3 Things to Consider Before Investing in Videoconferencing as a Service (VCaaS)
Shifting over the past few years, videoconferencing is no longer a nice-to-have option but a necessity for hospitals to offer telemedicine programs for one or more disciplines.
This is all due to the benefits it offers to businesses. The cloud boosts its popularity further, making it affordable for companies of all sizes and budgets. However, before making the switch to cloud-based videoconferencing, there are a few factors you need to consider.
Security: HIPAA compliance is not something we take lightly in telemedicine. Cloud-based video conferencing can be equally (if not more) secure than on-premise systems. VCaaS service providers often have a dedicated set of skills and expertise, as well as resources to provide conferencing services in strict compliance with security standards. VCaaS comes as a logical choice for small and mid-sized healthcare providers that do not have the budget or in-house expertise to maintain such high levels of security.
Quality and Performance: A good videoconferencing service should run seamlessly on any device, whether those endpoints are hospital provided (telemedicine carts, desktop clients or laptops) or are the personal devices of the clinical staff. Also, look for one that supports 3G/4G mobile networks. This makes it easier for everyone to stay connected and collaborate from virtually anywhere. All of this should be possible without any lag in video quality.
Flexibility and Scalability: For hospitals that have already made some hardware purchases or those looking to move from on-premise to on-cloud models, it’s best to invest in a VCaaS that easily integrates with existing infrastructure. It’s also important to find out if the service is compatible with your commonly used tools. Pay-as-you-grow (or shrink) models are great for small and mid-size businesses that frequently scale their operations up or down.
Avizia was acquired by Amwell in July of 2018. Information on this page refers to activities that occurred prior to the acquisition and are presented for historical context. Together we provide a comprehensive acute care offering—a full end-to-end telemedicine solution for health systems and their providers.