Virtual healthcare

This can include adding real-time chat, voice and video calling, push notifications, and chatbots to the mobile app. These capabilities enable a variety of features, such as appointment scheduling, reminders, video consultations, test results, and more. In-app communications add an important social layer to healthcare apps, enhancing service access and patient experiences in the increasingly digital landscape of healthcare.

Use cases for in-app communications in virtual healthcare

• In-app conversations: Care providers and patients can securely exchange messages in the app, discussing health concerns, treatment plants, and medications in one-to-one chats or group channels.

• Push notifications and alerts: Providers can deliver push notifications and in-app alerts to proactively notify patients of prescription refills, appointments, policy changes, cutoff dates, and other time-sensitive information.

• Telehealth: Providers can provide in-app video consultations to patients, enabling face-to-face communication and virtual assessments from the convenience and safety of a patient’s home.

• Appointment scheduling and reminders: Patients can book virtual and in-person appointments via in-app messages, and then receive in-app alerts and push notifications that remind them of upcoming visits. This reduces no-shows and improves health outcomes.

• Test results and refills: Patients can receive test results and medical monitoring in the mobile app. They can also request prescription refills in-app, reducing calls to and workload for pharmacy personnel.

• Billing and payments: Patients receive invoices and payment reminders via in-app messages and push notifications, streamlining the billing process.

• Feedback and surveys: Providers can solicit feedback from patients via in-app surveys and messaging, helping to improve services and outcomes.

• Data integration: Providers can deliver more personalized patient care by integrating data from disparate healthcare systems and tools using mobile communications webhooks.

Benefits of in-app communications platforms for virtual healthcare

• Personal care experiences: In-app communications allow providers to deliver personalized care and support to patients remotely, improving satisfaction, reducing wait times, and elevating the overall healthcare experience.

• Improved service access: Patients in underserved areas can access virtual healthcare options via the mobile app. This expands access to services, reduces no-shows, and boosts health outcomes in low-income, marginalized, and remote communities.

• HIPAA-compliant telehealth: In-app communications platforms offer encrypted messaging as part of their secure infrastructure. This ensures that patient data is transmitted securely, stays private, and meets HIPAA and other regulations.

• Better health outcomes: With greater access to tailored and convenient care options in the mobile app, patients are more likely to stay engaged with healthcare plans, medications, and therapies that require follow-through.

• Data integration: As providers shift from legacy systems to the cloud, they gain access to seamless data integration using webhooks. This software mechanism allows care systems and CRM tools to share data and deliver truly personalized care to all patients.

• Cost efficiency: In-app communications enable telehealth consultations and mobile messaging between patients, providers, and professionals, helping to reduce overhead.

• Cross-platform scalability: A reliable in-app communications platform can support 1 million concurrent connections and 500 million daily messages on any device or platform. This scalability allows a business to grow without re-coding its architecture.

• Faster development: In-app communications platforms offer software development kits (SDKs) and user interface (UI) kits that make it easy to build and customize mobile communications for any device or platform. These resources allow developers to quickly create a visually appealing app experience, without coding the UI from scratch.

In-app communications allow virtual healthcare providers to deliver efficient, accessible, patient-centric care using a range of in-app channels. To simplify the process of creating a visually consistent and appealing app experience, developers can use the cross-platform SDKs and UI kits from Sendbird and other leading in-app communications platforms.