In recent years, the healthcare industry has seen a progressive rise in digital transformation. The main goal of adopting emerging technologies is for healthcare practices to streamline healthcare professionals’ work, minimize errors, enhance systems, reduce costs, and improve patient care
As a healthcare business, catching up with the digital trends may be overwhelming. But deciding where to start is not as complicated as one may believe. A 2021 survey states that 85% of United States residents own a smartphone. Additionally, in an MGMA Stat poll conducted in 2018, two-thirds of the respondents stated that messaging was used in their healthcare organizations to communicate reminders with their patients.
People have clearly become substantially more mobile over the past years but the use of SMS texting to communicate has its limitations–messages are not end-to-end encrypted. In other words, cellular providers store the messages exchanged for certain amounts of time and make privacy and security a concern. Ensuring patient data privacy while communicating digitally in medical practice is what HIPAA requires and it is exactly what eRemede is for.
While safeguarding patient data and streamlining work are the most obvious reasons for medical practitioners to make the switch to a secure messaging app, here are 3 more reasons why it is undoubtedly the best if not the only smart option.
Rising demand of on-demand healthcare
Today’s consumers have become distinctly accustomed to on-demand services. People simply want everything now–from entertainment, food, transport and other services. This does not exempt the healthcare industry. An increasing trend for on-demand healthcare is driven by patients’ expectations of convenience, increasing acceptance of emerging technologies, and the necessity for it brought about by COVID 19 pandemic. Patients are far more satisfied with healthcare services when they are able to control when, where, and how they experience their care. Those with busy schedules clearly prefer reduced waiting times. On-demand models have made a great impact on the way consumers avail of services, and this has increased the acceptance of digital methods in obtaining healthcare services. Most significantly, the global pandemic has made on-demand healthcare a necessity, leaving the medical industry no option but to adapt quickly to new technology.
Enhanced Information Carry-over and Patient Compliance
In the traditional healthcare setting, patients and/or their significant others take in a lot of information from patient diagnosis down to treatment plans. Apart from the emotions patients have to deal with, recalling all the information from a doctor’s appointment can be quite overwhelming. This experience leads to low patient education carry-over, compromising the quality of patient care at home. With a secure messaging app like eRemede, detailed and organized medical information can be readily accessed by both patient and healthcare provider in the palm of their hands. With the convenience and accessibility made possible by a secure messaging app, patients will feel more in control, more involved, and naturally more compliant to treatment plans. Increased compliance benefits the patient’s quality of life and makes the doctor’s work much simpler.
Building Trust and Improving Patient-Provider Relationship
People have started to move past the purely traditional way of accessing healthcare–taking time off of work to spend more time in waiting rooms versus inside the doctor’s office. A secure messaging app that helps save patients’ time is the open door to enhancing patient-provider relationship. Having direct contact and easier access to their doctor permits a boost in patients’ confidence in the care they receive. More importantly, there is an added sense of security from being able to conveniently contact a medical professional during times of urgent situations. When a provider sets up a convenient and safe way of reaching their patients through a secure messaging app, it allows them to build rapport and gain more trust.
As medical practitioners have started to adapt modern communication methods for their businesses, it is important for them to consider switching to a secure messaging app. With eRemede, a HIPAA-compliant messaging platform, healthcare professionals can streamline their work and improve patient satisfaction, compliance, trust and health outcome–all without compromising data privacy and security.
Allow us to walk you through the eRemede way of enhancing both patient and provider experience. Through our integrated telehealth platform, you will enjoy the flexibility you need. Patient data collection via electric forms done before setting a virtual appointment saves you and your patients’ time. Accuracy of information is also enhanced because our methods reduce the likelihood of human error in data gathering, such as having to read and rewrite illegible handwriting. Explore more of our articles to learn more about the eRemede way.
Are you ready to make the switch? Don’t worry, it doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Try our high-security telehealth platform by booking a demo today!
