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by Brandon Daniell, Co-Founder and Chief Revenue Officer, Dialog Health 

Call centers are increasingly relying upon text messaging for communication with patients and for many good reasons. Text messaging enables call centers to significantly decrease their number of outbound calls and time spent on the phone. Call centers with text messaging functionality can better optimize staffing levels, increase the number of clients they support without needing to add more staff, and more efficiently scale their business and operations. And the investment required to add and use texting is lower than companies often believe.

While all of these are important benefits that more than justify the use of texting, one of the most significant reasons for call centers to use or increase their usage of text messaging is because of patient preference. Texting is likely to be the preferred default communication method for most patients. As a result, it's likely to achieve the strongest ongoing engagement from patients, which will translate to increased adherence to the various instructions and requests call centers make during the patient journey.

8 Reasons Patients Prefer Text Messaging

Let's look at eight of the top reasons patients prefer texting and how call centers can leverage this preference to improve engagement and adherence.

1. Familiarity. People are largely accustomed to receiving text messages from businesses as the likes of financial institutions, airlines, and various service providers now rely on it. With 97% of all adult Americans owning a cell phone, and all cell phones capable of texting, communicating via text messaging is now second nature to most people. Thus, patients should not be surprised to receive messages from a call center. In fact, many will appreciate it, because….

2. Texting is unobtrusive. When texting is used judiciously, most patients will not find it intrusive. Texting does not require instant engagement like a phone call. Texts can be read and, if required, responded to at the recipient's convenience. It's also easier and faster to read a text than listen to a voicemail. Research indicates about 97% of all texts are read, and many are viewed within just minutes of reaching a recipient.

3. Patients trust texting. Most people ignore phone calls from unknown numbers. While the initial text message a call center sends to a patient is likely to be from a new number, the message should identify the sender, and future messages should come from the same 5-digit "short code" or 10-digit phone number. This provides patients with a visible history of all engagements stored on their phones, so patients quickly determine that the sender is known and trusted.

4. Phone calls can lead to "information overload." Recognizing the challenge of getting patients on the phone, call centers wisely try to keep the number of calls they need to make at a minimum. But this presents a challenge. A call center may have a list of instructions and reminders to cover during a single call. A pre-appointment call may need to cover treatment preparation steps, instructions about getting to the facility and appointment on time, and financial expectations. So much information can be overwhelming for a patient and lead to a patient missing or misunderstanding an important instruction that could lead to cancellations, no-shows, no-gos (i.e., cancellation of treatment on the day of the appointment due to patient non-compliance), and adverse outcomes.

Texting streamlines communication throughout a patient's journey and enables call centers to provide ongoing, timely updates and reminders at pivotal touchpoints before and following an appointment or treatment. Since many messages only require a few words, texting enables a call center to frequently engage with patients and do so in a way that is less likely to be overwhelming. Patients can easily refer to past texts that include instructions. Two-way texting, which allows information to be pushed and pulled from recipients, enables call centers to ask patients to verify that they received, understood, and intend to follow the instruction or request, providing greater confidence in adherence and compliance.

5. More successful calls. I like to say, "If you want someone to call you, send them a text." While patients may ignore calls from a call center if they do not recognize the number or if they are not in a position to answer the call, a call center is not likely to ignore any inbound calls. If a phone call discussion is required, a text can indicate such to a patient and then provide the number patients should call and when they can call. On a cell phone, generating an inbound call to a call center only requires patients to click the phone number included in the message. 

Two-way texts can ask if patients want to receive a call to discuss any information and get their questions answered. If patients confirm their interest, a follow-up text can inform the patient when they should expect to receive the call and provide the phone number patients should expect to call to come from. This information will increase the likelihood that patients will answer the call.

6. Hyperlinks ease and encourage completion of key tasks. Texting is an effective way for call centers to get patients to do what's needed. Texts can provide hyperlinks patients can click to schedule or reschedule an appointment, load a smartphone map app and receive directions to a facility, access a portal for completion of pre-appointment information or to make a payment, and take a satisfaction survey. 

7. Texting empowers patients. Texting enables patients to become more active in their care. Text messages help keep patients focused on the steps they must complete to better ensure an appointment or a treatment proceeds as planned and the most optimal outcome is achieved. Texts are great for reminding patients about the pre-treatment instructions they must follow (e.g., preoperative bathing, no food or drink, colonoscopy prep) and also steps to take in preparation for and following discharge (e.g., acquire a shower chair, bring a car seat for a new baby, kennel pets and remove wires to avoid falls/tripping, monitor incisions). A text chain provides a reference for patients if they are ever unsure about the steps they need to complete.

Two-way texting takes empowerment to another level as patients can respond to texts to confirm they understand an instruction or completed a task. Patients can also reply with questions and requests, including receiving a phone call from a call center. The ease with which two-way texting enables patients to interact with a call center and receive information or have a question answered can reduce the likelihood that patients will hesitate to reach out if they have questions or concerns. 

8. Overcoming language barriers. Texting platforms that include multi-language capabilities and enable patients to receive messages in their preferred language better enable fluid communication across diverse patient demographics. This helps call centers remove language obstacles that can hinder essential, and often time-sensitive communication. 

Texting Keeps a Call Center's Patients on the Path to Success

Text messaging is a proven method for call centers to communicate and engage with patients, enhance outcomes, boost staff productivity, and reduce costs, among other benefits. Two-way texting can be leveraged by call centers to stay connected with patients every step of the way throughout their journey. As texting has become the preferred communication method for many Americans, call centers should determine how they can best incorporate two-way text messaging as a communication platform or further expand its existing use. 

Texting can also help address breakdowns in communication throughout a patient journey that translate to canceled appointments, poor outcomes, lost revenue, and other avoidable problems that may reflect poorly on a call center. The right text messaging platform will help call centers reduce and often eliminate these shortfalls, delivering a performance that translates to high client satisfaction and longer-term engagements with providers. 

Brandon Daniell is co-founder and chief revenue officer of Dialog Health, provider of a two-way texting platform to organizations which they can leverage as a communication and engagement channel.