

re: Picture This! Unified Communications in Healthcare

Rodney Horton — Thu, 28 May 2009 18:31:51 GMT

As part of my job working for one of the leading integrators of UC for MS, I've had the privledge of working with several customers that have implemented this solution. This is the type of technology that is truly transformational. It both saves customers money, saves them time, and most importantly, provides for quicker and better patient (or customer) care. This can provide an ROI that is measureable and is a technology that is driven by collaboration and innovation and is here to stay.

re: Picture This! Unified Communications in Healthcare

hlthblog — Thu, 28 May 2009 18:41:57 GMT

Thanks for your comment, Rodney. UC technology is really taking off in health. It makes good economic sense in a variety of clinical and administrative scenarios in the industry including caregiver collaboration, continuing medical education, and patient care.

Bill Crounse, MD