PingMD App Review: Improving Communication in Healthcare

Sixty percent of patients are comfortable sharing health-related information in a digital format such as SMS. However, healthcare, pharma, and beauty companies often struggle to communicate with patients via digital technologies, resulting in poor engagement and retention. Service providers also need to be wary of ever-stringent data governance legislation such as HIPAA, which protects the disclosure of sensitive health information.

PingMD tries to solve these challenges. It’s primarily an app for healthcare providers that improves communication between patients and practitioners. However, pharma and beauty companies might also benefit from its features. PingMD supports HIPAA-compliant text messaging, allowing service providers to improve engagement while staying on the right side of the law.

But just how safe is PingMD? Does it improve communication in healthcare? And is it worth using in your organization? Here is a PingMD review with features, pros, cons, and user feedback.

PingMD, Explained

Neurosurgeon Dr. Gopal Chopra is the brain behind PingMD, a mobile app that lets healthcare providers communicate with patients via text. Chopra’s wife told him that some patients end up in the emergency department because they don’t retain critical healthcare information from their providers. In response, he created a new technology that would remove these communication barriers in healthcare.

“The problem with patient-provider communication isn’t that providers don’t know the best course of action for their patients,” he says. “It’s the communication system that’s broken.”

One of the biggest obstacles in healthcare is information exchange. Practitioners want to communicate with patients via text message, but data governance frameworks such as HIPAA make this process difficult. Providers can receive enormous fines for disclosing protected health information (PHI), so many healthcare organizations are reluctant to send text messages to patients. Plus, many cell phone providers use technologies that are not HIPAA-compliant.

PingMD utilizes a secure network for information exchange with an incredible range of security features. Practitioners can now send potentially life-saving communications via text message without violating HIPAA.

PingMD has proved particularly valuable during the COVID-19 pandemic when many service providers have implemented social distancing regulations in physical locations. Sending information via text reduces the number of patients in healthcare environments.

“We believe that PingMD is a game-changer for the COVID-19 pandemic and will save lives. It will become the paradigm for healthcare delivery in the future,” says the company. “We’d like to see PingMD in the hands of every medical provider to assist them in treatment, that’s why we’re making the PingMD technology absolutely free for the asking.”

How Does PingMD Improve Communication in Healthcare?

PingMD satisfies HIPPA regulations with the following features:

• Password protection
• Patient authentication
• Data encryption
• Automatic log out

PingMD stores PHI on its servers, providing an extra layer of security.

How Does PingMD Work?

Service providers and patients can download the PingMD app for free on Google Play or the App Store. All users can share messages, images, video, and audio clips about:

• Appointment reminders
• Diagnoses
• Treatments
• Follow-ups
• General health information

PingMD removes some of the challenges associated with patient communication. Service providers, for example, no longer have to worry about ‘phone tags’ — a phenomenon where two parties contact each other by phone, but neither is available to answer.

PingMD Pros

• Share health informationwith patients via a HIPAA-compliant mobile app.
• Save call costs by communicating with patients via text.
• Protect PHI with security features such as encryption, password protection, and automatic log out.
• Boost patient engagement and effective communication in healthcare.

PingMD Cons

• You have to pay a subscription to sync the app with electronic health records. (See next section.)
• Patients need to download the app to receive text communications.

How Much Does PingMD Cost?

PingMD is free to download on Google Play and the App Store. It’s also free to exchange information via text. Healthcare providers that want to integrate the app with their electronic medical records, however, will have to pay for a subscription. PingMD doesn’t disclose its subscription costs.

What Users Think

PingMD currently has an average user score of 4.7/5 on the App Store, making it one of the most popular health-related apps on the platform.

Here’s what some users think:

• “Great! This app is user-friendly and makes sharing healthcare information so much easier. Highly recommend!”
• “This app makes so much sense. Now I can hear back from my doctor quickly. I love this!”
• “This is simply an amazing app that allows us to communicate in a HIPPA-compliant, confidential manner. I have found it works great.”

The PingMD app has an average user score of 3.8/5 on Google Play. Here’s what some users think:

• “Good app. Works well. However, I wish you could delete pings from your clipboard that have already been dealt with. I have tens of thousands.”
• “This app has been helpful for my organization to communicate in a HIIPA-compliant and effective manner.”
• “I love the ability to easily reach my child’s pediatrician about non-critical topics without an office visit. This app is so wonderful for a first-time mom with a thousand questions. I’m glad our pediatrician is tech-savvy enough to see the immense value in this communication method!”

Final Verdict

A massive 97 percent of Americans use text messaging, with the average person spending 158 minutes on their smartphone every day. That makes SMS one of the most effective communication methods for health, pharma, and beauty companies.

Communicating with patients via text message, however, can be a challenge. Data governance legislation such as HIPAA stipulates large fines for organizations that don’t comply with its ever-changing standards. PingMD provides these companies with a solution, facilitating text communications between patients and practitioners. Even though users have to pay a fee to sync the app with electronic health records, PingMD could provide an ongoing return on investment, revolutionize patient engagement, and improve communication in healthcare.

Read more technology reviews on Intech.Media.