Mount Kisco Medical Group, PC, Uses NEC to Bring a Personal Touch to its Growing Healthcare Business

Business Wire, Sept 23, 2008

Premier Medical Group Adopts UNIVERGE([R])360 Role-Based Approach to Allow Streamlined Efficiency, Improved Customer Service and Patient Care

IRVING, Texas -- NEC Unified Solutions, Inc., a leader in enterprise business communications, today announced that a unique deployment of voice over IP (VoIP) and Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) technology at 15 Mount Kisco Medical Group, PC, (MKMG) locations is enabling medical staff to provide patients with quality and timely healthcare.

Through the use of NEC's UNIVERGE([R]) SV7000 and NEAX([R]) 2400 communications servers, as well as CallCenterWorX ACD and Global Navigator call center monitoring solutions, MKMG is supplying its employees with the communications tools they need to perform efficiently in a fast-paced healthcare environment.

Though communications technology benefits in a healthcare environment are not always visible to patients, NEC's CallCenterWorX call handling is seen by many MKMG employees as a valuable tool and one of the recent examples of why the organization is able to maintain its 60-year reputation for providing excellent patient care.

For instance, on Mondays, five to six nurses must handle the influx of calls that come through MKMG's pediatric offices. The CallCenterWorX call-back feature allows parents to call, quickly reserve their place in the call queue, and hang up; when a nurse is available, the system automatically returns the call. The process allows both patient and nurse to make efficient use of time and has received such positive feedback that MKMG is proceeding with implementing it in additional units.

"Mount Kisco strives to provide the best patient care available, as well as deliver a high sense of customer service to our patients. We believe that communications responsiveness is integral to our patient care process," said Leslie Niles-Tooley, director of patient care services, Mount Kisco Medical Group. "Since we've deployed NEC's solutions, our ability to respond to patient needs, and more specifically quickly and efficiently address parent calls to our pediatric department, has increased tremendously."

By deploying UNIVERGE IP communications servers and applications from NEC, MKMG can address the various roles within its offices and better serve its business needs, such as delivering personal patient care and being highly responsive to their medical questions. Replacing basic, outdated phone systems with advanced ACD and VoIP from NEC, MKMG streamlined the patient-to-healthcare provider communications process and reduced decision-making latency. In addition, as MKMG has grown through acquisition of various private doctor practices, NEC has been there to quickly address the company's communications requirements.

"Having NEC here to guide us and handle IP communications services allows us to quickly integrate new offices and employees," said Joe Abate, director of information systems for MKMG. "In addition, when a new office joins our group, NEC helps us plan so that the cutover is seamless, and any business process change that is noticed by our patients is for the better."

"I believe that advanced IP communications is now a core technology for patient-facing business processes in modern healthcare. This requires a solution provider with expertise in this special market," said Lou Van De Water, vice president and general manager of east regional sales, NEC Unified Solutions. "In the case of MKMG, NEC's communication servers allow 170 primary care physicians, specialty physicians and support staff in 15 New York-area locations to communicate with one another and triage patient calls more efficiently than having patients remain tethered to a telephone."

By implementing NEC's robust UNIVERGE IP telephony solution, MKMG is able to centralize scheduling behind the scenes and balance technology and automation with a personal touch. The simplicity of set-up, installation and management is also a benefit MKMG values as the company experiences continuous growth and expansion.

NEC's UNIVERGE([R])360 vision unifies networks and communications applications while enabling comprehensive business solutions. MKMG's open and standards-based IP solution ensures interoperability with other broadband media, IT equipment and business applications while enabling seamless, mobile communication. MKMG is able to operate efficiently in a multi-network environment and strengthen its reputation as a leading quality care provider.

About NEC Unified Solutions

NEC Unified Solutions helps companies unify their business communications through innovative software, applications, development tools, and services. NEC offers a complete portfolio for unified communications, wireless, voice, data and managed services, as well as systems integration and application development. NEC Unified Solutions serves as the North American communications integration arm of global giant NEC Corporation for Fortune 1000, as well as small to mid-sized businesses in vertical markets such as hospitality, education, government, and healthcare. For more information, visit www.necunified.com.