6 powerful ways in which an SMS Gateway can improve the patient experience in the Healthcare Industry.

Healthcare service providers in Australia are working round the clock to assist patient that walks into their doors. The pandemic situation has drastically affected the Healthcare space. Since resources are being stretched, maintaining the required quality in the patient experience has been a challenge to many healthcare service providers.

The Covid-19 pandemic has also impacted the way on ho people/patients wants to interact with the service providers in the Healthcare Industry. You’ll be surprised to learn that ‘’80% of people want the option to use their smartphones to interact with their healthcare providers.’’ In fact,‘’66% of smartphone users want to receive medical advice through digital channels instead of visiting a doctor.’’

The current processes implemented by the service providers concerning patient engagement in the healthcare space needs an overall change as per the demands and requirements of the present scenario. Text Messaging or SMS is a cost-effective tool that can be implemented to improve patient engagement. The overall patient journey can be appropriately managed with the help of an SMS Gateway, and the overall patient experience can be drastically improved. Here are six ways to do so:-

1. Book Appointments/Send Reminders

In a study, it was found out that ‘’69% of people want to receive reminders to arrange medical appointments and to receive notification for taking their medication.’’

With the help of an SMS Gateway, Healthcare service providers can book appointments and send reminders to patients. The whole process of booking appointments and sending reminders can be managed appropriately and facilitated with ease. Automated text messages can be sent to book appointments, confirm appointments and to send reminders.

2. Conduct Regular Follow Up With Patients

Conducting regular and timely follow-ups with patients is essential in ensuring that they move forward with the prescribed treatment plans. A proper follow up also reduces liability concerns and increases safety. With the help of an SMS Gateway, doctors and nurses can follow up with the patient and have personalised 2-way conversations.

3. Educate & Inform Patients

Text Messaging is the best medium that can be used to educate and inform patients about healthcare. The best example of using SMS to inform patients would be about the Covid-19 pandemic. When the virus struck Australia, no one knew of its complications, the safety procedures, the do’s and Don’ts, etc. Proper awareness could have been spread with the help of an SMS Gateway. Resourceful information related to healthcare can be promoted with a single click to the masses. SMS has a better engagement rate when compared to other mediums such as email and social media.

4. Improved Staff Management

Healthcare professionals are stretched due to the pandemic, and all most all of them are working overtime. An SMS Gateway would help improve the efficiency of those health professionals through automated SMS communication. Health professionals can easily track and manage their day to day activities with the help of timely reminders. It is also to be noted that the healthcare professionals’ efficiency will have a direct impact on the patient experience.

6. Getting Feedbacks

SMS is an excellent tool for collecting feedback from patients. Ensuring that your patients are cared for and listened to is essential in the healthcare space. An SMS Gateway can be used to engage with the patients and collect timely information and feedback, which can be utilised for making things better. 

7. Overall Management

An SMS Gateway is an effective tool for the overall management of a patient’s journey. The whole process can be managed with ease. Medical Prescriptions can be sent by text messages. The waiting time of a patient can be reduced by providing accurate appointment times.  This would be helpful for the patients as well as the staff. Huge crowds can be avoided. Appointments can be confirmed or denied by the patients or rescheduled. The best part is that custom made use-cases can be made based on the processes and the requirements of the health care service providers. There are SMS Gateway providers such as Guni SMS, that provides custom made solutions as per the requirements for free. 

Conclusion

The expectations and preferences of the patients are changing. Healthcare service providers need to adapt to these changes for providing better quality services. Investing in an SMS Gateway would be the best cost-effective alternative for meeting these respective expectations and improving upon the patients’ experience. 

But just investing in any SMS service provider won’t work out. You should invest in an SMS service provider who can give you custom made solutions or use-cases as per your requirements. You should invest in an SMS service provider who has the experience in improving processes through meaningful engagement. The best alternative would be to go with Guni SMS– Australia’s No-1 SMS Gateway. They provide custom made solutions as per the requirements for free! Guni SMS is the best practical option concerning effective cost and ROI. Try Guni for free today and get free consultation services from professionals.