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GREAT
Connections
SPRING 2017
3
As in many industries, professionals in healthcare have found themselves increasingly dependent
on technology. Many of the latest methods for maintaining optimal health are dependent upon a
fast and reliable Internet connection. Here are just a few examples:
Electronic Health Records
As the healthcare industry shifted from paper to electronic
health records, much of this data has been stored on-premise
within healthcare facilities. Now another shift is taking
place—storing these records offsite on cloud-based platforms,
allowing professionals to easily and securely view them from
any Internet-enabled device.
Tablets
Many healthcare providers have adopted tablet computers as
their go-to tool for a wide variety of uses including recording
and reviewing patient data, accessing drug databases, schedul-
ing patient appointments and communicating with patients and
other providers.
Remote Patient Monitoring
Patients can wear or use devices that monitor their physical
condition and send data to their medical practitioners at pri-
mary care clinics, hospitals, nursing units and other healthcare
facilities. Health data collected in this manner includes weight,
blood pressure, blood sugar, blood oxygen levels, heart rate and
electrocardiograms. Professionals can use this information to
ensure their patients’ treatment plans are on track or adjust as
needed. In addition, patients can use it to monitor themselves
and become more proactive in their own care.
Telemedicine
Remote access to healthcare services is on the rise and can be
used in a variety of ways. One is to share files, test results and
other data via secure email platforms; in this case, the healthcare
provider and patient can be interacting with the information
at different times. The other is for the provider and patient to
communicate in real time using audio and video conferencing.
Telemedicine can help patients in isolated areas gain access to
medical specialists in larger communities.
Great Plains Communications is dedicated to ensuring that
healthcare providers—as well as our customers in other fields
—have the technology they need to perform their important
jobs within the community.
Taking the Pulse of
Healthcare Technology
How new tools are improving patient health and provider efficiency