You’ve been leading the charge toward HIPAA-compliant secure texting. But there is a long road between deciding to implement a solution and successfully rolling one out. No matter where you are in the process, there are 5 best practices to help you keep your momentum.
There are many benefits to secure texting. But what are the main objectives for your organization? What factors are you trying to impact? For most organizations, goals include one or more of the following:
HIPAA regulations are certainly the primary reason organizations seek a secure texting solution. But it helps to document the specific risks you are looking to mitigate. For instance:
Successful communication is often a key factor in both reducing costs and improving patient outcomes. Documenting the details transforms this from a general goal into actionable (and measurable) objectives:
Over the course of the implementation process, you will be asked more than once to define the ROI (return on investment) for the proposed solutions. Prepare for these conversations by outlining the direct and indirect costs that will be impacted:
Once you have documented and detailed all your goals, it’s time to craft your “key message.” This is a short statement that clearly explains these goals (or the top priorities if there are many) in a conversational way. This will be your “go to” message or “pitch” as you talk to people about this project. Don’t forget to include the “why” — people are more likely to accept change when they understand the need for it.
If you haven’t already done so, you need to run your secure texting service of choice through some checks and balances to make sure it will work for your entire organization. Bring together a small team of decision makers to validate the solutions from several perspectives, including:
It’s tempting to want to limit your conversations and meetings about your solution to get it off the ground more quickly (or so you think). But nothing delays an implementation longer than an unforeseen requirement or resistance from cross-functional teams. Taking the time at the start of your project to get the right people on board is actually the best way to ensure an on-time and successful rollout. This process can also help you lay the foundation of your implementation plan, by getting opinions on factors such as:
Your secure texting policy needs to cover things like:
IT teams are often used to rolling out backend solutions or changes that few people will notice or care about. This is NOT one of those solutions. Texting is personal, it’s social and everyone will be talking about it. So make sure the rollout of secure texting is successful by super-charging your implementation plan.
What date you choose is not nearly as important as the fact that you pick one, communicate it and stick to it. You will need this information every step of the way because once people understand “what” and “why,” their next question will be “when.”
Of course, choosing a good date is also important. If 30% of your staff will be off for a holiday or one of your locations is in the middle of an EMR implementation, it’s probably best to plan your rollout around these factors.
Consider whether to roll out group-by-group or organization-wide. Either way, it’s best to first complete a “pilot” rollout to one small group as a learning experience. Then proceed with either a phased or organization-wide rollout.
Every organization has “super-users” – people who adopt new technology more quickly or use it more frequently or comprehensively than others. Figuring out how to tap into that natural resource can make your rollout more smooth and successful.
Your implementation plan should start with those “super-users.” Get them online first and use their feedback to improve your communication and training plan. Plus, enlist their help during rollout – either directly as trainers or indirectly as early adopters and influencers.
The single biggest mistake organizations make in rolling out their securing texting solution is starting the communication process too late. The earlier you let people in one your plans the better. And you don’t have to wait until you have the whole implementation plan buttoned up. Here are some tips for crafting the right message for each phase of your rollout:
Chances are, you are not the only organization in town needing secure texting. Users from your organization probably need to communicate with people in those other practices, testing centers and hospitals. With qliqSOFT, your entire healthcare community can be connected. If those external organizations already use qliqSOFT, the two can be linked so that users of both organizations can message each other. Otherwise, you can easily invite these external groups and individuals to set up a qliqSOFT account and connect with you.
The messages are still secure, HIPAA compliant and adhere to the policies and procedures of the user’s own organizations. The ability to communicate across groups can enhance adoption rates for both organizations by allowing users to do more with their messaging solution.