The Four “T”s of Effective Patient Messaging (Part 4): Tempo

At this point in this blog series, we’ve talked about the first three of the “Four-T” s of messaging (Timing, Targeting and Tailoring).   Those all relate to finding the right patient, at the right time, and delivering the message in a way that will resonate with that individual –  all important facets to a quality messaging program.

The fourth and final “T” is more longitudinal and relates to how often you should (or shouldn’t) communicate with an individual.  Tempo is all about managing the flow of messages in a way that lets you optimize outcomes (whether they are cost-saving measures, quality improvement, or something else) but without “turning a patient off” by sending them too many messages in too short a time-period.

Message Fatigue occurs at that moment when an individual gets just one too many messages in the week or the month, and they say “enough”.  Once a patient requests a STOP on their message flow, it can be very difficult to get them back in the program.  Even if they don’t formally opt-out of your messaging program, Message Fatigue can result in them simply not “listening”  –  deleting messages on arrival.  The good news is that, with the right tools, Message Fatigue can easily be avoided.

There are other message limits to consider.  Specifically, there are message limits imposed in the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).  While the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) grants an exception in healthcare to the “prior express consent” requirement, it includes certain stipulations which among other things, limit messaging to a maximum of one message per day, and up to three per week, per recipient.  The patient can, of course, opt-in for higher volume messages but the TCPA limit is an important one to keep in mind.

We avoid Message Fatigue in various ways, though a successful program will ultimately need to have the ability to set certain message limits.  Think about the following strategies:

• Limit Repetition. Repetition is the enemy.  Sending the same message over and over is a sure-fire way to turn off a patient.  Limit repeat messages and reformat and reword similar messages to make them “new” and minimize friction for the recipient.
• Personalize. Impersonal or “bulk” messages are much more likely to turn off a patient.  The more contextualized the message is to the individual, the more it will resonate.  The more a recipient feels that the message is specifically for them, the more credibility the message has, and the less likely the patient is to ignore it.  (This was the third “T”!)
• Listen to the Patient. Let the patient set their own limits.  If they have the capability to set their own message thresholds, they are less likely to perceive messages as annoying due to volume.  Put some control in their hands.  In fact, they are likely to set a higher message limit for themselves than you would set for them.
• Coordinate. A lack of coordination can spell trouble.  If you have multiple departments in your organization all sending messages, it can be tough to track overall volumes, and easy to unintentionally exceed messaging limits.  You need an integrated solution if you intend to manage message flow.
• Set Limits –  Set the Tempo.  In the end, make sure you use a tool that lets you govern the flow of messages.  Put a “cap” on how many messages sent to a patient over a specific time-period.  Space messages out to establish a comfortable flow.  Prioritize messages to ensure that the more important ones (emerging health issues or larger cost savings opportunities) aren’t crowded out by less critical messages.

Having a tool that lets you easily track message activity and proactively restrict messaging to manageable flow is critical to a successful messaging program.  Can your messaging platform do that?  Ours can….please contact us to learn more!