Secure Communication 2016
Vendors Transitioning to Secure Communication Platforms

KLAS’ 2015 secure messaging report identified over 120 vendors that offer some sort of secure messaging system—a large number for healthcare organizations trying to find the solution that best meets their needs. This year’s report narrows the field considerably, honing in on those vendors most mentioned in KLAS’ provider interviews.

And yet the solutions offered by this narrower field still vary widely. To help healthcare organizations differentiate the various vendors, KLAS has divided them into “platform” and “standard” categories based on what functionality and interfaces, or building blocks (see graphic below), their customers report using today.

Voalte is the platform vendor with the most significant impact on care team communication and coordination. Primarily nurse focused, the solution’s strong alerting functionality improves nurse efficiency, care delivery, and patient outcomes. Feedback for PatientSafe Solutions is that the vendor’s existing clinical workflow modules (e.g., BPOC) and deep enterprise-wide deployment allow users to engage the full care team. TelmedIQ’s solution, designed specifically for enterprise communication, can easily interface with lab results and alarms. PerfectServe’s flexible system improves communication efficiency, though bidirectional communication issues can hinder impact. Cerner has low care team impact due to reliability and guidance challenges, Vocera due to limited deployments, and Extension and Spok due to both.

Some users just want a secure, easy, HIPAA-compliant way to send text messages and aren’t looking for more platform-like interfaces or use cases. Doc Halo excels at enabling users to communicate with people at outside organizations without a complicated sign-up process. Many Doc Halo customers previously relied on unsecured emails, pagers, or voicemails, so they are pleased to have a secure communication option. Uniphy Health’s and TigerText’s solutions allow clinicians to collaborate directly, improving care coordination. In contrast, Imprivata’s standard solution streamlines communication but has a limited impact due to a lack of automation . Customers feel communication requires too much manual intervention but remain optimistic that Imprivata will eventually develop the platform building blocks they need.

Spok’s and Extension Healthcare’s middleware helps drive adoption of alarm interfaces among their secure messaging customers. Wanting the ability to record alarms, customers have also pushed for and received EMR interfaces from Spok and Extension. Spok customers have low satisfaction with the interface quality, reporting dropped messages and high IT maintenance. Used by Cerner EMR clients, Cerner’s messaging product has strong integration with Cerner’s EMR and CareAware platform.

Standard vendors struggle to deliver the broad interfacing providers want for their secure messaging solutions. Many TigerText customers report that their tool doesn’t seem capable of interfacing with other systems. A handful of Doc Halo customers report being live with interfaces, but development is slow. Imprivata customers are optimistic about the future but have not seen many concrete developments yet. Uniphy Health customers have some interfaces for things like EMR data and lab results, but adoption is currently low.

The simplicity of the standard apps from Imprivata and TigerText allow them to be used for most types of text communication and are often used by clinicians and non-clinicians. TelmedIQ’s platform tool is used for billing and medical records communication. Early feedback for regional vendors Uniphy Health and Diagnotes shows that deep clinician and non-clinician adoption can be achieved. These vendors provide guidance and customization to meet needs.