Providers are turning to text messaging to better connect with their patients for good reason.
Phones have become a vital part of our lives: 97% of Americans use text messaging and 90% of text messages are read within three minutes of receipt. Patient-provider texting not only helps healthcare professionals meet consumers wherever they are, but also saves time, eliminates phone tag, provides a digital trail and enables greater versatility to allow for patient preference.
With Updox’s Secure Text solution, practices and pharmacies can connect with patients in ways they prefer, foster positive relationships and improve patient outcomes within the Updox platform – while remaining HIPAA compliant. Unlike other solutions, patients don’t need to download an app or, worse, be forced to log into a patient portal – which can be especially frustrating if they happen to have multiple care providers, each with their own system to manage.
Secure Text simply alerts patients in a way they have become accustomed to, via their phones. In fact, 91% of Americans keep their smartphones within arm’s reach. And, with automatic number recognition and birthdayverification, your patient-provider communications remain secure and easy to use.
Here are three ways you can use Secure Text to improve your overall patient engagement strategy:
No more manning phone lines
The average healthcare worker spends too much time on the phone and not enough focused on activities that provide patient care. Consumers don’t like to answer phone calls from unrecognized numbers, and that leaves healthcare professionals playing phone tag, wasting extra time to leave voicemails that often don’t render a response from patients.
Instead of having to directly call your patients, Secure Text provides the option of quickly texting questions, appointment details and educational materials.
When there are incoming texts from patients, office staff can evaluate their response and triage appropriately, similar to current phone-based workflows but in a much more efficient and collaborative way. A busy provider only has to see messages that cannot be addressed by practice or pharmacy staff, ensuring that the appropriate triaging can occur.
Improve patient relationships without them visiting the office
Now through Secure Text, patients have an easy-to-use, two-way communication tool to stay in touch with their providers – potentially without having to ever visit the office. Secure Text supports images, videos and more, so patients can ask clinical questions and receive quick responses that can create deeper, more lasting relationships.
For example, through this solution, healthcare professionals can encourage patients to use pictures and videos to capture symptoms rather than relying on over-the-phone descriptions. If a patient has a bad cough and is unsure if an appointment is necessary, a healthcare professional can encourage the patient to send a video of their cough in order to triage appropriately. The provider can then immediately schedule an appointment with the patient or offer a recommendation and follow up at a later date.
Enhance patient privacy, security and integration with patient charts
Secure Text enables patients to use their smartphones and communicate in a HIPAA-compliant channel so they can be better involved and engaged in their care. What makes it secure? A unique hashed URL is used for each patient and that patient must validate their identity to gain access to the conversation. Everything is encrypted at rest and when it is in transit, the communication is stored in a HIPAA-compliant manner..
Updox’s Secure Text gives patients the proper privacy, security and integration they require in order to submit information like insurance cards, forms or billing items without the hassle of logging into a patient portal or sending a fax. These items can then be digitally inserted into a patient’s record for future reference – meaning providers never need to worry again about losing their notes.
Are you ready to keep your patients engaged and increase staff productivity and satisfaction?
Our Secure Text solution offers an easier way to communicate with your patients. Schedule a demo today for more information and advantages of how Secure Text and our other engagement solutions can help you reach your patients wherever they are.
