Medical communications: what’s new?
We’ve come a long way in medicine since the middle ages. Unfortunately, we haven’t made as much progress in the medical communications realm. We no longer resort to using bloodletting leeches, but we still use very out-dated medical communication technologies. In fact, pagers—the default communication technology of many hospitals—are remarkably similar to the page and messenger boys medieval healers would have employed to send their messages. Sending a page is about as effective as sending a messenger or page boy running through a hospital with a message written on a scroll. Pagers are slow, cumbersome, inefficient, and ineffective - they got lost easily and are a burden for their owners. Here’s an example of the confusion and havoc pagers cause, at the most inopportune moments:
Modern medical communication tools:
Fortunately, there have been quite a few advancements in communication technologies in the last few centuries. Now smartphones are rife and patients expect their healthcare providers to be as online and connected as everybody else. Unfortunately, native texting applications on smartphones don’t cut it for medical communications: they’re insecure and incredibly risky. If a patient’s protected health information (PHI) gets leaked through a stolen iPhone or a hacked Android, a hospital could incur hefty fines for a HIPAA-violation.
Luckily, there’s a perfect compromise: secure texting applications. Secure text messaging apps allow healthcare professionals to ditch their page boys of yore and enjoy the myriad benefits of 21st century technology, all while protecting the privacy of their patients. To learn more about how a secure messaging solution could benefit your hospital, or care team, check out our secure texting resources:
Show me how to avoid the biggest medical communications mistake
Give me a checklist for choosing an effective secure messaging solution