Do your medical practice team members or providers yell across the clinic to get each other’s attention? Do you find them having loud or sensitive conversations within earshot of patients? This year, get your team in the habit of using internal messaging to communicate. 
Internal messaging platforms are great tools to keep your team organized and unified. They offer a variety of features that can be customized to meet your medical practice’s privacy needs. They keep all communication in one central location, so you won’t have to switch between chats or email threads, and messages will no longer get buried in someone’s inbox.
Internal Messaging Platforms
Our favorite medical practice messaging platforms are Slack and Rhinogram.
In Slack, you can create channels for different purposes. For example, you can establish a “planning” channel, where team members can discuss plans and brainstorm ideas, or a “daily recap” channel, where team members can share what they worked on the previous day and relay any issues or concerns. One of the most helpful features is the “reminder” option, which allows you to set a reminder for yourself or others on your team. You can also “star” a message to mark it as a priority, view file history, and access your team’s shared files, all within Slack.
Similarly, Rhinogram allows you to create channels for different objectives, such as a “personnel” channel where team members can chat about their personal lives or other non-work-related topics, or a “status updates” channel, where users can post to an assigned project. One of Rhinogram’s best features is the chat room. The chat room allows you to communicate with other users on your team who are simultaneously active on Rhinogram, providing you with real-time updates. As a user views certain channels or files in Rhinogram, they will be able to see changes as they occur. Rhinogram is also HIPAA compliant, ensuring that test results and other sensitive patient information are kept secure.
Get Your Medical Practice To Use Internal Messaging
Getting your team in the habit of using internal messaging can be tricky but ultimately worth it. Here are a few tips to help you get started:
- Make sure the platform you choose is easy to use and fits your team’s needs.
- Set up guidelines for how the platform should be used and ensure everyone is aware of them. We suggest adding them to your team member handbook.
- Encourage your team to use the platform regularly and reward them for doing so.
- Be patient— it may take some time for your team to get accustomed to using internal messaging, but it will be worth it in the long run.
Sharing patient information out loud is a thing of the past— instead, get your team on board with using internal messaging to communicate. Internal messaging platforms level up your team’s organization, professionalism, and communication, and most importantly, ensure the security of your patients’ private information.