Many hospitals, clinics and medical facilities have been notoriously slow to adopt technologies such as social media tools and texting. But that could be changing. Modern healthcare is beginning to catch up to ways tech can be used as a tool to improve patient outcomes.
While the healthcare industry must adhere to additional electronic privacy rules along with standard anti-spam and proper marketing regulations, doctors, nurses, hospital administrators and their staff are finding ways to utilize texting to reach out to patients. The following are five examples of smart uses for texting that can benefit your hospital, medical clinic, or practice.
1. Easier Appointment Reminders
Instead of mailing a reminder postcard (and paying for postage), or making a phone call, your facility or practice can simply send texts confirming an upcoming visit, or an automated text once a year for a check-up. A text saves time and effort and is an easy way for patients to confirm their appointment. Reducing missed appointments can enhance your medical facility’s efficiency and improve the bottom line.
2. Enable Faster Peer Communication
As long as the patient’s identity is protected, doctors, nurses, and medical support staff can use texts to seek advice from other peers or specialists. It also speeds up the process, since text messages from one doctor to another are sent directly, rather than having to leave a message through the phone system or sending an email that may get lost in the shuffle.
3. Help Patients Be Better Patients
A British medical study found that patients who received regular text reminders were less likely to forget to take their medication or the wrong quantity. A group of 303 patients being treated for heart or blood pressure issues were divided into two groups. The study found that 25 percent of the “non-text” group didn’t complete the prescription, compared to only 9 percent for the group receiving texts. This type of active texting could potentially lead to less waste, and better patient outcomes.
4. Establish Efficient Patient Interactions
The reality of today’s medical industry is that doctors and nurses taking extra time for one patient means fewer quality minutes available for the next. Texting is a time-efficient way for a doctor and doctor’s staff to provide quick answers to patients with basic questions that may not necessitate an appointment.
5. Maintain Better Interaction With Pharmacies
If a pharmacy has a question for the doctor, it might take hours for a physician or clinician to receive the phone message and respond. A quick text can lead to quick communication and a fast response.
Summary
Text messaging technology is here to stay – and can be a useful tool for physicians, nurses, and medical staff to communicate accurate information and improve patient relations. It allows you to easily send notifications directly to any cell phone from your existing desktop computer – offering increased patient satisfaction and better, more cost-effective communication.
With a complete front-to-back office solution built specifically for the healthcare staffing market, BlueSky can help guide you when it comes to assessing your technology needs. To learn more, request our demo!
