At least half of the people in the world do not receive the health services they need.
Health is a human right; it’s time for health for all.
Those are two of the key messages put forth by the World Health Organization for the World Health Day, which takes place on 7th April every year. The focus this year is Universal Health Coverage. While a lot needs to be done to achieve this, in this blog we will look at how smart communication can help achieve Universal Health Coverage.
What is Universal Health Coverage?
According to the WHO universal health coverage means ‘that all people have access to the quality health services they need, when and where they need them, without financial hardship.’
As the video above lays out, a lot of different aspects need to be considered to ensure that all people have what they need to get, be and stay healthy. This includes the availability of people, services, products, finances, policies and information. Smart communication can help achieve many of these.
How can smart communication help achieve Universal Health Coverage?
Smart communication is about bridging gaps between people through technology. Whether we are talking about healthcare companies, healthcare professionals, policy makers or patients – everybody needs to communicate, inform and exchange on a regular basis. Modern cloud communication tools can enable this communication anywhere, anytime and at a lower cost than in-person communication. Thereby, they can contribute to Universal Health Coverage in different ways:
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Smart Communication increases access to well-trained health workers
Cloud Communications tools can largely facilitate access to well-trained health workers, simply because they simplify access to training. Healthcare professionals can access training on new medication, new techniques or even full education programs online anytime and from anywhere. Many companies and higher education institutions offer high-quality information online free of charge, live and on-demand. This way more health workers than ever before have access to good education, even if they live and work in remote places or can’t afford to travel to in-person training and lectures.
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Smart Communication facilitates access to safe and effective care
Thanks to improved technology more and more healthcare professionals can communicate with and treat patients via digital channels. Tools such as Microsoft Teams or Cisco WebEx Teams offer the possibility for both patients and doctors to communicate regularly via video and chat. The possibility of telehealth opens healthcare for patients that have previously been cut off from any healthcare services or would have had to travel far for a basic consultation.
For more information on this read our blog on Tech Innovations for the Healthcare Industry
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Smart Communication supports medical exchange
Further to medical education and doctor-patient communication, digital tools also support valuable exchange among healthcare professionals themselves. Thanks to tools such as webinars and online portals, HCPs have access to cross border communication anywhere, anytime. They can freely share best practices and updates in their therapeutic areas and disease management. Thereby, cloud communications tools can contribute to helping health workers find the right medicine or treatment method for any patient at any given moment.
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Smart Communication helps to reduce costs
As cloud communication offers the possibility to access training as well as consultations online, travel costs for both healthcare professionals and patients can be immensely reduced. Also, the availability of medical education online at low cost or even free of charge helps to lower costs for quality education.
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Smart Communication furthers availability of information
Making sure everyone involved in healthcare has access to all relevant information to take the right decisions is essential for Universal Health Coverage. This includes healthcare professionals just as much as policy makers. Thanks to cloud communications tools such as webinars information can be distributed to large audiences easily now. And if deployed well, digital tools can ensure a constant connection and lively exchange between all relevant parties. Learn more about how to do this in this blog.
So, as the WHO states on their website:
We know universal health coverage is possible, let’s make it happen!
And let’s all make the contribution we can in our respective area of expertise.
If you’d like to learn about Arkadin’s Digital Engagement Solutions for Healthcare, visit our website.
