Communication is critical in data-driven healthcare organizations, where quick access to information can literally save lives. Organizations like Granger Medical Clinic are quickly learning how emergencies like the COVID pandemic can highlight the urgent need for more streamlined healthcare communications.
As one of Utah’s largest independent, physician-owned medical groups, Granger has more than 800 employees providing care across 24 locations. Keeping them all connected to each other and their patients is vital to providing quality care—especially when serving an influx of patients during a pandemic.
But when COVID struck, the clinic’s on-premises phone system could only be accessed on-site—limiting employees’ interactions by tying them to their desks. To gain the flexibility and mobility they needed to share information and communicate with patients, Granger had to quickly virtualize its infrastructure through hosted Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS).[
Here’s how Dynamic Network Advisors helped Granger transition to a unified communications platform, allowing the clinic to scale its quality care across multiple locations.
Enhancing network connectivity with SD-WAN
Six years ago, Granger noticed that its IT team spent too much time and money managing multiple carriers for various on-premises telecom systems. Over the years, as the clinic expanded into new locations, the high cost of juggling separate systems at each site began to hinder the organization’s growth.
Recognizing an opportunity to refine this expensive infrastructure, the clinic called Dynamic to evaluate their network. Working as an extension of their team, Dynamic’s technical engineers negotiated with Granger’s vendors to increase bandwidth capacity while lowering overall operational costs. Dynamic designed a more affordable carrier mix with redundancy and faster network connectivity using a software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) architecture.
As Granger added new locations, Dynamic acted as a single point of contact to manage all the clinic’s telecom providers while recommending more cost-effective solutions—easing the burden on Granger’s busy IT staff and freeing them up to focus on strategic growth initiatives instead.
Streamlining healthcare communications with hosted UCaaS
In March 2020, when Utah’s governor issued a stay-at-home order to slow the spread of COVID, Granger had to act fast. Although the clinic had redesigned its network connectivity, it still relied on on-premises phone systems and contact center solutions that users could only access from their desks. To mobilize its workforce, enabling employees to connect to the network from any location, Granger looked to the cloud.
Dynamic guided Granger’s transition to hosted UCaaS in less than 30 days, giving employees the tools needed to communicate and share information on any device, using the same secure platform and familiar interface. UCaaS enabled the clinic’s staff to work from home and move between locations without sacrificing productivity. This seamless communication has a significant impact on the patient experience—helping Granger maintain its 99% quality of care rating.
As important as efficiency, security, and flexibility are in healthcare communications, cost is also a vital consideration as Granger strives to keep services affordable. When it comes to financial concerns, UCaaS provides even more value by replacing the capital expense of on-premises systems with a steady, predictable operating expense that bundles voice services, cloud communication solutions, and more. By managing the migration to UCaaS, Dynamic helped Granger consolidate its IT billing—reducing telecom-related costs by $288,000, plus an additional $150,000 in capital expenditures.
Partnering to ease the IT burden
As healthcare communications continue to evolve, medical organizations need flexible, scalable solutions to collaborate and connect with patients. That’s why Dynamic doesn’t just sell cloud communications services; we provide project management and ongoing support to make sure telecom providers deliver the services they promise. At no additional cost, we step in to manage vendors and resolve issues, so our clients’ IT teams have fewer calls to make and fewer headaches to cure.
Relying on Dynamic’s seasoned technical engineers frees companies to focus on strategic growth initiatives instead of infrastructure issues. After all, the less time and money that healthcare organizations spend juggling telecom vendors and on-premises systems, the more energy they can devote to patient care.
Contact Dynamic Network Advisors to take advantage of the operational efficiencies and cost savings of UCaaS.