In the current economic climate most companies have to make reductions to certain areas of their business to ensure that they are not wasting valuable funds. This is also true for health services, such as hospitals, which need to make sure that they are delivering the best quality service for patients while keeping costs down. One way to do this is to look for alternative ways to communicate with patients that are just as efficient but with a smaller financial impact. This is where using SMS services can help.  

Sending SMS messages to patients is quickly becoming a more favourable option for relaying important information over more traditional forms of communication such as writing letters and making phone calls. This is because SMS services are not only speedy and reliable, but are also a much cheaper way of getting the message across. These services also have a wide variety of benefits and uses.

Hospitals can send appointment reminders and scan dates to patients, for a small sum, knowing that the information will be delivered straight to the mobile phone of the patient as nowadays most people carry a mobile device on them at all times. Sending a letter or calling a landline number can be overlooked or misplaced by the patient. As well as this, a number of text messages can be sent to the patient leading up to the day of their appointment which can be read and responded to quickly and efficiently. 

Finally, hospitals are beginning to use text messaging services to send out results to patients that are clear and don’t require a follow up. Usually, results for x-rays, scans and tests can take weeks to be returned which can be lengthened further by the postal service or by phone. By sending messages to a list of patient who are awaiting results, valuable time and money can be saved which can be used elsewhere within the health service.

To find out more about how SMS messaging can help your business, please visit www.textanywhere.net, or call our customer service team on 08451 221 302 who will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

If you thought sending out bulk SMS messages was just for retailers to promote an offer or a competition they’ve got running, then think again. Bulk texting doesn’t have to be just for marketing purposes, you can use SMS solutions in any way you can think of. Reminders, notifications and providing or obtaining information are just a few of the other ways sending texts online can be used; for example, Orange text their customers to let them know if they could save money by being on a different plan.

Let’s run through two examples of how different institutions can use bulk texting.

Probably the most obvious way a surgery can utilise a SMS service is to set up a text reminders facility for patient’s appointments, but here are a few other helpful ways texts can be used:

• Cancelled appointments (e.g. if a doctor is absent).
• Notify patients when any results are ready and if they need to come in or call.
• Notify patients when their prescription is ready for collection to reduce queues.

Another way a doctor’s surgery could use a text campaign is for a quick records update. For example, finding out if your patients have started or quit smoking, sending out a message which patients can reply to (e.g. with: smoker, ex smoker or never) is an easy way to complete a full records update.

Colleges can potentially use online texting to update both students and parents; here are just a few examples:

For Students-

• Notify of a change of classroom or lesson time (can’t say they didn’t know as an excuse!).
• Notify if the college is closed (e.g. snow days, inset days etc).
• Sending out exam or coursework results.
• Notify if a teacher is absent or a lesson is cancelled.
• Send out reminders for any guest talks or events.
• Notify when coursework folders are ready for collection.

Parents-

• Notify when reports have been given out.
• Send out a parents evening reminder.
• Notify if there are any talks or meetings for parents.
• Send out any important announcements, such as school transportation delays or timetable changes.
• Set up a reminder service for inset days.

It’s important to always remember that your texts must add value, you don’t want to annoy people with constant or un-important messages, they will only opt out if you do. (NB: The opt-out option is a legal requirement, easy to set-up and excludes numbers which have opted-out automatically).