When was the last time you talked to your friend? Your mother? Your old college roommate? Now think—did you actually talk to them? In person or on the phone?

If you’re like most Americans, you probably conversed with them via text, email or social media. In fact, a recent Gallup poll finds that texting and email are the most frequently used forms of non-personal communication for adult Americans. So is a cellphone, because even when we do use a phone, it’s typically not a landline, the survey reveals.

For all Americans under age 50, the survey finds that texting is the most dominant form of communication.

Given these changes in our own everyday interactions, why does the healthcare industry insist on sticking with old forms of communication?

Healthcare needs to embrace email and text as the preferred and most efficient patient-provider communication methods, just as we have accepted—and really, expected—email and text communication in our daily lives.

Will you succeed or die in digital America?

That is the question the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) report, “Digital America: A Tale of the Haves and Have-Mores”, poses to all sectors of the American economy.

Looking at it through the lens of American healthcare—to tease out a road map for the business of healthcare—the report provides a compelling argument for aggressive hospital digitalization with the following key points:

How UbiCare Challenges Its Employees to Do Better for Our Company, Our Clients and the Community

There are many great benefits to working in a small, high-performing business. One is that each of us has the opportunity to have a big impact. 

UbiCare's annual "UbiInnovation Challenge" is an opportunity for employees to bring fresh ideas to the company. Open to all staff here, the competition invites employees to present their ideas for improving the company's products, processes, sales and marketing.

UbiCare's mission—"Making Us All Better"—is to improve the healthcare experience through targeted, educational health content and software technology that connects hospitals and their patients before, during and after a hospital stay or a significant health event. We work to improve our client hospitals’ staff experiences as much as we help patients take better care of themselves and have better outcomes.

Technology is pervasive in how we manage our day-to-day activities. 89% of adults in the U.S. report using the Internet or owning a smartphone. The vast majority of patients report that they want email communication with their physician.

How can you take advantage of this ubiquity in healthcare practice?