Are You Getting the Best Support from Your Healthcare Texting Solution Vendor?

Key Takeaways on What You Should Expect from Your Healthcare Texting Solution Vendor

• Missed appointments cost the U.S. healthcare system $150 billion annually, and up to 75% of hospital readmissions are avoidable - text messaging reduces no-shows by 34-38% and readmissions by 41-55% when implemented with the right support.

• Standard SMS is not HIPAA compliant, and violations can result in fines up to $2.1 million annually - your vendor must demonstrate deep expertise in HIPAA, TCPA, and CMS requirements.

• Poor onboarding and integration failures contribute to over $455 billion in U.S. healthcare administration costs - a true partner handles the heavy lifting from kick-off to go-live.

• Red flags include ticket-only support, no proactive outreach, high team turnover, and lack of healthcare-specific templates.

• World-class support means an NPS far above the industry average of 36 - Dialog Health's NPS of 83 reflects dedicated customer success teams, comprehensive templates, continuing education, and a partnership philosophy.

• The bottom line: when your vendor wins only when you win, your patients get better outcomes and your organization gets better results.

The Stakes Are Higher Than You Think

Missed healthcare appointments cost the U.S. healthcare system an estimated $150 billion annually.

That's not a small leak - it's a flood of lost revenue, wasted clinical time, and delayed patient care.

The good news is that text message reminders actually work.

Systematic reviews show they reduce no-show rates by 34-38%, making them one of the most effective tools for improving appointment attendance.

But no-shows aren't the only problem.

Hospital readmissions have become a major financial and clinical concern.

In fiscal year 2021, CMS penalized 2,545 hospitals - that's 83% of those evaluated - for excessive Medicare patient readmissions.

Here again, texting proves its value.

Post-discharge text messaging programs have reduced 30-day hospital readmissions by 41-55% in clinical studies.

Patients who actively engage with these messages are 27% less likely to be readmitted than those who don't respond.

Consider this: at least 20% of all admitted patients are readmitted within 30 days.

An estimated 75% of these readmissions are avoidable with better care coordination and communication.

The technology to prevent these outcomes exists.

The question is whether your vendor is helping you get there.

Why Healthcare Expertise Isn't Optional

Standard SMS text messaging is not HIPAA compliant.

It lacks the encryption, access controls, and audit trails required to protect patient information.

This isn't a technicality - it's a serious liability.

In February 2024, CMS updated its guidance and now permits texting of patient orders among healthcare teams.

But there's a catch: it's only allowed through HIPAA-compliant secure platforms that meet strict technical standards.

If your vendor doesn't understand this distinction, you're exposed.

The penalties for non-compliance are steep.

HIPAA violations can result in fines ranging from $141 to $2.1 million annually, depending on the severity.

In extreme cases, violations can escalate to criminal charges.

Compliant platforms must support encryption in transit and at rest, role-based access controls, proper consent management, and detailed audit trails.

Your vendor must also execute a Business Associate Agreement to legally handle protected health information.

And HIPAA is only part of the picture.

Compliance extends to TCPA regulations, state-specific data protection laws, and CMS Conditions of Participation.

A vendor without deep healthcare expertise simply can't keep up with this landscape.

What Happens When Onboarding Falls Short

Healthcare software implementation comes with unique obstacles.

These include information security risks, interoperability challenges, user adoption barriers, and significant staff training requirements.

When onboarding is rushed or poorly managed, these obstacles compound.

The cost of poor integration is staggering.

Over $455 billion is spent on healthcare administration in the U.S. - much of it tied to system interoperability failures.

When your texting platform doesn't communicate smoothly with your EHR, PM, or RCM systems, you inherit that inefficiency.

Multi-vendor environments make things worse.

Coordinating updates across different systems leads to delays and increased troubleshooting complexity.

If your texting vendor can't navigate this environment, implementation drags on.

There's also the template problem.

Without best-practice templates, your staff is left writing messages from scratch.

This wastes time, introduces compliance risk, and delays your ability to see results.

Organizations that lack proper onboarding support often spend months building workflows that should have been ready on day one.

The Difference Between a Vendor and a Partner

SaaS support isn't a one-time event.

Because users continuously interact with and evolve alongside the product, support can't be reactive alone.

It has to be ongoing.

This matters more than you might think.

Research shows that a 5% increase in customer retention can boost profitability by up to 75%.

Vendors who disappear after implementation are leaving value on the table - yours.

A true partner focuses on helping you achieve outcomes, not just resolving support tickets.

In healthcare, this is especially important because of the complexity of medical standards, regulatory requirements, and clinical workflows.

Generic support teams can't keep up.

Proactive support looks different.

It includes regular business reviews, platform health monitoring, usage analytics, and best-practice sharing tailored to organizations like yours.

The vendor's success becomes tied directly to your clinical and operational results.

That's the partnership mentality.

Red Flags You Shouldn't Ignore

Healthcare providers consistently report the same complaints about their IT systems: poor usability, lack of integration, and insufficient support.

If any of these sound familiar with your texting vendor, pay attention.

Generic marketing platforms repurposed for healthcare often lack the compliance depth and workflow understanding you need.

They may check the "HIPAA compliant" box, but they don't truly understand clinical communication.

Ticket-only support is another warning sign.

If you can't reach a human who knows your organization, you're dealing with a transactional vendor - not a partner.

Watch for stagnation, too.

If your vendor never reaches out with optimization recommendations, you're probably using the platform the same way you did on day one.

That means missed opportunities.

High turnover in customer success teams creates its own problems.

Every new contact means starting over, explaining your setup, and rebuilding trust.

Finally, consider your templates.

If your vendor doesn't offer healthcare-specific message templates, you're relying on generic content that may not meet clinical communication standards.

What World-Class Support Actually Looks Like

An NPS score above 50 is considered excellent.

Above 70-80 is world class.

The average SaaS company scores just 36.

Healthcare SaaS averages between 27-53.

Dialog Health's NPS is 83 - placing us firmly in world-class territory, nearly 50 points above the industry average.

That score reflects real feedback from real customers about the support they receive.

What drives a score like that?

Dedicated customer success teams that provide onboarding, continuous education, health monitoring, and responsive support throughout the entire relationship.

It also means comprehensive templates that cover the full patient journey - pre-appointment instructions, procedure prep, day-of communications, post-care follow-ups, and billing reminders.

World-class vendors provide a Knowledge Base with SMS templates, case studies, release updates, and FAQs so your team can find answers without waiting.

Continuing education matters too.

Expert-led webinars, self-paced resources, and real-world tips keep your team current on new capabilities and evolving compliance requirements.

And integration support doesn't end after go-live. It starts at kick-off and continues as your needs evolve.

Questions Worth Asking Your Current Vendor

If you're unsure whether your vendor is truly delivering, these questions can help you find out:

• Did we have a dedicated implementation manager who understood healthcare workflows and compliance requirements?

• What is our typical response time for support issues, and do we have a dedicated customer success contact?

• When did we last have a strategic business review to assess platform optimization opportunities?

• Does our vendor proactively advise on regulatory changes affecting HIPAA, TCPA, or CMS requirements?

• Are we achieving the measurable outcomes we expected - reduced no-shows, improved collections, lower readmission rates?

• How long has our vendor been focused exclusively on healthcare, and can they demonstrate deep domain expertise?

If you don't like the answers - or don't know them - it may be time to reevaluate.

Your Patients Deserve Better  -  And So Do You

Dialog Health partners with clients from day one.

That means seamless integration, personalized training, best-practice templates, and data-driven insights - all from the start.

With over 15 years exclusively in healthcare, the Dialog Health team understands the challenges health systems face.

We deliver proven best practices to reduce no-shows, improve compliance, cut readmissions, and lighten administrative workload.

From integration to configuration, we handle the heavy lifting.

Our team supports you from kick-off to go-live and beyond.

Our templates cover every stage of the patient journey: pre-appointment instructions, procedure prep, post-care follow-ups, GLP-1 prep, and custom workflows tailored to your specific needs.

Continuing education keeps your team ahead of the curve.

That includes expert-led sessions, webinars, self-paced resources, and guidance on everything from AI-powered solutions to compliance best practices.

The Dialog Health Knowledge Base gives you exclusive access to SMS templates, case studies, release updates, and FAQs.

Our philosophy is simple: when you win, we win.

See What an NPS of 83 Looks Like in Action

If the questions in this article hit close to home, you're not alone.

Many healthcare organizations realize their vendor isn't delivering the support they need.

Dialog Health was built for this.

With 15+ years of healthcare expertise and an NPS of 83, we've helped organizations achieve:

• 53% reduction in no-show rates

• 82% reduction in readmissions in just 90 days

• 92% reduction in post-operative phone calls

Here's what happens next: Fill out this quick form and a healthcare communication expert will reach out to schedule a 15-minute call at your convenience - no pressure, just answers.