Text Messaging Guide for Healthcare
Text messaging has become an increasingly popular communication tool in the healthcare industry. It is a fast, efficient, and cost-effective way to engage staff, schedule shifts with ease, expedite hiring cycles and communicate with patients.
We’ve put together an introductory guide to help get your started with texting for your healthcare practice.
The use of text messaging in healthcare offers a variety of benefits that can engage workforces and streamline operations for healthcare providers.
Doctors, nurses, and healthcare administrators alike are often on the go, needing quick and easy ways to connect with their human resource teams and internal stakeholders. Text messaging offers quick and easy ways for healthcare providers to schedule shifts, place nurses, send patient reminders and engage its workforce with wellness checks and general announcements.
For healthcare providers, text messaging can improve communication and coordination, allowing for faster and more efficient communication with patients, staff, and other providers. It can also help reduce no-shows and improve the overall patient experience.
How It Works
Get started in minutes
Import new contact information and connect with your current ATS, HRIS and CRM.
Segment your contacts
Create groups to text candidates pools and staff or send personalized 1:1 messages. Include images, videos, PDFs or branded links.
Understand what works
Test variations of your message, and get intuitive analytics about delivery, response rates and more.
Grow your ROI
Text messaging gets 10x the response rate of phone and email and will help improve speed to market and conversions.
Ways SMS can be used in healthcare
SMS can be a useful tool to have in your toolkit. Let’s take a look at some specific ways in which SMS can be used in healthcare.
Staffing & Recruiting
Use campaigns to send jobs to hundreds of nurses instantly and schedule interviews instantly.
Shift management
Communicate shift changes, call-outs, and coverage needs. Staff can be informed about last-minute schedule changes and managers can fill open shifts with employees who are available.
On-call scheduling
Schedule and confirm on-call shifts, and to communicate any changes or updates to the on-call schedule.
Internal communication
Schedule meetings, relay important information, or coordinate care between different departments or team members.
Appointment reminders and confirmations
Remind patients of appointments to help reduce no-shows and ensure that patients are prepared.
Surveys and questionnaires
Send out surveys and questionnaires to patients to gather feedback on the care they received.
Educational resources
Provide patients with educational resources, such as information on medication management or healthy lifestyle choices.
Reminders
Remind staff about upcoming mandatory trainings, certifications, and other professional development opportunities.
HIPAA Compliance and Business Text Messaging
While SMS cannot be fully guaranteed to be HIPAA-compliant, it’s a good idea to look for business SMS providers that follow HIPAA-compliant best practices.
We highly encourage healthcare entities that utilize SMS to adhere to the same practices in communicating as they would with other mediums like email or phone. As with other industries that use text messaging, proper opt in management is critical and healthcare providers must ensure that patients have opted in to receive texts. Additionally, we recommend that if a provider needs to share sensitive information via text, to not do so within the message body, but rather share a link to a secure portal hosted on your own platform where this information resides securely. These best practices ensure healthcare entities can benefit from the real-time communication that SMS provides, while remaining HIPAA-compliant.
SMS features to look for
To make the most of effective communication tools including text messaging, you should consider how the technology will help you accomplish your goals faster.
What are some of the key features you should look for when researching text messaging solutions for your healthcare?
Auto-replies
Use Keywords to send back an automated message when they use the preferred keyword. For example, a candidate can text in the keyword “BOSTON” to receive a list of open positions in Boston.
Segmentation
Create groups based on what candidates have expressed interest in allowing you to send personalized, targeted, and customized content to place them faster.
Campaigns
Broadcast the same text message to multiple contacts and schedule them to be sent at optimal and most convenient times.
Unlimited Campaign Sizes
Send campaigns to larger audiences with industry-leading throughput. (Daily message limits may apply.)
Mobile App
When you’re on the go, leverage our mobile app to stay connected from anywhere. Otherwise, you can use TextUs directly from your browser or using our Chrome extension.
Rich Media
Include photos, GIFs, or PDFs to your audience to show users visuals that can help increase engagement and provide more valuable information.
Analytics
Measuring your analytics is important to know if your text messages are resonating with your audience and allow you to adapt to improve your communication strategy.
CRM or ATS Integration
Your tech stack should complement one another and work together in order to improve your workflows and make your and your team’s jobs easier.
Learn about how Ochsner Health got an 80% response rate on their text messages, improved their healthcare employees’ experience, gained insight into conversations, and communicated rapidly changing information in real-time.
Text messaging for healthcare recruiters
Recruiting and maintaining the healthcare workforce is essential right now. The industry is facing a massive shortage of workers and an increase in demand for care. Knowing how to reach, recruit, place, and train candidates to be ready to go quickly is critical. Texting allows you to reach candidates about jobs that may open and close rapidly, onboard candidates with ease, and check interest without wasting time.
Here are a few ways that healthcare recruiters can use SMS to check on staff:
- Job alerts and notifications:Send text messages to job seekers to notify them of new job openings or upcoming recruiting events.
- Scheduling interviews: Schedule interviews with candidates and confirm details such as date, time, and location.
- Reminders: Send text message reminders to candidates about upcoming interviews or other important recruitment events.
- Follow-ups: Send follow-up messages to candidates after an interview to update them on the status of their application, ensure they are still interested in the job and address any questions or concerns they may have.
- Offering Assistance: Offer assistance to candidates during the recruitment process, such as answering questions about the job or providing directions to the office.
- Emergency coverage: Notify available staff about open positions for emergency coverage or urgent need for fill-in staff.
- Onboarding new hires: Recruiters can use SMS to send important information to new hires, such as their start date, orientation schedule, and other details they will need to begin their job.
10 text message templates to use in healthcare recruiting:
1. Laiken: We have shifts available next week in Hollywood and West Park. Are you interested in learning more? Reply YES to schedule a time for an interview.
2. Brendan: We have an immediate opening in Arkansas. Offers a 5K sign-on. Are you interested in learning more? Reply YES to schedule a time for an interview. Thanks, Cynthia
from MedHire
3. Sarah: We are hiring LPNs at Northwell Health. Please respond with your interest.
4. Benjamin: Urgent need for an LPN or RN tonight at UPMC. $100 bonus. Can you be available? Reply YES for placement information.
5. Ally: Are you interested in a 3day with 25OB/75GYN in Madison, WI?
6. Matt: Will you be attending our healthcare recruitment event on 10/14 from 9am-4pm at Providence Health? Reply YES to confirm you will be attending.
7. Nina: Thank you for applying to the travel nurse position! Do you have geography preferences? Thanks! Maddie from TravelNursesInc.
8. Justin: Reminder that your interview with Austin Regional Clinic is tomorrow at 3pm. How are you feeling about it?
9. Dr. Thomas: Are you open to a $500K+ OBGYN position at Cleveland Clinic? Respond YES for placement information.
10. Sal: Are you still looking for employment and/or relocation?
It’s important to keep in mind that SMS is considered a direct form of communication with candidates, and any message sent should be compliant with recruitment and data protection legislation.
Text messaging for healthcare admins
The ever changing regulations in healthcare has increased the speed in which healthcare has embraced technology. One of the tools that is easiest to implement to improve healthcare is text messaging. Since texting is something everyone is used to and is more convenient, it can help you communicate and check in on your staff easily. Working long shifts in stressful surroundings can impede staff morale and well-being.
Here are a few ways that hospital administrators can use SMS to check on staff:
Check-in system: Set up a system where staff members are required to check in at certain times of the day or night by sending a message to a designated phone number or group. This can be done using a mass texting service and can also be scheduled in advance.
Staff wellness check: Use SMS to conduct regular check-ins on staff well-being, asking if they need any support or have any concerns.
On-demand check-ins: Allow administrators to send a message to individual staff members requesting their status or availability.
Schedule notifications: Use SMS to send automated notifications to staff members reminding them of their upcoming shifts or schedule changes.
Emergency alerts: Use SMS to send out emergency alerts to staff members in the event of a crisis or unexpected event.
10 text message templates for healthcare admins
1. Wendy: I wanted to check in for protocol and see if you are experiencing any COVID symptoms today. Let me know as soon as possible!
2. Bob – We have low staff coverage this Saturday. Are you available to work an extra shift? Thanks! -Nancy
3. Sara – How are you feeling today? I know we have a lot of cases and want to be sure you’re not overwhelmed or need a break. Let me know!
4. Hey Ed! Wanted to share today’s healthcare hero with you. If you see Kevin F. today give him an elbow bump.
5. Nat – We are working on our board of happiness to spread joy in the hospital. If you have a happy moment, please share a pic with us! Thanks!
6. Justin: Just a reminder that training for ER protocols is due by Friday. Have you already completed it? Response YES if you did!
7. Rachel – Chipotle has bought our unit lunch to thank healthcare heroes in the area! Come by the staff lounge tomorrow between 12-2pm for a burrito bar!
8. Chris: Department heads are having a mandatory meeting to discuss new vaccination protocols tomorrow at 10am. Will you be there? Respond YES to confirm you will be attending.
9. Hey Sam! Wanted to check in on how you are feeling with the influx of patients?
10. Nelson: There was a glitch with timecards last week. Have you checked to make sure yours is accurate? Respond YES if you have already checked and ensured yours was good to go.
See a Demo Today
Learn how other healthcare organizations use TextUs every day to communicate in real-time.