Secure Messaging: The Latest Trend In Digital Patient Engagement

One of the most critical aspects of modern healthcare is communication. Healthcare providers throughout the country realize the vital roles of secure methods of communication in medicine. Therefore, hospitals and physicians are now using secure messaging applications for internal communication. A key feature of these communication platforms is that they are HIPAA compliant. Secure messaging should protect doctors and patients from data theft and other breaches in security. 

How Doctors and Patients Benefit

Communication

Secure messaging applications help to improve communication between patients and their physicians. Better communication minimizes the risk of medical errors, especially when doctors refer patients to new physicians and specialists. For many physicians, the use of secure messaging applications eliminates the need for email and voicemail, which are often unsecured and not timely. Secure messaging facilitates the exchange of information in real time. 

Compliance

Physicians often use secure messaging to remind their patients to take medication and to maintain compliance with recommended medical practices designed to improve patient care. Today, many patients prefer to receive information from their physicians through text messaging. Secure messaging helps physicians and patients to remain compliant with pre-admission or pre-surgical procedures. 

Coordination

Secure messaging can facilitate coordination between doctors and nurses on patients’ care plans. When physicians exchange patient information in real time, it helps them to provide better care to their patients. In addition, doctors can use secure messaging to discuss patients’ emergencies, diagnoses, admissions, and other relevant information. 

Engage Patients

Secure messaging helps to deliver calls to action, which empowers and motivates patients to act more responsible for their health. It facilitates better communication between patients and their physicians, which meets patient needs. Mobile messaging platforms make it easier for doctors to provide recommended services in clinical settings. In addition, it strengthens doctor-patient bond and rapport, which are critical factors in better service delivery. 

Productivity

Secure messaging improves communication between primary caregivers and their patients. In addition, it offers patients 24/7 access to their healthcare service providers. Patients often use secure messaging to make appointments, fill prescriptions and get referrals. 

Patients do not have to spend significant amounts of time trying to reach their caregivers on the phone or driving to healthcare facilities. This is a considerable advantage for veterans and patients with physical disabilities. Patients can use secure messaging to communicate with their caregivers in strict confidence without having to discuss over the phone or in person. 

Lower Patient Turnover

Today, patients have many options when looking for healthcare providers. Many of them change doctors or practices when they are frustrated by poor communication with their providers. The frustration may occur due to prolonged waiting time over the phone or in a waiting room. 

Secure messaging helps doctors to provide patients with regular updates about their care plans. In addition, it allows patients to exchange information with their doctors in real time so that doctors know exactly what to do as soon as patients arrive at their facilities.

Preferred Means of Communication

A significant advantage of secure messaging is that it is the preferred method of communication for patients of all ages and lifestyles. Often times, patients prefer to consult their doctors through text because it is convenient and less disruptive than phone calls. 

Timely Service Delivery

Using secure messaging saves time that would have been spent taking phone calls and listening to voicemails. Secure text messaging instills a proactive attitude in healthcare so that patients engage with their physicians in real time. In addition, it improves patient care and saves time for doctors’ practices. 

Patients can use secure messaging to schedule appointments from the convenience of their homes without having to wait for prolonged periods. Many patients find it annoying to be placed on hold or transferred multiple times without getting useful information. 

Affordable

Facilities that rely on phone communication often have a medical staff that spends hours each day receiving phone calls and calling back. Such facilities often have to hire additional staff to make and receive patient phone calls. Hiring additional personnel often translates to higher operational costs. 

Some communication systems such as email and voicemail have one significant drawback; they may not relay information on time. Many healthcare providers consider phone calls inefficient and disruptive. Such methods of communication make staff inefficient, which translates to a loss of time and money. 

Modern healthcare facilities are now equipping their staff with communication technologies that can offload call traffic. Secure messaging is a preferred method of communication in many healthcare facilities because it provides a direct link between patients and their physicians. 

Clear Communication

Unlike email and voicemail, the nature of secure messaging is asynchronous. Messaging allows you to compose yourself and focus on the information you are sending. Therefore, secure messaging minimizes many of the problems associated with other communication systems such as email or phone calls. Clear communication between patients and their physicians help to improve patient care and satisfaction. 

Secure messaging helps patients to avoid unnecessary visits to the hospital, which saves them time and money. It minimizes the need for patients to make lengthy phone calls for prescription renewal and scheduling appointments. In addition, it provides doctors with all the information they need for referral. For many patients, secure messaging offers a platform for them to discuss sensitive issues that they would be unwilling to talk about with their doctors in person. 

Features of a Good Secure Messaging Platform 

Encryption

When looking for a secure messaging platform for your healthcare facility, consider choosing one that has at least 256-bit encryption. The encryption should provide protected health information (PHI) during message transmission as well as storage. 

Alerts

A significant benefit of secure messaging is that it allows doctors and patients to exchange information quickly to ensure faster and effective decision making. However, providers may not always be available, which is why it is essential to choose a messaging app that can verifies message delivery. 

Voice-to-Text

This feature enables patients and caregivers to sort of dictate text messages. Voice-to-text can be beneficial in situations where doctors or patients are engaged on other issues and are unable to type text messages. 

Group Communication

An excellent secure messaging platform should support group communication to enable medical personnel to collaborate. Group text messaging allows users to send single text messages to multiple people simultaneously. 

Secure messaging has many significant benefits in the healthcare industry. It helps patients to receive timely information about their healthcare plans. In addition, doctors can use secure messaging to update patients about recommended medical procedures. An excellent messaging application should protect patient data during transmission and storage. 

Phone Call Answering Services Frequently Asked Questions

We have been providing our professional call services since 1988.  In that time we have served countless clients and honed our abilities and expertise to a high-level that few others can match.

Our answering services record all of your messages.  We can also automatically share those with you in a number of ways.  Those include transmitting them to you via text, fax, email, secure messaging platform or a secure web-based portal.

With our call answering services you can save time, focusing on other tasks you need to get done.  You can also take a break if you want as our call service is always available.  We also tend to be lower cost than many internal or external alternatives while ensuring your calls are answered consistently and courteously.