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Mitel Performs Surgery on Medical Centers VoIP Network
Associate Editor
Communications solutions provider Mitel has been called in for emergency surgery to fix the IP communications system at Queens Long Island Medical Group (QLIMG). With 22 facilities in and around New York City, speed can be, literally, a mater of life and death.
According to QLIMG, it had previously agreed to install a system from another well known vendor less than a year prior. That system, however, may have been brought to market before it was truly field-ready, and problems arose.
The medical group had hoped that the new network and VoIP system would not only save money, but would improve the quality of service patients received. “It was a nightmare throughout,” said QLIMG’s CIO Stefanie Bruemmer, admitting that QLIMC “chose to go with another well-known name brand company over Mitel’s proven reliability.”
So, Mitel, which had also participated in the original RFP process, was asked to come an install a reliable, resilient IP communications that would enable the thriving medical facility to better serve its patients, improve employee morale, and contribute to a much healthier bottom line — no more than was expected of the original system.
With so many offices scattered throughout New York City and Long Island, many patients didn’t know which number to call. Different area codes — including two in a single building that straddled a border — plus the phone numbers and extensions were next to impossible to remember. It was taking an overworked attendant too long to process the calls and patients were letting their feelings be known.
Mitel’s VoIP technology and its family of Integrated Communication Platforms and IP collaborative solutions are designed to give patients a positive experience, including higher service quality and increased safety.
Mitel installed its embedded standard unified messaging, auto-attendant, Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) and in-building wireless from SpectraLink, along with its own flagship 3300 IP Communications Platform (ICP) in QLIMG’s medical centers. It also supplied the facilities with 1,500 IP phones, all of which played a role in solving the problem.
At the end of the day, it’s all about taking care of patients and making it easier for them as well as enabling doctors and support staff to communicate quickly and clearly. With the Mitel 3300 ICP, future growth will result in seamless migration as new solutions and equipment are added. “This system is does everything we hoped it would do,” said Bruemmer.
“Since Mitel installed our IP equipment, our patient surveys are coming back much more positively,” Bruemmer explained.
QLIMG is also set for the future, for advanced features, like Mitel’s Gigabit Ethernet Stand (GigE Stand). The GigE Stand converts any standard Mitel IP phone into a GigE-compatible IP phone, which allows computers connected via the phones to access GigE services over the network, like MRI and x-ray transfer between buildings or even cities, enabling faster diagnosis and consultation among doctors.
Erik Linask is Associate Editor of INTERNET TELEPHONY. Most recently, he was Managing Editor at Global Custodian, an international securities services publication. To see more of his articles, please visit Erik Linask’s columnist page.
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