EHR giant Cerner Corp. has collaborated with WELL Health, a provider of patient communication solutions, to introduce new text message capabilities enabling clinicians and patients to communicate more easily. The texting feature will be fully integrated into Cerner’s patient portal.
As other industries become increasingly mobile-friendly, consumers are expecting the same level of convenience and ease of access when interacting with the healthcare system as they have when ordering food or cabs on their smartphones. A recent survey by patient access solutions provider Kyruus shows that for 27% of patients the option of proactive ongoing communication with a provider, via text or email, has a big impact on where and from whom they decide to seek care.
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Providers will be able to use the Cerner HealtheLife patient portal to send messages to patients via text message, if that is the patient’s preferred channel of communication. Patients will be able to respond via text as well.
Providers will also have access to a tool allowing them to manage and generate text messages, and they will retain the ability to configure rules and create relevant restrictions around the feature, David Bradshaw, Cerner’s senior vice president, consumer and employer solutions, said in an email.
“We have been doing research around communications for several years and we have seen key trends that told us it was time to make a decision,” he said. “Consumer experience and feedback played a big part in the decision [to incorporate this feature]. We hear a lot of feedback that texting is much more convenient and is a preferred method of communication for all ages and demographics.”
In addition, healthcare providers are getting more comfortable with using text messages to communicate with patients.
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“Many organizations are seeing texting as an opportunity to manage communications more effectively and help their care teams engage with their patients instead of [as] a burden,” Bradshaw added.
The Covid-19 pandemic has also created unique challenges around access to care and streamlining the patient communication process may be a helpful strategy for providers, Guillaume de Zwirek, founder and CEO of WELL Health, said in an email.
“No one likes the way that healthcare currently operates,” he said. “Patients have to make multiple calls to schedule appointments, get test results, or get specific questions answered, and providers’ staff spend hours a day playing phone tag and coordinating with patients. This collaboration with Cerner means that Cerner provider customers get the most advanced technology for providing excellent patient experiences.”
Organizations can also use the new HIPAA-compliant feature to deliver important health information, send flu shot reminders, schedule virtual visits and prompt patients to set up transportation for in-person visits, if necessary.
Further, the texting feature can be used to auto-notify patients when new bills are ready for payment, helping to streamline billing and payment collections.
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