(Newswire.net — January 21, 2021) — Are you considering instituting a patient texting platform?
Many doctors and their colleagues have noticed the benefits of texting patients. After all, most people have their phones on them throughout the day, reducing the risk that they will miss a reminder message or other important communication.
Texting feels personal. It helps your clients stay engaged with your clinic and provides them with crucial information regarding their appointments.
But are the exact benefits of patient texting, and how do you do it while maintaining your HIPAA compliance?
We’ll go into that below. Keep reading to learn more!
The Benefits of Patient Texting
So, what are some of the key benefits of texting your patients? Why should you implement a patient texting system?
There are a few reasons reaching out to your patients via text remains a fantastic option for your team. Many doctors’ offices find it easier to text their patients rather than call or e-mail them.
Let’s go into all the benefits!
Patients Love Texting
Most people nowadays own a smartphone.
They also have e-mails and maybe even landline phones, and they’re used to being able to contact their friends and family members in a variety of ways. Many feel more comfortable using one method over another.
In the United States, though, smartphone users receive 5 times as many texts as they do calls. This indicates that many people prefer to text rather than call. This is especially true for some people who have anxiety around getting on the phone and speaking to strangers.
When considering whether or not you should take on texting, you need to keep in mind the needs of your patients. Do you think they would benefit from receiving texts? If so, you should implement a texting system.
Provide Support
Patients take their health seriously. They have trusted you to care for them, and sometimes, they need extra support.
When you implement two-way texting, your patients can safely contact members of your staff and ask them questions, such as where the office is located. You can also provide them with crucial information, such as links to online videos and other educational materials.
On the other hand, when you resort to sending print materials or even e-mails, you run the risk of your client throwing out the materials or having important information go into their spam inboxes.
When they receive texts, they’re more likely to see and interact with the information.
Generate More Income
Do you often have people who forget to come to your appointments?
For a doctor’s office, this can be especially detrimental. After all, the well-being of your office depends on the payment patients bring you. When you text your clients, you reduce the risk that your clients will forget about their appointments. It also gives them the chance to cancel their appointments before they incur any charges for missing them.
Inbound Calls
Even though texting increases patient engagement, it also elevates the number of inbound calls your office receives.
This is because when you text a patient about an upcoming appointment or piece of information, they may need to call your office for more information. If they have any questions or need to make any appointment alterations, you can use texts to encourage them to call your team. Make sure to include your phone number in the text.
What Are Some of the Rules Regarding Patient Texting and HIPAA-Compliance?
Yet, you might be wondering how patient texting integrates with HIPAA-compliance. How do you take advantage of all of the benefits of texting your patients while still protecting your patient’s information?
Fortunately, HIPAA has already outlined rules for how ensure patient confidentiality while sending out text messages. In the sections that follow, we’ll go into these regulations so that you can text your patients without having to worry about violating HIPAA compliant texting rules.
Establish Procedures to Identify Who Can Access Patient Information While Texting
Do you have someone who is in charge of communicating with your patients and managing their personal information?
If so, you should do so before you start texting your patients. Defining who has access to your patients’ protected health information (PHI) sets a precedent for your entire office and keeps private details secured.
Who has access to PHI should depend on the level of access they need to complete their jobs. If the person doesn’t need the details, they shouldn’t have access to it.
You should also require all employees to prove their identity before allowing them to send or receive client messages. To do this, they should have to enter a password, a key, a fingerprint, or some other form of identification.
Use Encryption
Texting happens over a wifi connection. As such, HIPAA requires all doctors’ offices to encrypt their messages to protect PHI.
To learn which encryption system works best for you and serves your needs, you’ll need to do your research. Needs will differ from office to office, you should look into which ones come highly recommended for people with needs like yours. We suggest you start here.
Conduct Periodic Audits
HIPAA requires you to conduct periodic audits of your texting apparatus.
In particular, you should check to ensure all HIPAA requirements were met when it comes to your texting. You should also investigate whether or not your system poses a risk for information leaks. If you catch anything unusual or not up to par, handle it right away.
Ready to Start Texting Your Patients?
Many doctors find that patient texting greatly enhances their clinic’s everyday operations.
Sending text messages to patients communicates with them in a way that they find intuitive and easy, provides them with needed support, and generate more income and inbound calls.
You need to stay HIPAA-compliant, however. You can do this by regulating who has access to PHI, encrypting texts, and using periodic audits.
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