The great showman P.T. Barnum wrote: “The foundation of success in life is good health”. We don’t think anybody can really argue with that sentiment right now in particular…

The global healthcare market is on track to be worth $10 trillion by 2022, growing at a faster rate than GDP in most countries today.

The world is seeing massive population growth in developing countries whilst in the developed world, populations are ageing and even declining. Both trends bring with them an increased load on already stretched healthcare provision.

With so much easy access to the internet, there’s now a tendency for consumers to research even the smallest thing. We know the feeling! It has become second nature, something automatic we do. It’s really important therefore that healthcare providers really set out to improve their engagement with their existing customers, potential customers and indeed their own team members.

Consumers today are evolving. Ever more tech savvy, they look for convenience and are value conscious. Two-thirds of people rate cost as their top factor when choosing where to seek care. It figures therefore that given the increasing user base, along with consumers looking for the lowest price possible, it is increasingly critical that as few resources as possible are wasted. So this is where the beauty of something around for nearly 30 years comes in – SMS, text messaging.

SMS really is everywhere: 5 billion people around the world have access to it. People just feel comfortable with it. Given 98% of SMS are read, it’s THE perfect channel to send appointment confirmations and reminder notifications. It’s now a genuine 2-way means for companies to be able to chat unobtrusively with people at their own convenience.

Using SMS decreases the occurrence of no-show appointments, which can make up well over 10% of appointments. It is estimated that the U.S. healthcare industry alone loses more than $150 billion every year to people simply not turning up. That is huge!

The number of prescriptions issued for pharmaceutical drugs globally is absolutely mind-boggling, with well north of 3 billion a year in the U.S. alone. If patients do not take their medication at the prescribed intervals, its effectiveness can be compromised. SMS is the perfect medium for not only reminding people when exactly to take their medication but also when to pick up their prescriptions and to let them know when one is coming to an end.

Gathering feedback from patients on the standards of healthcare received and their opinions on proposed service offering enhancements is a great way for providers to improve the services they offer. Again, the benefits of 2-way SMS come into play, allowing for the collection of this information quickly and easily.

Just as all good stories should have a beginning, middle and an end, the end of this one touches upon something even the most experienced mobile engagement professionals frequently overlook – the need to communicate effectively internally.

The healthcare industry is 24/7/365. SMS notifications are a particularly effective way to communicate in a high-pressure environment. Healthcare staff can be notified about staff meetings, shift changes, overtime availability and so much more.

Between the savings to the bottom line, the improvements patients receive and as a way to strengthen the provider-patient bond, turning to SMS has become an amazing channel for healthcare providers of any shape or size to optimize their business.

Intis Telecom has been in the Messaging business for 12 years. We know how important consumer trust is. Our SMS and chat app solutions make it genuinely easy for you to send your customers content rapidly and accurately. Our solution is reasonably priced, intuitive and allows you to get on with doing what you do best – treating your customers with exceptional care, as individuals.