Unified Communications, Applications and Services Offer New Approach to Healthcare
April 7, 2009

It's a dilemma faced by every hospital in the world today; how to match patient admissions and discharges to available beds in as timely a manner as possible. The process often requires hours of staff time, coordination of multiple departments and rarely seems to run smoothly. And every step of the process costs hospitals money and time and generally leaves patients wondering why everything is taking so long.

For instance, when the folks at  M.D. Anderson Cancer Center **, part of Orlando Regional Healthcare, came to Nortel with an idea for a  new patient discharge solution , Nortel was able to help reduce discharge times by up to four hours using interactive voice response (IVR) technology.  Take a look  at just how this  solution  has helped improve the process at M.D. Anderson - Orlando. In another example, Nortel developed a complete unified communications solution for  Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas  when it identified the need to send medical orders wirelessly. Backed by a suite of Nortel design, deployment and maintenance services, this  solution  has improved clinical staff utilization in the hospital's radiology department and in many cases has reduced patient wait times up to 50 percent. HOW NORTEL TRANSFORMS TODAY'S HOSPITALS INTO THE HYPERCONNECTED HOSPITAL OF TOMORROW Nortel's innovations are laying the foundation for the era where anything that can be connected will be connected, to drive improvements in patient care:

• Nortel's  Patient Discharge Solution  improves the patient discharge process
• Nortel's  Asset Tracking and Management  helps control costs and enhance safety and productivity
• Nortel's  Collaborative Clinical Solution  allows secure sharing of patient data using multimedia
• Nortel's  Clinical Alarms and Alerts  provide nurse call and emergency notifications wirelessly
• Nortel's  IP Mobility Fast Start Solution  allows small and medium-sized healthcare staffs to enjoy many of the same benefits provided to Nortel's larger healthcare customers
• Nortel's  Secure Portable Office  makes secure workforce mobility a reality

• Jan Yperman  Enhances Care with Clinical-Grade Healthcare Solution from Nortel
• Sharjah  Teaching Hospital Enhances Care with Nortel Unified Communications
• King Fahad  Medical City Enhances Patient Care with Nortel Unified Communications
• Carolinas HealthCare System  Gets 'Personal' with Virtual Contact Center from Nortel

• Santa Cabrini Hospital  attracts top healthcare professionals with the latest technology
• M.D. Anderson Cancer Center  - Orlando came to Nortel for help designing a patient discharge solution

• Baylor University Medical Center  aims to improve patient care with unified communications
• M.D. Anderson Cancer Center  improves the patient discharge system
• Watch scenarios  that showcase how Nortel provides doctors and nurses with the freedom of mobility

• Scott Checkoway , North East Georgia Health Systems, discusses how mobility and communications can transform healthcare and support growth
• Diane Doran , University of Toronto Faculty of Nursing, discusses mobility trends and how they are facilitating improved patient care

• By deploying a unified communications solution, Nortel estimates organizations can realize up to 18 percent gains in productivity
• Third party studies have shown that Nortel data networking products provide up to 20 times the performance and seven times the resiliency of competitive solutions while consuming up to 40 percent less energy and costing up to 50 percent less to own and operate. ***

QUOTES Joel Hackney, president, Enterprise Solutions, Nortel
"These unified communications solutions offer just as much to hospital staff as operating rooms and surgical instruments. They allow healthcare teams to make quick, accurate diagnoses by giving all appropriate staff access to the same data in a real-time, secure environment. This more efficient approach helps the healthcare staff and the patient by reducing the amount of time most patients actually spend in the hospital."  

Sanjeev Gupta, general manager, Healthcare Solutions, Nortel
"Comprehensive unified communications solutions from Nortel allow physicians to focus on patients, not networks. Our industry-specific applications, services and support help healthcare professionals to do their jobs in an efficient, cost-effective and secure environment. In turn, this makes hospitals more efficient and helps them manage the cost of healthcare."

Net Payne, vice president, Global Service and Solutions Marketing, Nortel
"Improving the quality and speed of patient care is top of mind for all healthcare professionals. Nortel's Unified Communications solutions provide a foundation for hospitals to provide staff with up-to-date patient information. The ability to share digital files securely helps ensure regulatory compliance, but just as importantly, it makes it easier for healthcare professionals to do their jobs."