Updox Announces Secure Text and Messenger to Solve Healthcare’s Frustration with Existing Patient Engagement and Collaboration Tools
Launch represents another step in Updox’s mission to redefine patient engagement and give providers solutions that work the way they work
Updox, a unified collaboration platform for healthcare customer relationship management (CRM), today announces two innovative solutions for improved patient engagement and internal collaboration for out-of-hospital healthcare providers, Secure Text and Messenger.
Using the Updox platform, where Updox customers already manage key processes like prior authorizations, lab results and orders, healthcare staff can now immediately and securely text message a patient or post a message to an internal coordination group or channel to support real-time communication and collaboration.
“Healthcare staff are downright mad. While they are trying to work and need to contact a patient, they have to stop what they’re doing and call and play phone tag. If they need a question answered internally, they stop again to track someone down or leave a post-it reminder note. It’s the epitome of frustration,” said Michael Morgan, CEO of Updox. “Prior technology tried to solve some of these problems but that required staff to log into as many as 10 different systems, which is even worse. Updox ends that frustration and brings everything together in one place. It’s truly simplifying the business of healthcare.”
These innovative solutions expand on the Updox CRM platform’s engagement options of appointment scheduling and reminders, forms, payments and secure email. Updox is the only comprehensive communications platform that unifies technology to securely communicate between providers, directly with patients and internally within an organization.
“The immediacy of text means we can get that information in front of them with a higher degree of certainty that it was received. You can’t get that from voicemail or email.”
— Dr. Phillip Boucher, Lincoln Pediatric Group
Updox Secure Text does not require a password or separate application – relying on verification based on a patient’s birthday, unique URLs and end-to-end encryption for security. In addition, patient responses arrive in the Updox Inbox with the full thread of conversation, allowing messages to be archived and added directly to a patient’s chart, so conversations are not lost and can be easily referenced.
The patient-facing, HIPAA-compliant text solution is particularly powerful for providers who require a high level of regular interaction like primary care, pediatricians, OB/GYN practices, dentists and dermatologists. For example, a parent could
securely text a video of their child’s cough to see if it warrants scheduling an appointment, or an OB/GYN doctor could send educational materials to a woman experiencing her first pregnancy. Alternatively, a patient could send a picture of a rash to their dermatologist’s office and staff could send follow-up questions to triage appropriately. Before Updox, that would have resulted in many hours of time to coordinate questions, an office visit and follow-up care.
“We used to scramble to make sure patients were aware of appointment options, availability of flu vaccines or new services,” said Phillip Boucher, MD, a pediatrician with Lincoln Pediatric Group in Lincoln, Neb. “The immediacy of text means we can get that information in front of them with a higher degree of certainty that it was received. You can’t get that from voicemail or email.”
Updox Messenger gives practices greater visibility into how their teams coordinate care. Whole conversation threads can be viewed at a glance to see when messages were sent and received so that providers can ensure messages get delivered when they need to be delivered. Using Updox, office staff have one place to easily manage all administrative tasks and take quicker action.
“Like other businesses, hospitals use collaboration tools to improve internal coordination and communication and create inter-office chat channels to keep people updated in real time, post questions, share videos, etc. Updox brings that to out-of-hospital providers,” said Morgan. “Technology only works if it eases frustrations, not adds to them. That’s the core of what we offer providers. Communicate more efficiently so that care can be delivered more effectively – for the benefit of providers, staff and patients.”