Cisco Leading The Digital Transformation in Healthcare

The advances in technology are all around us.

We have mobile devices phones that have replaced and combined everything from your phone, computer, web browser, email and music player, to self-driving cars and drones dropping off your online order minutes after you order.

But there are still a few areas it seems technology is having a hard time breaking through to.

Those are usually the tried and true mega institutions that have been around for a long time, have a long history and find it hard to turn over their tried and true method to some "new" tech, that may bring it all crashing down around them. Which seldom ever happens, but that's their fear anyway.

Those behemoths were technology is slow to make progress are your government agencies, your education systems and of course the healthcare industry.

Cisco is actually helping to lead the way in that last category. Recently Cisco has teamed up with Pure Storage to revolutionize the world of data storage.

Cisco is excited to announce that we’ve teamed up with partner Pure Storage to revolutionize the world of data storage. FlashStack combines Cisco UCS with industry-leading flash storage in one powerful package. This is especially good news for for customers of Epic, the leading EHR software vendor in the U.S., because FlashStack is Epic-compliant. It meets – or exceeds – Epic hardware specifications.

When customers build Epic on FlashStack, they get an instantly upgradable platform for Epic deployment. Additional capacity and capabilities can be added seamlessly in minutes, with no need for rip-and-replace upgrades. A simple, unified management interface gives the IT team the ability to manage UCS and Pure Storage resources using familiar Cisco management tools and processes.

FlashStack gives facilities the ability to scale on-demand, drive always-on high performance for Epic (even under heavy use), and deploy a cloud-like infrastructure for flexible growth. In fact, FlashStack is already making waves in the industry. One early adopter achieved a 234% ROI on a VDI deployment with all-flash storage from Pure Storage.

Source: Cisco and Pure Storage Announce Data Storage Solution

Cisco is also looking to "Empower healthcare innovation. Simply and securely transform experiences and outcomes." They have several healthcare offerings that can help do just that.







Check out their cool infographic they:





They are even creating content, solutions and documents to help any healthcare facility make the switch. Here's one they created for those getting started with telemedicine. According to the American Telemedicine Association (ATA), more than 15 million Americans receive some kind of remote medical care, and that number is only expected to grow.

Ready to join the telemedicine revolution? One key to your success is getting everyone in your organization excited and on board with your plan. Here are a few tips to overcome barriers and hesitation.

1. To get buy-in, communicate value: not only to the C-Suite but also to providers.

Consider all the stakeholders who could be affected by your plan. Be prepared to share answers to the following questions:

What are the organization’s goals with telemedicine? Is it to reduce costs, increase convenience, improve patient outcomes, reduce physician burn-out, and/or grow the business? Share details. (These are all potential benefits of telemedicine – visit the ATA to get more information.)
What ROI are you expecting as an organization in one year, five years, 10 years? Help them visualize the long-term benefits.
How will you help keep liability risks low for providers? Is your insurance policy up to date? Are there any concerns with licensing? How will you address security? Knowing these answers may help ease provider anxiety.
2. Get a champion (or a committee of champions).

Seek out providers who are enthusiastic about telemedicine and encourage them to share information with colleagues. These folks can also serve as your implementation committee once your telemedicine program is off and running.

3. Run a patient education campaign.

Study after study shows that patients want telemedicine but don’t know where to get it – or don’t know if their insurance policy covers it. Make sure they not only know it exists but also understand how to access it.

4. Have the right technology – or a plan to acquire it.

Can your network handle the increased bandwidth – and is it secure? What about video quality? How will your system operate with other technology already in place? It’s critical that you ensure a smooth transition for your end users.

Source: Four ways to overcome telemedicine hesitation

Are we there yet? Nope! We are still waiting for those flying cars.

Are there still hurdles to overcome? Absolutely, but Cisco is helping get a foothold and prove to the healthcare industry that the tech works and with that, hopefully continue to pave the way. Allowing for more technology, better systems and efficiencies that can help us all.

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