Did you know that nearly 68 million people in the United States speak a language other than English at home? That figure from 2019, representing almost 1 in 5 people in the United States, is up more near 45 million from 1980. These statistics, provided by the U.S. Census Bureau, point to a vital need for businesses: the ability to communicate with customers in multiple languages. This need is even more important for healthcare organizations, where communication with patients and caregivers can greatly affect and even determine treatment success and outcomes. Research has shown that language barriers are associated with lower quality of healthcare and poorer health outcomes, while patient dissatisfaction and adverse events have been shown to be more prevalent among limited English proficiency patients than English-speaking patients. That's why it is imperative for healthcare organizations to use a text messaging solution which offers the ability to communicate in multiple languages. And that's why we've added a language feature in Dialog Health that allows users to easily select from an extensive list of languages across various character sets for the two-way text messages they send to patients, staff, caregivers, and others. What does the ability to use Dialog Health to communicate in multiple languages look like? Here are just a few examples of messages that could be sent in different languages along with their English translations: Spanish Saludos en nombre de ACME! Nuestros registros muestran que debe renovar la cobertura de los beneficios del OHP. Renuevelo en http://bit.ly/4l0dgf1hyn. Si ya lo ha renovado, no tenga en cuenta esta informacion. Si necesita ayuda, llame a los asistentes OHP de Benefits Co. al 877.666.1132. Escriba STOP para cancelar. Escriba HELP para pedir ayuda. English: Hi from ACME! Our records show you are due to renew coverage for OHP benefits. Renew at http://bit.ly/4l0dgf1hyn. If you have already renewed, please disregard! If you need help, call the OHP Assisters from Benefits Co. at 877.666.1132. Text STOP to opt out. Text HELP for help Somali Balantaada oo maliinta Jan 15 oo bilamneeysa 8:00 AM. Fadlan ka-soo hormar 15 daqiiqo xiliga balantaada. MAP: http://acme.mn/1uBW4TJ English: Your appointment starts on Jan 15 at 8:00 AM. Please arrive 15 minutes before your appointment time. MAP: http://acme.mn/1uBW4TJ Hmong Thov tiv tauj MainStreet Health, lawv mam teem ib lub sij hawm los yog ntau lub sij hawm rau koj tuaj ntsib peb. Hu rau: 877-666-1132. English: Please contact MainStreet Health, they will schedule an appointment or several appointments for you to visit us Call: 877-666-1132. Multiple Languages: One of the Key Features of a Top Healthcare Texting Solution If your healthcare organization is looking to add conversational text messaging or upgrade your solution, you will want to look for a platform that includes the ability to choose and communicate in multiple languages, including all languages spoken by your patient community. But that's just one of many features you should expect if you want to add the best healthcare texting software. Learn about other these other essential features, all of which are included in the Dialog Health platform, then schedule a demo to see them firsthand!

Dialog Health, a two-way texting platform that enables information to be pushed to and pulled from patients, caregivers, and healthcare facility staff, announces the publication of a new home health case study. This success story highlights how the Dialog Health platform helped a home health agency achieve substantial improvements in patient satisfaction survey participation while decreasing staff workload. The home health agency selected Dialog Health after struggling to successfully conduct patient satisfaction surveys by phone and via a webpage accessed through an emailed hyperlink while allocating significant staff time to these satisfaction survey outreach methods. Home Health Patient Satisfaction Texting Campaign Overview With Dialog Health's satisfaction survey solution, the agency launched a tailored post-visit survey text campaign. Every patient opting in for communication via text message during scheduling received a texted survey following their visit. The survey asked patients to reply to the text message and rank, on a scale of 1 (very dissatisfied) to 5 (very satisfied), their satisfaction with the care provided by the home health clinician. The agency used the Dialog Health platform to easily include the name of patients receiving the text and the clinicians who provided their care, which helped personalize requests while further driving engagement. Those patients who participated in the texted survey and expressed satisfaction with the care provided by home health agency clinicians were asked to text back additional comments about their experience. Results: Text Messaging Delivers Big Satisfaction Survey and Workload Wins From a 12-month period (May 1, 2022–April 30, 2023), the home health agency achieved the following results through its patient satisfaction survey text message campaign: Nearly 6,000 patients completed the survey. This represented a 51% completion rate — well above the completion rate the agency was accomplishing using phone and email. More than 80% of patients responded that they were satisfied with the care provided by the home health agency and indicated they would work with the agency again. The number of staff hours associated with manual patient outreach, patient communication, and data entry was greatly decreased. Numerous compliments about the home health agency and its clinicians, which were shared with the clinicians and staff to help boost staff satisfaction. More than 90% of those patients receiving texted surveys remained opted-in to texting with the home health agency. The home health agency continues to rely upon Dialog Health to conduct its patient satisfaction surveys and is expanding how it is using two-way text messaging to support and strengthen other facets of its operations. Access the home health agency satisfaction survey case study. How Can Texting Improve Your Satisfaction Surveys? Organizations interested in adding text messaging for patient communications, including satisfaction surveys, should request a demo of Dialog Health, email info@dialoghealth.com, or call (877) 666-1132.

Text messaging is the preferred method of communication for a majority of Americans. That's why a growing number of healthcare organizations are turning to texting as the backbone for their communications. Healthcare organizations researching their healthcare SMS texting solution options — either to start using text messaging or upgrade from an existing platform — will want to seek a texting technology that includes a wide variety of features. The right features will help healthcare organizations achieve improvements in their financial, clinical, and operational performance. What features should you look for? Read on. Key Features of the Best Healthcare Text Messaging Solutions The following are some of the most important qualities you'll want to ensure describe and are included with the healthcare texting software you're considering for your organization. Text messaging designed for healthcare Seek a text messaging platform designed by healthcare experts specifically for healthcare providers. Such healthcare expertise is essential to understanding a patient's journey and the essential communication points along the way. This expertise is also key to understanding how to effectively engage with patients' family members, staff, physicians, and vendors. Tip: When speaking with healthcare SMS software companies, ask for case studies that demonstrate how their healthcare organization clients have successfully leveraged the texting solution. Two-way text messaging Any healthcare text messaging platform must come standard with 2-way texting, also referred to as "conversational texting." Two-way texting enables you send messages and receive messages. Why is this important? Without two-way texting, you'll find that using texting for verifying patient appointments, post-appointment follow-up communications, conducting surveys, requesting patients to answer preoperative questions, engaging with patients about payments, and other vital use cases will be severely limited or impossible to achieve. Compliance with healthcare and communication requirements Make sure any healthcare texting platform you're considering adheres to the latest HIPAA, SSAE, TCPA, and https://www.ctia.org/CTIA standards. These rules will help ensure your organization's protected health information is kept just that — protected — and your organization will not risk running afoul of communication and solicitation laws. Tip: Did you know the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is cracking down on spam texting? The top healthcare texting company you partner with should understand the FCC's rules and design its platform to comply with these emerging regulations. Choosing such a vendor will help ensure your messages consistently reach and are engaged with by recipients. Cloud-based healthcare text messaging Why do you want your healthcare texting software to live in the cloud? There are a multitude of benefits. You get improved security, streamlined updates and upgrades, and ease of scaling, just to name a few. Tip: If you intend to use two-way texting across your enterprise, you'll definitely want a cloud-based platform. Being on the cloud will permit you to easily add and integrate text messaging into more departments and expand your use of text messaging as your organization evolves and expands. Ease of integration Texting can make communication fast and efficient, leading to reduced workloads and decreased reliance on slow, costly manual outreach. At least that's what a healthcare SMS platform should enable you to do. When researching your healthcare text messaging options, seek an SMS platform that successfully integrates with existing systems. This will better ensure you achieve a consistent flow of information. ​Tip: Ease of integration is critical, as is ease of use. Look for a healthcare text messaging solution that includes a console that empowers you to develop and manage text campaigns in a straightforward manner. When software isn't intuitive, users are not as likely to leverage it as much as they could and should. Ability to easily add hyperlinks Sometimes you will want to share more information than you can in a text message. The good news is that the best healthcare texting solutions include the ability to add web links to text messages. This capability should come standard, allowing you to provide links to endless resources and information, including maps, videos, surveys, educational tools, payment portals, forms, social media accounts, and online review websites. Tier 1 connectivity Ask healthcare SMS vendors whether their technology includes tier 1 carrier connectivity. This functionality is key for achieving the best-in-class ability to send and receive healthcare SMS texts across all mobile providers. Text campaign flexibility As users of healthcare texting will tell you, there are many different types of text messaging campaigns. Some are simple, such as those requiring a single message to a user base, while others are more advanced, leveraging multiple messages and multi-layered campaigns and workflows. Seek a healthcare SMS texting platform will enable you to execute everything from easy to more complex campaigns and tackle these efforts with ease. Tip: While executing more complex campaigns shouldn't be difficult, you may have questions about how to best do so and achieve your goals. The top healthcare text messaging companies will have personnel available to help answer questions and assist you in setting up and executing campaigns. Multiple SMS functions While a healthcare texting platform should be easy to use, that doesn't mean it should lack helpful features and options. Those features and options should just be easy to use! Examples of what you will find offered with the best healthcare text messaging solutions on the market: on-screen delivery receipts, extended character length, ability to view and export your data whenever you choose, mobile keyword sign-up, custom subscriber fields, custom workflow campaigns, and inclusion of a second mobile number (e.g., family member, caregiver). Flexible delivery of text messages One of the features users of top healthcare text messaging technology love most is the ability to pre-schedule messages to go out to recipients — on top of sending real-time messages. In addition, some platforms include the technology to have text messages automatically go out following a "trigger" event. Examples include messages going out to patients a defined number of days in advance of or following an appointment. Another trigger-event example is messages going out to healthcare staff a number of days prior to the start of open enrollment and throughout the open enrollment period to help encourage participation. Tip: Make sure the healthcare texting software you choose includes "drip" campaign capability, which essentially supercharges the use of trigger events. With drip messaging, a healthcare organization can set up their text messaging platform to trigger a series of automated messages sent at intervals when users take specific actions. Control the number of recipients Sometimes you'll want to send one patient or staff member a text message. Other times, you'll want to send a message to many individuals, such as all patients coming into your organization the next day or week, all staff members, members of a specific department within your organization, some or all of your vendor partners — the list goes on. The healthcare texting platform you choose should give you the ability to easily send a text message directly to an individual or a group broadcast to reach hundreds of people — or more! — and be able to do so in just minutes. Tip: Using a two-way healthcare SMS solution takes this capability to another level. Staff can easily engage with and gather information from multiple messaged recipients without ever leaving the texting platform or picking up the phone. Easy subscriber list management Organizations that maximize their invesetment in a top healthcare texting solution use it to communicate with many different types of people, like new patients, past patients (such as for recall programs), new staff for onboarding, all staff, leadership, and department-specific teams. Healthcare texting platforms should come with the ability for you to categorize (i.e., group) your subscriber lists, easily sort these lists, and personalize messages accordingly. Healthcare texting analytics and reporting The best texting technology for healthcare organizations also include robust analytics and reporting, providing you with insight into whether your texts are reaching subscribers and getting the engagement you expect. With healthcare text messaging analytics and live reporting, you gain the ability to auto-generate a wide range of reports, such as who received your text and took any intended action associated with its message, who received the text and did not take any action, and who never received the text. ​Tip: By using the information and insight from analytics and reporting, you can make data-driven decisions on what communication actions to take next. This will reduce time spent on manual outreach while helping you connect with patients and staff in the communication manner they prefer and enhancing staff productivity. Access to custom short codes You know those five- or six-digit numbers that sometimes text you? You may associate them with financial institutions, e-commerce companies (e.g., Amazon.com), airlines, and multi-factor verification codes from various websites, to name a few. Those are called "short codes," and they are a great texting tool. Some of the biggest benefits associated with short codes are that they permit users of texting to run a wider variety of personalized campaigns and are easier to remember than a traditional, 10-digit phone number. ​​The healthcare texting company you partner with should be able to guide you on when it's best to use short codes and then provide the support that will help you secure and most effectively leverage short codes. Dialog Health: Leading Healthcare Texting Solutions for Today's Providers At Dialog Health, we are proud that our healthcare text messaging platform is relied upon by healthcare clients nationwide, including ambulatory surgery centers, hospitals and health systems, gastroenterology and radiology practices, anesthesia groups, and many other provider types. And we're proud that our two-way text messaging platform is being used by a growing number of leading organizations and operators nationwide. Why are providers increasingly turning to Dialog Health? Our platform helps organizations effectively engage patients, improve outcomes, boost staff productivity, grow bottom lines, and strengthen workflows, among many other benefits. To learn more about how our partner organizations use the Dialog Health text messaging platform throughout their enterprises, download this free eBook and then contact us by emailing info@dialoghealth.com, calling (877) 666-1132, or filling out this form. We would welcome the opportunity to discuss your communication and engagement goals and how Dialog Health will help you meet and exceed them.

This might be surprising to hear from a text messaging company, but sometimes NO texting solution is better than the wrong one. Case in point: A Dialog Health employee had a medical test scheduled last week that their physician had booked over a month ago. This employee signed up for the practice's texting service to receive a reminder text and other updates for the appointment. No appointment reminder text ever came. When the employee arrived for the appointment, they were asked if they had anything to eat or drink in the previous 6 hours. They had just eaten lunch … because they had never received communication about not eating or drinking. The test had to be cancelled and rescheduled. This test had three technicians scheduled for an hour. We don't even want to know how much this no-go cost the facility. The Dialog Health employee drove 35 minutes to the facility. It was the definition of a lose-lose for the facility and patient, all because of poor communication. This employee asked who the facility used as a texting vendor and was not surprised to learn it was a "marketing texting platform" known for their outbound marketing … … but NOT patient communication. If someone signs up for texting for their appointment, they are expecting to receive text messages about their appointment. Don't disappoint your patients. It not only hurts satisfaction but costs your facility time and money. Instead, get the best texting platform built for healthcare.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has published new rules targeting scam text messaging, which is great news for medical practices using or considering whether to add texting as a communication channel. In a new Physicians Practice column, Dialog Health Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer Sean Roy explains the FCC's rules and why it's a welcome development for healthcare practices. He then shares key qualities medical practices should look for in a healthcare text messaging company, which include choosing a partner that understands the FCC rules and designs its texting technology to comply with them. As Roy states, "The FCC's new rules and commitment to cracking down on spam and scam texts will only help to solidify texting as an integral — if not central — component of healthcare communications." Access Roy's Physicians Practice column.

We've had the past week-plus to reflect on our time at the terrific ASCA 2023 Conference & Expo. It was yet another great meeting hosted by the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association. We had the opportunity to meet up with old friends and make many new ones while learning about the biggest trends, opportunities, and challenges for the ambulatory surgery center industry. Here are some of the top things we learned from attendees, presenters, and fellow exhibitors at the meeting. Cookies make a great booth giveaway (super-soft T-shirts, too). A lot of ASCs are already using text messaging. That's good news. But many of the texting solutions in use have risks and/or limitations. Some aren't HIPAA-compliant, which is problematic if you're sharing protected health information (PHI) or other sensitive data. Other solutions don't allow two-way conversational texting, which significantly decreases the ways text messaging can be used. And then there are "free" or bare-bones solutions that further reduce capabilities and can dissuade usage of texting. In other words, not all healthcare texting software is the same. Staffing issues (e.g., recruitment, retention, burnout, satisfaction) remain a, if not the, top challenge facing ASCs today. Surgery centers are working to leverage a variety of tactics and solutions to navigate these issues. One presenter encouraged ASCs to better engage staff by providing a method for them to communicate and make them feel more involved in operations and success of the facility. For some ASCs, texting is helping greatly here. One of the most significant barriers ASCs are facing when trying to engage with patients is communication. ASCs are prioritizing technology that can more easily integrate with an existing EHR or other database system. "Interoperability" is a big buzzword these days, and rightfully so. It's essential for solutions to speak with one another to help ASCs take advantage of automation and streamlined workflows — and ultimately "do more with less." Some veteran staff are resistant to using new technologies because of concerns that such solutions will diminish the patient care experience. When adding new solutions, ASCs will want to demonstrate how the technology can enhance the patient experience and give patients a greater opportunity to participate in their care. Surgery centers should also emphasize how new technologies can help in other areas that matter greatly to staff, including improving outcomes, increasing patient satisfaction, growing volume (i.e., providing care to more patients), and reducing taxing, manual processes. If you were unable to attend ASCA 2023 and would like to learn why Dialog Health's HIPAA-compliant, two-way texting solutions are relied upon by ASCs and surgery center operators nationwide to improve patient and staff communication and engagement, fill out this form.

We can't believe it has already been a week since we left the puppy pen at the ASHHRA23 annual conference. It was a great show, and the Dialog Health team caught up with many old friends and made many new ones. Reflecting on our time in Charlotte, here are the top 5 things we learned from healthcare human resources leaders at ASHHRA23: Puppy pens are the best. 🐕 We will be disappointed if they're not part of every future meeting we attend. Recruitment and retention remain significant challenges and are likely to remain that way for the foreseeable future. Technology is playing an increasingly important role in helping organizations improve, streamline, and reduce staff workloads. Supporting and improving mental health for our employees is vital. Finding tools and resources to help our HR departments with these efforts must be a priority. It's critical to gain improved insight into the effectiveness of communication channels. Analytics can help measure results and provide key insights that can lead to positive changes. A growing driver of staff satisfaction is engagement. Staff want to feel like their opinions matter and are eager to share their thoughts on what's working well and what could work better. This makes two-way texting a must-have facet for organizations leveraging texting. One-way texting does not permit that important, conversational aspect of communication with staff. If you didn't make it to ASHHRA23 and would like to learn why our two-way texting solutions are relied upon by healthcare organizations nationwide to improve employee communication and engagement, just text ASHHRA23 to 88079 or fill out this form.

Dialog Health announces the publication of a new client success story highlighting how its HIPAA-compliant, conversational two-way text messaging platform is helping a national ambulatory surgery center (ASC) operator achieve significant improvements in several aspects of its revenue cycle management, including increasing revenue and decreasing staff workload. The ASC operator chose Dialog Health and leveraged the company's Revenue Cycle Management (RCM) Solution to improve its patient financial communication and collections. From November 2021–October 2022, the ASC operator's surgery centers, using Dialog Health's RCM Solution, achieved the following: Decreased year-over-year accounts receivable by 21% 54% of patients paid off their balance in full after receiving just one or two text reminders Substantial return on investment in the Dialog Health Revenue Cycle Management Solution Significant increase in patient usage of online payment portals Better overall patient payment experience Decrease in staff hours associated with manual patient outreach and communication, collections, and data entry 96% of patients remained opted-in to the Dialog Health two-way text messaging The Dialog Health RCM Solution has streamlined and improved collections for the national ASC operator's surgery centers and reduced staff labor associated with securing patient payments. For patients, Dialog Health has made communication about payments less intrusive while making it simpler to submit payments via portal or phone. To access the ASC revenue cycle management case study, click here. Organizations interested in adding two-way text messaging for patient communications should contact Dialog Health, email info@dialoghealth.com, or call (877) 666-1132.

Dialog Health will be exhibiting at the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association (ASCA) 2023 Conference & Expo. The meeting is being held May 17–20 in Louisville, Ky. ASCA 2023 are invited to visit Dialog Health at Booth 526 to learn why ASCs nationwide, including some of the largest national surgery center operators, use our conversational, HIPAA-compliant, two-way texting solutions to improve financial, operational, and clinical performance. The ASCA Annual Conference and Exposition brings together ambulatory surgery center professionals from throughout the country to for resources, education, and networking opportunities. To schedule an in-person meeting with a Dialog Health representative at ASCA 2023, email info@dialoghealth.com or call 877.666.1132.

Recent rules concerning scam text messaging issued by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) may have a substantial impact on the methods of communication used by businesses and the success of those communications in reaching and engaging customers. In his latest Call Center Times column, "New FCC Rules Further Enhance Value of Text Messaging for Call Centers," Dialog Health Co-Founder and Chief Revenue Officer Brandon Daniell summarizes the FCC's rules and explains why they're great news for businesses like call centers using or planning to use texting. He then shares four of the most significant reasons and ways call centers are currently leveraging text messaging. As Daniell states, "Text messaging has been proven to be a simple, yet highly effective and efficient means of engaging and communicating with customers. The FCC's rules should only help to solidify texting as an integral — if not central — component of any call center's communications." Access Daniell's column in Call Center Times.

Dialog Health will be exhibiting at the American Society for Healthcare Human Resources Administration (ASHHRA) 2023 Annual Conference and Exposition. The meeting is being held April 23–25 in Charlotte, N.C. Attendees of ASHHRA 2023 are invited to visit Dialog Health at Booth 326 to learn why our conversational, two-way texting solutions are used by Fortune 500 human resources leaders nationwide to improve their employee communications and engagement. The ASHHRA Annual Conference and Exposition brings together healthcare HR leaders from across the continuum of care to learn about the latest trends impacting the HR function in the healthcare work environment. To schedule an in-person meeting with a Dialog Health representative at the conference, email info@dialoghealth.com or call 877.666.1132.

Strengthening patient recall programs is one of the most efficient and effective ways for healthcare organizations to increase revenue while better ensuring patients receive the preventive services that can keep them healthier and reduce risks. One of the simplest ways for healthcare organizations to accomplish these objectives while reducing costs is to communicate and engage with patients using conversational two-way text messaging, writes Dialog Health Co-Founder and Chief Revenue Officer Brandon Daniell in his latest Medical Economics column. In the column, "How text messaging improves patient recall and practice revenue," Daniell explains why the manual labor associated making phone calls and sending letters for patient outreach are significant obstacles to recall program success. He then discusses many of the substantial benefits of using text messaging as the communication method to drive recall programs. Access Daniell's column in Medical Economics.