The prescription for better patient outcomes? Better collaboration.

It’s Tuesday, and an orthopedic surgeon in Vail, Colorado and a research scientist in Oslo, Norway are discussing results of the latest study on reconstructive knee surgery. Together, they look at data, review x-rays, and sketch ideas on a whiteboard. By the time they’re done, the surgeon has a new plan for treating a complex case–and no one had endure a long, expensive transatlantic flight to make it happen.

Yes, the meeting was virtual. But the experience was almost exactly the same as a face-to-face meeting around a conference table.

Connecting surgeons and scientists

Thanks to Cisco Spark, real-life scenarios like this are playing out daily at The Steadman Clinic, a unique Colorado-based organization that mixes sports medicine and orthopedic surgeons with scientists from the Steadman Philippon Research Institute.

The clinic has a long history of successfully treating patients from around the globe: famous professional athletes, weekend endurance warriors, and everyone in between. And they firmly believe that strong collaboration and communication are the keys to positive patient outcomes.

So when it was time to upgrade their organization’s aging phone system, they knew that an ordinary solution wouldn’t be enough. That’s why they decided to implement Spark and Spark Board.

What exactly is Spark?

Cisco Spark is a simple, secure space where you can get things done from anywhere in the world. (Check out this video to see Spark Board in action.) By connecting your endpoints to the cloud, Spark allows you to call, meet, message, whiteboard, file share, and more–all of the things a busy medical practice and research institute need to do every day.

The result: A stronger team (and a drastically reduced phone bill).

So far, Steadman Clinic’s results are pretty impressive. They’ve cut their phone expenses in half. Access to critical documentation is quicker and easier. Scientists and providers have a closer, more productive working relationship. And the patients–all those people happily schussing down the slopes in the winter, bombing down mountain-bike trails in the summer, or just ambling around town without pain–are reaping the rewards.

Get an inside look at the story by watching the video: