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Webex Telehealth Connector for Epic: Reimagining connection in healthcare

Mar 26, 2021 — Kedar Ganta

Telehealth using Cisco Webex Telehealth Connector

Remote delivery of care has been a game changer in the last year; reducing barriers of health equity, addressing delivery disruptions caused by the pandemic, enhancing patient experience, empowering care team’s productivity, and improving health outcomes by increasing access to necessary care.

Cisco has collaborated closely with healthcare customers and partners in early field trials (beta) to streamline clinical workflow integration, deliver better experiences, and share important telehealth insights in Control Hub.

We’re excited to announce the general availability of Webex Telehealth Connector. Epic is the first EHR to be integrated with the Webex Telehealth Connector and is published in the Epic App Orchard.

Webex for healthcare is purpose built to meet healthcare delivery needs in diverse care settings. Webex Telehealth Connector allows for the flexibility to launch virtual visits from within clinician workflows or as a stand-alone application in a browser that has access to camera and microphone.

About Webex for healthcare

The browser based WebRTC technology does not require browser plugins or force any application installation. The video consultations are scheduled and managed directly from Epic’s Electronic Health Record (EHR) system. Because of the seamless integration with Epic’s system, clinicians can schedule virtual health appointments and get notified when a patient enters the virtual waiting room. Both clinicians and patients can launch virtual visits right from Epic’s provider and patient applications.

In addition to virtual video visits, participants can share screens to review images, charts, or other clinical documents to facilitate better care conversations. Moreover, the Control Hub dashboard shares insights about the quality of telehealth calls with administrators.

The Webex platform is HIPAA compliant and allows patients to launch virtual visits without storing any personal protected information (as patients are not required to login or share personal information). Webex provides privacy and security around encryption of all communication including securely sharing images or clinical documentation.

As healthcare customers innovate care delivery models, organizations will find new ways to deploy care with speed and agility to adapt and build resilience as they flex between physical and virtual points of care. Cisco’s Webex Telehealth Connector will enable these changes by making healthcare systems more efficient, increasing access to care, and enhancing healthcare outcomes.