Overcoming communication barriers in healthcare is crucial to establishing long-term relationships with patients. Since 98.2% of patients prefer text messages, it is evident that secure text messaging holds the key to a more engaging clinic-patient relationship. Doctoc’s communication services include HIPAA Compliant Patient Texting which solves the problem of reaching patients when phone-alone calls cannot.  

In the digital world we live in, most groups or individuals possess a smartphone, making text messages more ubiquitous in clinical settings. In a study published in the National Library of Medicine, over 85% of physicians and nurses possess smartphones or tablets and 60-80% of clinical staff exchange text messages related to patient care. 

HIPAA Compliant Patient Texting is in the DNA of Doctoc. We provide a text-routing platform that enables scheduling, patient appointments procedure reminders, and more. In addition to complimenting secure texting, Doctoc supports the multimedia exchange of documents, EKG, X-rays, etc. providing a prompt and effective impact on patient care. 

To Learn More: Interested in HIPAA compliant Patient Texting? Contact Us Now!

How Doctoc Ensures HIPAA Compliant Patient Texting in Healthcare 

In the healthcare industry, HIPAA permits secure text messaging of electronically protected health information (ePHI) by following strict security protocols. The HIPAA Act keeps all PHI confidential and available to those eligible to access such information..  By Law, the data must remain end-to-end encrypted while in transit and at rest.. It helps to ensure that there is no tampering with information. Thus it is evident that HIPAA-compliant messaging apps are way advanced compared to traditional messaging apps. 

Doctoc provides a HIPAA compliant patient texting feature through its Secure Texting Button. When a clinic needs to share any PHI with a patient they can activate the secure text feature with the click of a button. In such instances, a private link is sent to the patient who can access it by verifying the identity like name or DOB. Patients can also download the documents after accessing them.  

While clinics can ensure that HIPAA guidelines are followed,, it is practically impossible to ensure that the patient is following the same guidelines as well. Thus it is equally important for the patients in turn to use messaging services that are HIPAA compliant.  

Learn more: Dynamic Routing for Clinics

Advantages of Doctoc in HIPAA Compliant Patient Texting 

It must be noted that all HIPAA-compliant messaging services are not equally efficient in what they do and the service they provide. Although they all follow the guidelines that were mentioned in the act, many providers do not have the technological know-how to provide all services in a HIPAA-compliant manner. Thus they provide They might provide one or two services that are, whereas Doctoc provides end-to-end encryption for PHI across their entire platform for meaningful and patient-centered communications..  

The top advantages of using the services of doctoc are mentioned below:

• Dynamic Routing Feature: Whether leaving a voice mail or a text message, patients are provided with customizable routing options that save clinic staff precious time of having to do it themselves. Every message is guaranteed to reach the destination every time. 
• HIPAA Compliant Patient Texting: Simply selecting the ‘Private Message’ option allows clinic staff the ability to share PHI such as test results securely and instantly without having to leave voicemails that can potentially be accessed by others. 
• Reduction in Call Volume: A ‘Quiet’ clinic is more efficient and provides a more pleasant experience for the patients as well as the staff. With an ever-increasing number of patients preferring a texting platform, doctoc can make your clinic just that. Your patients are offered an option to send an instant text message if they so choose over leaving a voice mail and playing phone tags. 
• Improves Patient Expectation and Staff Efficiency: Text-based communication improves staff efficiency and meets patient expectations all at the same time. Unlike phone calls that have to be placed on hold, a staff member can respond to several text messages in less than it takes to answer one phone call.  
• Advanced Multimedia Support: Patients will be able to attach and send pictures, and videos and send them to clinics in case of any medical support. 
• No Patient Portal Logins: EMR-provided Patient Portals are severely underutilized. Patients are overwhelmed with the sheer number of such portals on their phones, and often do not remember each Portals access credentials making them worthless. Using doctoc, the clinic’s call number becomes the SMS number that patients can text securely. Patients can send SMS to the clinic without installing any additional app. and do not remember any website address, or login credentials. 
• Intuitive Dashboard: We provide an easy-to-understand dashboard to monitor the performance of the clinic at a high level, as a whole, and be able to drill down to evaluate the performance of an individual or a group of staff members.   
• One-click EMR Transfer: In the event that an EMR integration is unavailable, doctoc provides a simple one-click solution to transfer patient communications into the individual EMR.  

Check out: Medical Answering Service from Doctoc

How Doctoc’s secure SMS texting Improves Just-in-time Patient Reminders 

Doctoc offers a fully customizable, comprehensive template library to streamline appointment and recall procedures across various medical specialties. The templates ensure efficient communication with patients with ‘just-in-time’ text reminders.

The template allows messages for each patient for tailor-made communication with each patient. The reminders for patients help guide them through all necessary preparations before coming to the appointment ensuring better pre-procedure preparation compliance, fewer cancellations, and minimizing clinic/ASC resources. 

The patients will get call-to-action requests as part of the reminder process, thus reducing the no-shows for any given day. They can confirm their appointment which ensures proper engagement and facilitation. If Doctoc is not connected to your EMR directly, clinics can upload a patient list using a spreadsheet that lists the patient’s demographics and phone number.  

Patient reminders form a straightforward and low-hanging fruit for revenue generation. Some of the reasons why patient recalls should be the first target is because of mainly the following reasons which are: 

• Patient familiarity: The patient is already familiar with the clinic and its procedures since the patient has already visited the clinic and most likely had a good experience.  
• Appreciate preventive care: The patients who have taken these services before knowing the importance of preventive care. Thus it would require less effort to convince them for further checkups.  
• Verified Delivery: Clinics will be able to see if the recall text has been delivered or not. 
• Combatting no-shows, no-goes, and cancellations: The call to action provided will ensure that patients confirm their availability during the appointment which reduces no-shows.  

Future of 2-Way HIPAA Compliant Patient Texting in Healthcare 

Since the last 30 years SMS messaging has been steadily integrated into the healthcare industry to facilitate seamless communication with patients. The future of communication between clinics and patients lies in 2-way SMS texting since 97% of the US population owns a cell phone and 99% of mobile texts get opened.  

Advances in two-way HIPAA compliant patient texting platforms like doctoc offer unparalleled opportunities for patient engagement and outreach. The secure text messaging services of Doctoc include Text Routing, Private Messages, Confirmation of read messages, timestamps, creating groups and the novel process of the clinic phone number that serves as the patient portal without ever having to remember the log in credentials.  

In conclusion, healthcare communication has been transformed due to the introduction of secure text messaging. The simple and effective nature of the technology armed with legal and regulatory cover makes this service an indispensable tool for SMS marketing and communication in healthcare. As we embrace the digital age of healthcare, text messaging stands as a beacon of innovation, transforming the way we engage with patients and deliver care. 

Frequently Asked Questions 

Ques: Why is messaging important in healthcare? 

Ans: Messaging in healthcare improves communication between the clinic and the patient. Secure text messages remove the need for calls which wastes both the time and resources of the clinic and patients.

Ques: What is the texting policy for healthcare? 

Ans: In the USA healthcare providers share PHI through text messages in a HIPAA compliant way. HIPAA is an act that establishes guidelines for secure communication exchange in the healthcare sector. 

Ques: What is the most commonly used messaging standard in healthcare? 

Ans: HL7 version 2 is the most common messaging standard in healthcare. It enables healthcare providers to share information through text which contains PHI.  

Ques: Can healthcare providers text patients? 

Ans: Healthcare providers can text patients in a HIPAA compliant way. Some of the features of HIPAA compliance include end-to-end encryption, consent etc.  

Ques: Does a patient require an App to text the clinic? 

Ans: No, patients do not need any app to download. Just the regular texting app that they use to text their friends and family. 

Ques: How does Doctoc’s texting functionality work? 

Ans: It’s simple. We convert your clinic’s main number into a texting number as well. 

Ques: What happens to the patient portal? 

Ans: Doctoc’s revolutionary approach brings your clinic into the 21st century where your clinic’s number is the Patient Portal and it’s more convenient for the patients to use. 

Ques: Is Doctoc’s patient texting service HIPAA compliant? 

Ans: Texting in healthcare is a bit vague. To ensure you maintain HIPAA standard protocols, Doctoc allows you to mark a message as private while sending any PHI (lab result, X-Ray reports) to the patients. It sends a link to patients where they need to verify their identity before the message is shown.