Healthcare providers know that patients prefer to be contacted on their cell phones, but don’t want to make or receive phone calls when a text message would suffice. 

Since 2015, Healthvana has worked with the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) to digitize communication with their patients using smartphones to improve both the patient and their experience. 

Exciting Outcomes: 

  1. 95% of patients reporting satisfaction on a voluntary survey 
  2. Patients return 2 days faster for treatment
  3. Dramatically less phone call volume for clinic staff so they can focus on making patients healthier 

A big part of the success is due to Two-Way HIPAA-Compliant Messaging (Messaging). Messaging is just like texting, but in an encrypted, secure manner that allows staff and patients to communicate more easily and efficiently about their health problems with healthcare staff. 

How effective is Messaging?

“It’s a 9 out of 10. I use Messaging to avoid phone tag. It gives me more time to focus on other important matters.” — Bea Dorsey, office administrator for AHF in Broward County.

“Messaging saves us a lot of time. My staff are able to provide more detail in the messages instead of patients needing to call back with questions.” — Ruben De Lara, program manager for AHF in Los Angeles.

Fact: 91% of messages sent by patients through their Healthvana account are on their mobile phone. This means patients get care faster and stay in longer. 

Top 5 Benefits of Messaging

  1. Reduce phone calls: Rather than have missed calls, voicemails or the dreaded phone tag, staff get an alert when there’s a new patient message in their inbox that they can respond to in real-time or at their earliest convenience (e.g., between appointments). We know from experience that patients view and respond to our messages on average within 30 minutes. 
  2. Automatic Reminders: Staff are able to program recurring messages to be sent to patients which reduces staff workload and helps patients stick to their care plan (e.g., come back into the clinic for scheduled testing).
  3. Hard to reach patients: Some patients just never pick up a phone, especially the number is not a personal contact. In these cases, Messaging has proven invaluable for staff to connect with them.
  4. Bulk Messaging: Staff are also able to message all, or a select group of, patients (e.g., new office hours, free testing services). 
  5. Patient Satisfaction: Patients have the ability to send messages 24/7 including messages with positive feedback for staff. Patients feel closer to their staff which results in better adherence to care plans. 

Great patient care begins with communication. In order to provide the best patient care, providers know they must reach patients where they are- on their phones.