Webex Instant Connect makes it possible for patients and healthcare professionals to connect through the use of straightforward and user-friendly video telehealth consultations that can be scheduled immediately from the patient’s Electronic Medical Records (EMR) portal. These consultations, which take place within a web browser, are quite safe, and no personally identifiable health information is gathered at any moment. There is nothing for patients to install, and there are no login details for patients to have in their heads; all they need to do is click the link that is provided. Webex Instant Connect is currently also used to support additional healthcare use cases, including as in-patient teleconsultation, hourly virtual rounding, family visits, and others. This is made possible by the platform’s fully adaptable nature.
Within the patient’s EMR portal, the patient is able to view their scheduled appointments and click on a link to begin their browser-based telehealth encounter. Patients have the option to test their video, audio, and speaker hardware while they are waiting for the healthcare professional to join them in the session. It is also sufficient for the medical practitioner to simply click the link that is provided for them to be instantaneously linked with the patient.
Simply navigate to instant.webex.com to begin using Webex Instant Connect right away.
Webex Virtual Rounding
In order to support hourly rounding and in-patient virtual consultation use cases, the Webex Virtual Rounding solution leverages on the adaptability of the Webex Instant Connect platform. The Electronic Medical Records (EMR) portal allows for the direct scheduling of hourly rounding visits for patients; in order to begin the visit, the practitioner need only navigate to the EMR portal’s patient context. The Cisco device that is facing the patient will join the conversation immediately, and the clinicians will have control over the gadget’s camera, which will allow them to simulate a physical visit to the patient.
Advantages
- The providers can sign up using their mobile devices or laptops from anywhere in the world.
- By using something called Far End Camera Control (FECC), the medical professionals can manipulate the camera on the patient’s device so that they can concentrate on the appropriate region for diagnosis. This is similar to what would happen during an in-person visit.
- Reduces the strain on Providers and boosts overall efficiency, resulting in cost reductions for operational activities of millions of dollars.
Observations and Remarks
Things to Note
- At the moment, we only offer a native interface for this feature with Epic EMR; however, any EMR or healthcare system can integrate with Webex Virtual Rounding in order to make this workflow available.
- The EMR or healthcare system is responsible for maintaining the mapping from the patient to the device.
- At this time, we are able to provide support for a no-knock scenario in which the patient is informed on device that they will join the conversation in 15 seconds.
- By following the methods outlined in this article, devices can be setup so that they are compatible with this process.
- You may locate FECC as well as a list of supported devices in this location.
Browser requirements
Webex Instant Connect supports the following browsers:
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Mac OS
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Chrome version 75 and later
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Firefox version 60 and later
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Safari version 10 and later
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Windows OS
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Chrome version 75 and later
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Firefox version 60 and later
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Microsoft Edge
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iOS version 13 and later
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Safari version 10 and later
- Chrome version 75 and later
- Firefox version 60 and later
- Microsoft Edge
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There is currently no support for Webex Instant Connect within iOS 15.1 or Safari 15.1.
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Android
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Chrome version 75 and later
- Firefox version 60 and later
- Microsoft Edge
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Test your media
Before you join, you should perform the following duties for the purpose of ensuring that you are prepared for your consultation:
- OS compatibility
- Internet speed
- Microphone
- Speaker
- Camera
1. To begin the test, navigate to https://instant.webex.com/mediatest, then click the Start button.
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- When you first use Webex Instant Connect, it will begin testing each function.
2. Try out your microphone by speaking into it, and then, depending on the outcome, either click Yes or No. If you do not wish to have your microphone evaluated, click the Skip button.
3. To test your speaker, click the Test button, and then, depending on the result, either click Yes or No. If you do not wish to have your speaker evaluated, click the Skip button.
4. During the video test, you will be prompted to select either Yes or No to indicate whether or not the video preview displayed correctly.
Where do we go from here?
Before you start your appointment, make sure you go through the findings of your media test and fix any problems that you find.
Meet with your patient
Once you open your meeting link, the consultation lobby opens in your browser. Before you connect with your patient, you can sign in, open the consultation in Webex App, test your video, audio and speaker to ensure everything is working.
You are able to confer with more than one patient at a time. For each consultation, Webex Instant Connect can accommodate up to one hundred different participants.
1. During your consultation, to log in and use the features of the Webex App, click the Log In with Webex button and sign in using the credentials you were provided with.
If you are content to use your web browser and do not need to sign in, click the Join as Guest button.
2. You can host the consultation in your web browser by clicking the Continue in browser button, or you can click the Launch in Webex App button to begin the consultation in Webex App.
3. You can open the consultation in the Webex App by clicking Launch in Webex App, or you can continue the consultation by clicking Continue in browser to host it on your web browser.
4. Click the Invite guests button, enter the participants’ email addresses, click the Confirm Invite button, and then click the Send Invite button to invite other people to the consultation through email.
5. Utilize the following meeting controls throughout your appointment with the patient to ensure that they have the very best experience possible while they are receiving virtual care from you
Unless it is specifically stated otherwise, the majority of these controls can also be used by the patient.
- Mute or unmute your microphone.
- You either turn on or turn off your video.
- Please show your work to the other participants by sharing your screen.
- provider only) – phone out to an external number to add another participant to the consultation, such as an interpreter for example. After entering the number, click the Call button. If you need to enter digits while you are on the phone call, use the keypad, and when you are finished, click the End phone call button.
This function is not activated by default on new installations. In order to use this feature, you will also need to be signed in to Webex and have the capacity to place calls over the PSTN.
- Make some adjustments to the video layout, particularly if there are more than two people participating in the consultation. You have the option of choosing Single, Prominent, or Equal.
- The consultation can be terminated for all participants by the providers, or the participants can exit the consultation and return to it at a later time using the same connection. The providers have the option to terminate the consultation. If a patient clicks on this, they will exit the consultation; however, the physician will still be able to finish it at any time. Patients can also continue the consultation at a later time by utilizing the same link, even if they missed part of it.
- connect to the device — Providers who have successfully logged in are able to connect to and transfer the consultation to their own Webex device. Find your device in the list, and then click the Join button.
- Launches the participants panel, which allows providers to observe, mute, or remove members from the meeting. To remove a participant from the meeting, click the ellipsis (…) next to the participant’s name, then select Remove from meeting. Finally, click Remove to confirm the removal.
- Enables you to communicate with the other people taking part in the activity by opening the chat window. The consultation lobby also has a panel for online chatting available for use. The messages are displayed for all users to see.
- If you need to report a problem, you can copy the technical information of the meeting.
- Check out the meeting details, including the dial-in numbers and meeting URLs.
- Indicates the quality of the connection you have to the network. In the event that your network connection is lost, a warning notice will appear to inform you of the problem and the steps you may take to rectify the situation.
- Before the consultation begins, you will need to decide the camera and microphone you would want to utilize. You also have the option to enable a blurred background for the meeting, as well as disable the background noise reduction feature.
- Enable or disable picture-in-picture mode.
- Icon indicating the availability of a remote camera Access a Far End Camera Control (FECC)
6. After the consultation is over, the provider has the opportunity to provide feedback on the audio and video quality. Choose an overall rating, then click the “Submit Feedback” button. If you do not wish to offer any feedback, please click the Skip button.
