MobiHealthNews: Free secure texting app helps South Carolina hospital improve communications

South Carolina’s Beaufort Memorial Hospital expects to save millions of dollars this year and potentially prevent some deaths as well by investing in secure texting technology, attendees of the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) Fall CIO Forum in Scottsdale, Ariz., heard last week...

...In early 2012, Ricks signed on to use the free version of Cortext, a secure messaging system from Lexington, Mass.-based vendor Imprivata. He just wanted to prove the concept, so he picked 10 clinicians – not all doctors – to test it out. “Within a few days, we were at 60,” Ricks reported, an impressive number for a hospital with 197 licensed beds and a medical staff of about 160 physicians.