Hospitals & Healthcare

How Hospitals and Healthcare Use SharePoint for Improved Coordination and Care

SharePoint as an Employee Portal

In hospitals and physician offices, efficient communication and streamlined access to information are vital. SharePoint’s employee portal serves as a centralized platform for communication, providing healthcare teams with the resources they need to perform at their best:

Announcements and Notifications: Hospital administrators can use SharePoint to post important announcements, shift changes, or policy updates. Team members receive real-time notifications, which can be customized by role, ensuring that the right information reaches the right personnel.
Scheduling and Shift Management: Through integration with Outlook and Teams, SharePoint helps organize and track schedules. Medical staff can access shift schedules, request shift swaps, or report availability changes, all within the portal.
Training and Compliance Management: SharePoint’s portal houses training resources, certification records, and compliance information. Healthcare professionals can track their certifications, access e-learning materials, and receive notifications about upcoming training deadlines.

SharePoint as a Centralized Document Storage System

In healthcare, managing and securely storing extensive documentation, including patient files, billing information, and compliance records, is critical. SharePoint’s robust document management capabilities offer healthcare providers a safe, centralized storage solution:

Document Versioning and Control: SharePoint supports versioning, allowing staff to access the most current documents while keeping a history of previous versions. This feature is invaluable in environments where documentation is regularly updated.
Permissions and Access Control: Security is paramount in healthcare. SharePoint’s permission-based access controls ensure that only authorized individuals can view or modify sensitive data, meeting HIPAA and other regulatory standards.
Automated Document Classification: Using metadata, SharePoint can automatically categorize and organize files, making it easier for staff to find relevant records quickly and improving compliance with healthcare documentation protocols.

SharePoint as a Patient Management Software

SharePoint’s integration capabilities allow it to work in tandem with EPIC, a widely used Electronic Health Record (EHR) system, to provide seamless access to patient data. This integration creates a cohesive system for managing patient information, from admission to discharge, helping to streamline processes and improve patient outcomes.

Streamlined Access to Patient Records: With EPIC integration, SharePoint acts as a portal for accessing patient records directly within the platform. Physicians, nurses, and administrative staff can retrieve a patient’s medical history, treatment plans, and lab results without leaving SharePoint.
Enhanced Collaboration on Patient Care:Care teams can use SharePoint to coordinate treatment plans and discuss patient needs in real time, integrating EPIC’s clinical data with communication tools like Teams for secure, rapid coordination.
Automated Documentation and Reporting: SharePoint workflows can trigger document updates or notify specific departments as patient information changes within EPIC. This reduces administrative burden, minimizes errors, and ensures that all parties have up-to-date information.

SharePoint as a Patient Management Software

Workflow Automation in SharePoint

SharePoint’s workflow automation improves operational efficiency, allowing healthcare staff to focus on patient care rather than paperwork. Here are some specific workflow applications that enhance patient management and administrative efficiency:

Patient Admission and Discharge Workflows: Custom workflows automate steps in the admission and discharge processes, from filling out forms to notifying the relevant departments. Notifications and approvals can be streamlined, reducing bottlenecks and enhancing patient throughput.
Billing and Insurance Verification: SharePoint can manage billing processes, automatically flagging insurance approvals or rejections and initiating follow-ups, allowing staff to resolve billing issues more efficiently and reducing administrative delays for patients.
Medication and Treatment Approvals: Workflow tools enable automated routing of medication or treatment approvals, ensuring they move through the necessary departments and receive authorization before administration.

Power BI Integration: Enabling Data-Driven Patient Care

Power BI, part of the Microsoft 365 suite, enables hospitals and physician offices to analyze data within SharePoint and EPIC, empowering them to make more informed, data-driven decisions in patient care and operational management:

Patient Outcomes and Treatment Efficacy: By integrating Power BI with SharePoint, hospitals can generate reports on treatment outcomes, allowing physicians to analyze trends and make adjustments for future care.
Resource Allocation and Staffing Insights:Power BI’s data visualization capabilities provide insights into staffing needs based on patient volume and treatment requirements. Hospitals can forecast resource needs, reducing instances of over or understaffing.
Real-Time Data Monitoring: SharePoint dashboards with Power BI integration offer real-time views into patient admission rates, bed occupancy, and other operational metrics. By providing a real-time data snapshot, healthcare providers can adjust their operations swiftly to meet demands.

Power BI Integration: Enabling Data-Driven Patient Care

Benefits of SharePoint for Healthcare Institutions

Utilizing SharePoint in hospitals and physicians’ offices provides significant benefits in operational efficiency, collaboration, and data management:

Improved Patient Care: By providing healthcare teams with quick, organized access to critical patient data, SharePoint enhances decision-making and supports patient-centered care.
Enhanced Security and Compliance: With customizable permissions, SharePoint meets strict healthcare regulations, safeguarding sensitive patient information while ensuring only authorized personnel have access.
Reduced Administrative Burden: Workflow automation cuts down on manual tasks, allowing healthcare staff to spend more time with patients rather than handling paperwork.
Data-Driven Insights: With Power BI integration, healthcare institutions can gain insights into their operations, from patient outcomes to resource needs, enabling them to make informed, proactive adjustments.

Integration with Other Microsoft 365 Apps

The seamless integration of SharePoint with other Microsoft 365 applications amplifies its functionality and enhances collaboration within healthcare settings:

Microsoft Teams

SharePoint and Teams integrate to enable real-time communication among care teams. Staff can collaborate within Teams channels, which can be customized by department, patient, or treatment type, keeping discussions focused and organized.

Microsoft Outlook

With SharePoint and Outlook integration, hospitals and clinics can streamline appointment scheduling. Patients and staff receive reminders, and scheduling changes are updated automatically, reducing no-shows and improving clinic flow.

Microsoft OneDrive

While SharePoint serves as a central storage system, OneDrive enables secure, HIPAA-compliant file sharing, allowing staff to share documents and files as needed for patient care or administrative purposes.

Microsoft Planner

For departments managing multiple tasks or patient care plans, Microsoft Planner can be integrated with SharePoint to organize assignments and track progress, ensuring nothing is overlooked in patient care.

Improved Patient Care

Microsoft SharePoint is a powerful solution for healthcare providers, combining the tools for document management, patient data access, and collaborative workflows in a secure, HIPAA-compliant environment. Through its integration capabilities with EPIC and other Microsoft 365 apps, SharePoint allows hospitals and physicians’ offices to improve patient care, streamline administrative tasks, and access critical insights that drive better patient outcomes.

Wheelhouse Solutions offers SharePoint development and design services tailored for healthcare institutions, helping them fully leverage SharePoint’s capabilities as an employee portal, patient management software, and centralized document repository.