Patient Texting: Best Time to Text, Compliance Requirements & More

Introduction to Patient Text Messaging

The ability of healthcare providers to communicate with their patients and improve their health outcomes is the cornerstone to building lasting relationships, and patient texting is an excellent way to do so. Patient texting is the most cost-effective and immediate means for providers to communicate seamlessly with their patients and scale their healthcare business.  

With the help of medical texting, medical practices can automate repetitive communications, reduce high call volume, improve patient engagement, and build stronger relationships. Considering that 80 percent of people prefer text messaging as the ideal means to communicate with doctors, sending patient SMS messages can significantly help your healthcare practice.

Are you a healthcare provider wanting to enhance doctor-patient communication? Are you looking for ways to improve patient engagement and drive better health outcomes while  cutting down on costs? Well, patient texting is the way forward! Stay tuned to understand the varied use cases associated with patient SMS and the impact they can have on your business.

What Is Patient Texting in Healthcare?

Patient texting refers to the practice of using medical texting to communicate with patients in a healthcare setting. It involves sending appointment reminders, follow-up messages, important health information, and other relevant updates via SMS (Short Message Service) to patients’ mobile phones. 

Patient texting app is a great way for providers to communicate with their patients. It helps patients coordinate better with the care team, understand instructions pertaining to care, adhere to their treatment plans, and clear any doubts that they might have. 

When it comes to effective communication in healthcare, medical texting beats all other forms, due to its high open and response rates, immediacy, wide reach, and asynchronous nature. While there are other forms of communication, such as phone calls, app-based messaging, emails, and patient portals; medical texting is the most preferred mode for doctor-patient communication because of its speed, ease of use, and simplicity. 

Patient Texting vs Calls vs Email vs App-based Texting

While an average phone call lasts for about 8 minutes, on average, out of 10 emails, 1 email is read and responded to. A text message can be sent within seconds and help you achieve better read rates, and response rates and drive up overall patient engagement. The tables below will give you a clear idea of how texting is better than emails and phones. 

Texting Vs Emails

BASIS OF DIFFERENCE	EMAIL	PATIENT MESSAGING
Open rate	5%	95%
Response rate	10%	45%
Ease of communication	Difficult to communicate due to low response rate	Quick and easy communication
Ease of use	Good for detailed conversations	Good for instant communication
Connectivity	Need internet connectivity	Can communicate anywhere, anytime with cell phone reception
Compliance	Not HIPAA compliant	Isn’t HIPAA compliant by default, but can be made HIPAA- compliant

Texting Vs Phone Calls

Basis of Difference	Phone Calls	Text Messaging Platform
Managing Communications	Can communicate with one patient at a time	Can manage multiple conversations at a time
Ease of Communication	Difficult to communicate in case of disruptions	Easy communication
Ease of Use	Good for detailed conversations	Good for instant communication
Availability	Calls can get missed	All messages can be responded
Compliance	Compliance depends on the nature of the call, and the fact that the patient has given their consent	Isn’t HIPAA compliant by default, but can be made HIPAA- compliant

Apart from phones and emails, there are other ways to communicate with your patients such as patient portals and app-based texting. But both of these are not as effective as normal SMS.

The tables below show how they’re different: 

Patient Messaging Vs Patient Portals

BASIS OF DIFFERENCE	PATIENT PORTALS	PATIENT TEXTING
Security	A secure platform to share and store sensitive patient information	Isn’t HIPAA-Compliant by default, but can be made by using a HIPAA-texting app
Ease of communication	Difficult to communicate	Easy communication
Ease of use	Difficult to use, especially for non-tech-savvy people	Easy to use for everyone
Use cases	Receiving lab results Renew prescription medications Access medical records	Automated reminders, Group texting, Surveys, , Patient recall, Digital patient intake
Login	Extensive login	Easy login

Texting Vs App-Based Texting

BASIS OF DIFFERENCE	APP-BASED TEXTING	TEXTING
Security	Encrypted, not HIPAA-compliant	Isn’t HIPAA-Compliant by default, but can be made by using a HIPAA-texting app
Read rate	Low read rate	High read rate (98%)
Connectivity	Need internet connectivity to communicate	Only need a cellular network to send and receive messages
Accessibility	Both sender and receiver need to download the app	No need to download an app, normal SMS is in-built
Login	Extensive login	Easy login
Use cases	Sending marketing messages Communicating with the internal team	Secure communication with patients To send messages that are HIPAA-compliant

Texting clearly emerges as the most useful channel when it comes to patient communication. It is cheaper, easy to implement, can be automated, and made completely secure by deploying a HIPAA-compliant texting platform. 

Advantages of Patient Texting

Patient text messaging helps both providers and patients in a variety of ways. Let’s explore these advantages: 

Benefits of Patient Texting for Patients

1. More active participation in the care process

2. Better coordination with the care team

3. Easy way to communicate with the provider outside a clinical setting

4. Secure transmission of health information

5. Easy rescheduling, cancellation, and confirmation of appointments without having to log in to a separate portal or making any calls

6. Convenience with responding to messages

Benefits of Patient Texting For Providers

1. Reduced call volume by 40 % as now a majority of queries can be handled through texts

2. 50% reduction in costs as text messages are way cheaper than calls

3. More than 4 hours saved everyday as a result of efficient communication via text messages

4. 90% reduction in no-shows and cancellations, as providers can follow up with patients regarding their appointments

5. Providers can reach out to patients even after office hours through texts

6. Enhanced provider-patient relationships

7. They need not worry about the security of messages if they’re using a HIPAA compliant texting app

8. Allows easy and secure collection of data

Use Cases of Patient Texting

Texting with patients can be used for many things, such as scheduling appointments, two-way patient texting, sharing test results, and more. Let us take a look at all the use cases of patient texting in detail: 

Appointment scheduling, reminders and follow-ups

Calling patients constantly to schedule appointments or for reminders and follow-ups can be very time-consuming. Instead, you can choose to text your patients using a patient text messaging service. You can alert your patients about the available appointment slot and get their appointment confirmation directly via text. You can even allow patients to reschedule or cancel appointments without calling you. Since reminders and follow-ups are sent a few days in advance, you can schedule messages and customize the timing and the content of these messages to include the patient’s name, the date, and time of the appointment, etc. 

Patient recall messages

Sometimes, the patients that you haven’t seen in a while just need a little nudge. There could be many reasons why a patient stopped visiting your clinic, but most likely, it could be because they got caught up in their lives. This is where a recall SMS with an appointment link could help you reengage the patient and get them back to you. Start sending recall patient messages and see how many patients you get back. 

Test results notifications

Emails and voicemails can get lost in the inbox very easily, so instead of calling your patients, you can send test result notifications via SMS. If you use the right patient texting platform, such as Emitrr, then you simply send a secure link that the patient can click on to view their test results. And the best part is, if there is a need for a follow-up appointment, then you can even include a follow-up appointment link and book your patient for the next visit without any extra effort.  

Health tips and education

Patient SMS can be a great channel to send out health tips and educational material to patients related to mental health, tips to manage chronic conditions, etc. You can use AI-integrated platforms to generate interactive messages, schedule these messages in advance, and share links to quizzes, surveys, etc. Such outreach via a patient text messaging service can be great for improving patient engagement. 

Follow-up care instructions

You can set up follow-up care instructions and messages post-patient appointments. You can schedule these messages or automate them to be sent out directly after each patient’s appointment. With patient text messaging, you can reduce the need for manual calls, create more efficient workflows, and improve patient engagement.

Patient satisfaction surveys

Post appointments, healthcare providers can send out patient satisfaction survey links to patients to gather their feedback. They can either customize it and send it out in bulk or set up automated satisfaction survey messages that get sent automatically post-appointment. With the feedback collected via these surveys, healthcare professionals can identify gaps in service and improve wherever needed. 

Review requests

Another great use case of patient sms messages is sending review requests to boost the online reputation of your healthcare practice. You can use patient texting software to send out tiny URLs to get patient reviews to your review profile, be it for Google, Facebook, Healthgrades, or any other patient review site. Since SMS has a high open rate, it is a great channel to send out review requests and boost your online reputation. 

Billing and payment reminders

You can text your patients to send billing or payment reminder messages as well. These messages can include details regarding the services rendered, the amount paid, the amount that is due, etc. You can even include payment links that can redirect the patient to a secure payment portal to clear their dues.  

Promote seasonal care reminders and check-up offers

Last but not least, you can use patient messaging to promote any new services or to promote any seasonal care reminders or check-up offers that you may offer. Patient messaging software that offer features like mass texting or broadcast messaging could be ideal for sending out promotional patient text messaging. 

Examples of HIPAA-Compliant Patient Text Messaging

Messages that do not reveal any identifiable patient information are considered HIPAA compliant. Any patient text message that contains the patient’s full name, medication name, procedure or treatment name, etc., is a direct violation of HIPAA. 

Here are some examples of HIPAA and non-HIPAA-compliant messages:  

Compliant patient texts message example

• Appointment Reminder: You have an appointment on Tues, July 16 at 10 AM. Reply YES to confirm or call 555-123-000 to reschedule.
• Follow-Up Care: Hope you’re feeling better. Please reply if you have questions about your recent visit.
• Prescription Ready: Your prescription is ready for pickup. Questions? Call 555-987-6543.

Non-compliant patient text message example

• Appointment Reminder: Hi Sarah, this is Dr. Lee’s Psychiatry Clinic reminding you of your appointment to discuss your anxiety medication adjustment on July 20 at 2 PM.
• Follow-Up: Your biopsy results came back positive for cancer. Call us.
• Prescription Notification: Your depression medication (Sertraline) is ready to pick up.

Best Practices For Patient Messaging

To ensure that patient texting in healthcare is done properly you need to follow some best practices: 

Get the Consent of Your Patients

Getting the explicit consent of your patients is the most important thing for you as a provider. It helps establish trust with your patients and also ensures HIPAA compliant texting with patients. Here are some ways you can obtain consent: 

• While getting patients to fill out intake forms, have a checkbox that allows your patients to give their permission for you to use the information for treatment purposes 
• When you send marketing communications to your patients, give them an option to opt-out from those communications. 
• Before performing any treatment or procedure, always get written consent of the patients.

Stay HIPAA-Compliant

Protecting your patient’s data is as crucial as delivering exceptional care. When it comes to medical texting make sure to comply with the HIPAA guidelines to avoid any fines or legal action. Here are some ways to implement HIPAA-compliant patient texting: 

• Conduct frequent risk assessments 
• Employ access controls and authorizations 
• Train your employees and educate them about protecting PHI 
• Ensure HIPAA compliant texting with patients with a HIPAA-compliant patient texting app 
• Have BAAs in place for secure PHI sharing 

Text Patients Securely

Secure medical text messaging is another great way to successfully communicate with your patients.   

If you wish to send secure text messages to your customers, then ensure to use a business texting software that offers secure medical texting as a standalone feature. For instance, Emitrr offers secure texting, as a part of which you can start a secure chat with your patients. It means that those messages exchanged by you and your patients will not be stored on the mobile carriers and are end-to-end encrypted. Secure patient messaging will help you leverage the power of texting in healthcare and will also maintain compliance. 

Automate Patient Texting Process

It is not possible to manually respond to the text messages of all your patients. Let’s say if they wish to book appointments, access their test results, leave feedback, opt out of text communications, or ask generic queries. All conversations of such nature can be automated, which will not only ensure appropriate responses to your patients but will also save a lot of time. Whether you’re out of the office and missed a call, if you’re getting messages after business hours, if your support lines are busy, if customers respond to your marketing messages with a keyword, or can’t respond manually for some reason; autoresponders are what you need. 

Choose a Patient Text Messaging Service

If you want to make the entire process of patient texting more seamless and less time-consuming, then you must consider investing in a patient texting solution. Look for a patient texting software that:

• Is HIPAA compliant 
• Offers end-to-end encryption
• Has secure texting as a separate feature 
• Integrates seamlessly with your EHR/PMS 
• Has a friendly user interface 
• Offers advanced automation capabilities 

To help you further, compare the list of HIPAA texting apps. 

Follow TCPA Compliance

If you are sending marketing messages to your patients via text, then you must comply with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. This telemarketing law in the US addresses unsolicited and unregulated calls and text messages in the country. In addition to complying with federal legislation, you also need to follow the state laws for sending text messages. For example:

• In Arizona and New Jersey, marketers must obtain prior consent before sending messages.
• In Florida and Oklahoma, the marketers cannot contact a customer more than thrice a week and outside the hours 8:00 am and 8:00 pm.
• In Virginia, the marketers must identify themselves in the messages.

What are the Optimal Times for Sending Texts to Patients?

The optimal times for sending texts to patients can vary based on your patient type, your specialty, age, demographics, etc. However, here are some general patient texting guidelines that you can follow:

• 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM: Patients are most likely to check their phones; Ideal for sending appointment reminders for same-day visits.
• 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM: People check their phones during lunch breaks, and is ideal for sending follow-ups, test results, or educational tips.
• 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM: Ideal for sending next-day appointment reminders, prescription updates, or wellness check-ins. 
• Saturday 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM: People are more relaxed on weekends, and it’s the right time to text patients for non-urgent updates, feedback requests, or surveys.

Timings to avoid:

• Before 8 am: Too soon, can look intrusive.  
• 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM: Post-lunch time, could lead to low attention span and slump.
• After 8:00 PM: Too late, looks intrusive and disrespectful. 

How Frequently Should We Text Our Patients?

The frequency of sending patient SMS messages should be a sweet spot between respecting their privacy and keeping them informed. You can follow this guideline:

• General Communications: For general messages or non-urgent matters, send out messages only when necessary and avoid excessive text messaging in healthcare.
• Appointment Reminders: Send appointment reminder messages a day or two in advance is often well-received. 
• Health Updates: For sending health updates, consider the patient’s condition always. Frequent texts may be necessary for patients with chronic conditions or more serious cases, but try to make sure your patients are okay with the frequency. 
• Feedback and Surveys: 1 message after a visit or interaction. If there is no response, then 1 gentle reminder a week later.
• Promotional Messages: 1 message per quarter or even better, just 1–2 messages per year is an ideal time frame. Send only if the patients have explicitly opted in. 

How Soon Should We Respond to Patients?

Prompt responses are ideal to improve patient satisfaction. You should ideally respond to patient messages in 1-2 hours, and sooner if possible. Here’s a general guideline you can keep in mind for the same:

• Urgent Messages: Should reply as soon as possible, ideally in a few minutes. 
• Routine Questions: Try to reply within a few hours. 
• After-Hours: In case you receive a patient message after hours then set clear expectations of when they can hear back from you.

To ensure prompt responses to patients irrespective of their concerns and time, you should try to implement an AI chatbot. Emitrr is a great patient texting platform that offers an AI chatbot as well.

Take a look at what Emitrr AI texting agent can do:

How Do We Ensure HIPAA Compliance When Texting Patients?

Ensuring HIPAA compliance when texting patients is crucial to protect patients privacy and to comply with HIPAA regulations. Here’s how you can ensure HIPAA compliance when texting patients:

• Get Informed Consent: Before sending text messages to patients, get written or electronic consent. This should clearly outline the purpose of texting, the type of information that will be shared, and the measures in place to protect their privacy.
• Choose a HIPAA-Compliant Texting Platform: Choose a messaging platform like Emitrr that is specifically designed for healthcare and adheres to HIPAA regulations.
• Ensure Secure Messaging: Only convey patient-specific information through secure, encrypted channels. Refrain from including sensitive details in the messages.
• Maintain Audit Trails: Keep thorough records and logs of all text communications with patients. These audit trails are crucial for compliance and future audits.
• Training and Policies: Give your staff training on HIPAA regulations and establish comprehensive policies and procedures for texting patients.

Implement Patient Texting With Emitrr’s Advanced Capabilities

As a healthcare provider, building strong relationships with your patients is crucial to help them achieve their health goals, and texting is the most convenient and accessible communication channel that can assist you in building a strong patient community. To make the most of text messaging in healthcare, you need software that is HIPAA compliant, secure, and offers everything you need to converse smoothly with your patients. Emitrr is one such solution that allows you to:

• Implement secure patient messaging through a separate functionality
• Relieve you of all the stress with respect to TCPA and HIPAA compliance 
• Respond to patients even on holidays or out-of-office hours through patient texting templates and autoresponders
• Sync your conversations to help you manage everything from a single dashboard 
• Keep your schedules full by sending automated appointment reminders to patients 
• Send bulk marketing messages with clear opt-in/opt-out instructions 
• Ask for feedback from the patients 
• Give patients the chance to schedule their own appointments 

All this is available at a flexible price and round the clock support. Why take the burden of patient texting on your shoulders when you can automate most of the tasks and spend your time scaling your practice?  

Learn more about how you can use SMS for doctor-patient communication using Emitrr in this short video:

FAQs on Patient Text Messaging

Conclusion

Managing patient text messaging can be tough, especially with lots of patients and strict rules to follow. Doing it by hand is too hard and takes too much time. To give great care and help your practice grow, you need to automate your messaging. Patient texting software can keep you organized, make sure no patient is missed, and make communication easier. Investing in this tool will improve patient satisfaction and help your practice succeed. Book a demo today and start your patient texting journey now!