8 best patient chat apps for easy and secure communication

Technological advancement has revolutionized patient chat in recent years. Healthcare is not only a matter of proper medical advice these days. Patients want better service from their healthcare providers and solid medical guidance.

This is why, presently, the industry is prioritizing fast, secure, and reliable digital healthcare communication to provide customer satisfaction to patients who want instant updates via patient messaging.

It is imperative to support patients' healing journey by giving them a familiar communication channel with specialized patient messaging chat apps. This article discusses the importance of deploying patient chat in your medical practice and the best patient texting solutions available at present.‍

Why is a secure patient chat necessary?

Research suggests a strong demand for online/digital communication tools among patients. Patient messaging platforms can increase the quality of healthcare services as a direct result of the increased communication between patient and their healthcare providers.

Another research published in 2013 revealed about 71% of patients in the study group were inclined towards using electronic communication platforms with their medical team. Most of these patients agreed that patient chat platforms would improve efficiency and overall communication.

Many patients currently use emails, text messages, and other forms of communication with their doctors and medical team. However, the patient messaging platforms need a safety net and be HIPAA-compliant to be deployed in healthcare.

Best patient chat solutions

There are numerous easy and secure patient chat applications for patient-physician communication. We have compiled a list of some of the top-notch patient messaging platforms available in the market:

1. Rocket.Chat

Rocket.Chat is one of the easiest and most secure healthcare patient chat solutions in the market.

It is open-sourced, GDPR- and HIPAA-compliant, and has ISO 27001 certification to prevent data breaches during effortless communication with patients, team members, and vendors. You can connect with patients on the platform of their choice in one place and make your practice more efficient.

Rocket.Chat’s key features include scalability, automation of key touchpoints, chat history, self-hosting, and robust end-to-end encryption.

‍2. Klara

Klara is an efficient patient chat platform that simplifies the management of your practice by bringing all patient workflows under one umbrella.

This platform enables patients to schedule their appointments online easily and reminds them to book another appointment if they don’t show up the first time. Klara also offers an omnichannel platform that helps the care teams collaborate and optimize workflows.

3. Dash Chat by Relatient

This patient chat app offers features like live chat, communication routing as per departments, and chat history with easy search and filter options, among others.

The patient can easily use Dash Chat to connect with their preferred department, and the healthcare team can stay connected with each other at all times to provide the best experience for the patients.

4. Intiveo

Preferred by dental practices, this patient messaging and reminder software is extremely helpful in retaining old patients. Intiveo offers great flexibility allowing practices of any size and specialty to scale their business with features like automated workflows, reminders, etc.

This is a user-friendly platform that is fully customizable; the customer support team at Intiveo helps each practice in setting up the software and solving related queries.

5. PatientPop

With a focus on growth and development, this patient chat solution enables medical practices to capture new patients, retain old patients, and thrive. You can streamline workflows and save time that is otherwise wasted on repetitive tasks such as managing patients in the waiting room with this HIPAA-compliant patient chat software.

PatientPop also offers powerful SEO strategies, campaign management, calendar sync, multi-channel communication, and more.

6. Weave

This patient messaging software offers solutions for different specialized practices, including dental, optometry, and veterinary.

Weave is an all-in-one communication platform for small practices that supports automated scheduling, availability management, customer relationship management, conference calls, call routing, customizable reports, and more. Its role-based permission settings add another layer of safety to this platform.

7. Doctible

This patient chat platform does everything from patient chat and office administration to marketing. You can see a review summary in one place to eliminate shortcomings in your practice.

The patients can easily book appointments through your website with a smart scheduler and manage their booking. Doctible can also remind patients who are due for a visit automatically.

8. Pabau

This easy-to-use clinic management system software enables efficient patient texting and improves the patient experience. With automation features, you can save time on management and administration and make better use of that time.

Pabau offers features like online appointment booking, paperless forms, access controls, an activity dashboard, secure document management, and more.

What features should a suitable patient chat have?

While considering different patient chat solutions for your practice, you should consider a platform that is suitable for your practice. Here are some must-have features of an efficient patient chat platform:

1. Omnichannel capabilities

Patient messaging platforms that remove friction from the chat process by connecting the patient to the platform of their choice through a single app benefit your practice.

The patient may not consider logging on to a different platform to communicate with your team and may find another practice with a simple process with fewer steps.

2. HIPAA compliance

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) ensures patients' sensitive data is always secure and handled with care. Using a platform that is not HIPAA-compliant can lead to data breaches and, consequently, legal actions against your practice.

3. Integrations or Open API

Every practice's size, services, target market, and other factors differ. Thus, patient chat platforms that follow a one-size-fits-all approach usually cannot fulfill every requirement of your practice.

Therefore, investing in an open-source patient chat solution that offers multiple integrations and customization options and lets you evolve with changing business needs is vital.

4. Supporting text messages, file sharing, video conferencing

A good patient chat solution must offer basic features like text messages, file sharing, etc., to streamline workflows and improve patient satisfaction.

Build a customized patient chat and connect it to your system

If you are looking for a secure patient chat platform that offers multiple features with top-notch security standards that can be customized to suit the needs of your practice, check out Rocket.Chat.

The open-sourced platform is packed with useful features for patient messaging. It is also deployed in other highly regulated industries, such as government, finance, and education. Therefore, Rocket.Chat is ideal for healthcare providers looking for an easy-to-use patient communication platform with the highest standards of security.

Click here to learn more and try it for free today!

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Sara is an SEO Strategist at Rocket.Chat. She is passionate about topics around digital transformation, workplace experience, open source, and data privacy and security.

Sara Ana Cemazar

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