Coronavirus Symptom Checker Bot

Posted on by marketing

Bot answering questions from four different people

 

Help people determine their Coronavirus symptoms and risk with chatbots. The beauty of chatbots is their levels of customization and uptime. This is particularly helpful when diagnosing rapidly changing scenarios. We created a ready-to-use Coronavirus Symptom Checker bot designed to support healthcare organizations around the world to reduce Coronavirus impact. In times where human resources are extremely valuable, software platforms, automation, and SMS messaging can make a difference. Chatbots can work independently, delivering high-quality care to identify Coronavirus symptoms and provide further assistance. If patients require further care, the Coronavirus Symptom Checker bot will leverage human chat teams for clinical follow-up.

Stay connected while staying apart


Chatbots and live chat options provide critical support when it comes to identifying symptoms. Both solutions allow individuals to stay home. Whether mandatory or not, quarantine is happening across the globe. People cannot or do not want to leave their homes. Getting critical healthcare should be a non-negotiable.

People are turning to the web for answers. Connect with patients where they already are, and provide assistance to those who may feel vulnerable. The Coronavirus Symptom Checker bot also allows patients who are not at the highest risk to stay home, reserving much-needed hospital capacity for those most in need. 

Time is of the essence when it comes to Coronavirus symptoms. That’s why the Symptom Checker bot comes complete with questions poised to identify potential risks. Provide peace-of-mind, escalate cases, and help people identify Coronavirus symptoms and risks, all online.

Evolve quickly with tailor-made solutions

The healthcare industry has had an influx of patient inquiries due to the Coronavirus. At times when human capital is extremely valuable and time is of the essence, automation is vital. Manage requests quickly and effectively with the use of the SnapEngage COVID-19 Symptom Checker bot. The Coronavirus Symptom Checker bot is designed to: 

  • Virtually ask patients about symptoms, ensuring patients do not have to leave the house
  • Automate the patient process, allowing healthcare professionals to stay hyper-focused on most significant tasks 
  • Escalate patients to a healthcare professional as needed
  • Immediately make an impact, with a 30 minute onboarding 

Pivot quickly with Coronavirus Symptom Checker bot

Technology solutions, including the COVID-19 Symptom Checker bot, are designed with flexibility in mind. Utilize all resources at your disposal to ensure human capital is being tasked with only the most important duties. 

Mold the Symptom Checker bot to tailor to any health condition with customized messaging and routing options. Most importantly, enjoy assistance on set-up and automation creation. Utilize SnapEngage professional services and onboarding assistance to create a personalized and innovative chatbot experience that will provide the most value to patients.

Customized solutions with Professional Services

Technology serves high-quality information

SnapEngage partner, XSELL Technologies is focused on delivering support during the COVID-19 outbreak.

“XSELL Technologies understands the challenges many businesses are facing right now and stands ready to assist. XSELL is able to partner with businesses to rapidly deploy online specialist augmentation, empowering organizations to engage with customers to distribute and disseminate more accurate information consistently to people.”

~ Kathy Cambridge, Vice President, Client Success, XSELL Technologies

As the number of cases increases, so will the need for Coronavirus symptom checks. Automated screening tools, like the Symptom Checker bot, enable the healthcare industry to reserve human capacity and resources for those in need of immediate care.

The situation is quickly evolving. Stay tuned for continuous innovations, and stay safe. Contact SnapEngage to learn how we can help your business reduce the impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) and easily identify Coronavirus symptoms.

Implement a Symptom Checker bot today

Release Notes April 17: Guide Bot Button support for Facebook & SMS channels, Widget Distribution Feature

Posted on by Niki Finegan

 

Updates

  • The Guide Bot button option is now supported with our Facebook and SMS channel integrations. In the SMS channel the user will be prompted to indicate their choice with a number: ”(1) sales (2) support” etc.
    Find out more about the Guide Bot Beta here.

  • We have released the new Widget Distribution feature from the closed Beta stage with an improved UI.
    The Widget Distribution tool allows you to have an origin widget installed on your site and use it as a funnel to distribute chats to other widgets.
  • Bot API: There is now an option to add a “button ID” to the buttons in the visitor chat box.
  • We have added Co-Browse feature specific messages to the ‘configure messages’ section so these can be customized or translated.
  • When the option to ‘Require sign in to view support request’ is enabled, chat agents configured in the widget can now view these transcripts as well, not just administrators.
  • We have improved the ‘Is Typing’ notification for all bots at the beginning of the chat, so the notification shows faster before the routing/assignment process.

Resolved Issues

  • Addressed a potential security issue, where an internal configuration endpoint could have been used by a logged in user to view the widget configuration of a different account.
  • Guide Bot: Fixed an issue when the guide bot proactive invite included a widget transfer button option
  • Bot API: Fixed an issue with the bot button message ID not being set correctly.
  • Hub: Fixed an issue where the ‘Agent Links’ section sometimes did not update when toggling between chats.
  • Fixed an issue where the chat case data was removed, when the option to ‘delete case data after it has been sent to the integration’ was enabled but sending the case to the integration failed.
  • Fixed an issue with the sub-admin permissions configuration: When the “Shortcuts” tab permission was set, the “Widget Distribution” feature was visible.
  • Fixed an issue with the Zendesk integration when a subdomain redirect is in place on the Zendesk app.
  • Fixed an issue where when “Notify all agents of each incoming chat” was enabled, agents who missed a proactive invite did not get auto-paused

Deprecation Notice

  • We are sunsetting the ‘Intelligent Pre-Chat’ feature going forward in favour of a new improved feature. This option will be announced soon. We will maintain support for current users of the intelligent pre-chat for the time being.
  • We have removed the Desk.com and UserVoice knowledge base integrations after the discontinuation of these tools.

Remote Work | 5 Ways SnapEngagers Stay Productive And Connected

Posted on by marketing

Company photograph

Written by guest author Savanah Eichfeld (Director of Talent at SnapEngage).

Required social distancing has redefined remote work. For some it’s a fairly easy transition and for others it’s requiring total transformation. Regardless, most of us are asking ourselves how we continue to crush it every day with wildly new conditions. SnapEngage has been a global organization from the very beginning. We’ve learned a lot about remote work along the way and would like to share some of those lessons with the world!

 

What does remote work look like at SnapEngage?

Two former software engineers named Jerome founded SnapEngage ten years ago. One Jerome lived in Boulder, CO and the other Jerome lived in Berlin, Germany, so SnapEngage began life as a fully distributed organization. Since those early days, we’ve operated on a partial remote schedule. Up until recently, this has meant that twice a week, most of us worked remotely. This has allowed us to take full advantage of our in office days while still allowing for the flexibility and focus that working from home provides. It also supports and enhances the foundational pillars that make SnapEngage special: trust, tools, transparency, virtual connection, and purpose. 

1. We focus on outcomes

Like we said, everyone gets to work from home. Trust is a key part of how we work from day one. We focus on the what, not the how, and encourage creativity and innovation. We set clear goals, discuss them frequently, and each one of our team members has specific measurables they are accountable for. In fact, remote work – even partial remote schedules – forces us to do this. It allows us to work seamlessly together without needing to be physically present in an office.  

2. We write things down

Today there are lots  of online tools that make lots of promises. At SnapEngage, we optimize productivity by ensuring we use the right tools for the job(s) at hand. There is process and accountability for subscribing to new tools so that we understand the problems we’re trying to solve before selecting the tools to address them.   We have a document-first mentality, recognizing that information not shared is information lost.  We have a process playbook, published meetings notes, and wiki resources. We have video technology that we all have access to and use exclusively (we do not use phones for internal communication at all). Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we use our Team Chat tool to communicate quickly and seamlessly on individual, group, team, and companywide levels. The changes in the environment might mean you are working differently or remotely. Team chat is included in every SnapEngage plan and we use it ourselves to stay connected.  

Building a chat support team? Tips from the SnapEngage Director of Client Success.

3. We are Open Book

We’re a small team that often feels like a family. Families share things! Our co-founders implemented an open book policy long ago, operating on a foundation of over communication and transparency. We give context, invite input and collaboration, and keep doors open. This constant communication, abundance of sharing, and real transparency helps us feel closer to each other and to the goals of the business, despite being apart.  

4. We celebrate virtually 

Historically, office events and celebrations were typically held on in-office days, however we’re well practiced at celebrating together from afar. Each quarter, both offices get together for our Quarterly Celebration. We celebrate milestones and goals achieved, recognize promotions, reflect back on fun events, and discuss exciting new initiatives for the next quarter. We enjoy refreshments in our respective locations but also get to see and hear each others’ questions and updates over video. We even use a community board to share kudos and fun life events and updates throughout the day. Between our Berlin and Boulder timezone, it’s rarely quiet. 

Now that we’re all remote all the time, we’re determined to continue the pattern of bonding and team building. Our recent initiative, “RemoteEngage” takes after our tradition of “WalkEngage” and creates an opportunity for chit chat, relationship building, and even Q&A despite the fact we can’t just ask that nagging question as we pass by a co-worker’s desk.  It’s a time to chat, enjoy coffee together, raise questions, or just listen in. As close to a casual walk as we can get.

5. We believe in what we’re doing

Finally, everyone at SnapEngage steps into their role each morning with a clear understanding of what our product is, how it serves the world, and how their role makes an impact. Now, more than ever, we see opportunities to help other organizations everywhere weather this storm and continue to operate under new conditions. It motivates us, enables us, and keeps us unified and working together, despite a new absence of social energy in our daily lives. We rapidly released the COVID-19 Symptom Checker bot to help our healthcare clients scale as quickly as possible. Our support team is also online and ready to assist clients 20+ hours of the day. 

We’re continuing to find creative ways to stay connected and use the tools we have to the best of our ability. Do you have ideas on how to effectively work remotely? Send them to us at [email protected]!

About the Author: My name is Savanah and I am the Director of Talent here at SnapEngage. I am passionate about thoughtful leadership and creating an exceptional employee experience. I believe that happy, engaged people make good companies great.

Consult with a solution specialist today

How To Reduce Coronavirus Business Impact

Posted on by suzanneleigh

Coronavirus business impact has been swift, affecting all aspects of business operations. The downstream effects of this viral outbreak is sweeping across the globe. In most industries, budgets are tightening, and ways of working are changing fast. Every day thousands of businesses are banning travel and directing employees to work remotely. The right technology solutions can help businesses stay connected during uncertain times.

Outside of travel and restaurants, other verticals hit particularly hard by Coronavirus (COVID-19) include General Corporate, Healthcare, and Government. These verticals are experiencing a tsunami of requests. An unprecedented number of calls and emails are inundating companies.

How business is adapting to limits on physical presence

Rotating gif showing the Symptom Checker bot actionsBusinesses are experiencing a significant increase in calls and emails from customers, patients, and citizens. Many businesses aren’t able to respond to incoming requests in a timely fashion. In addition, employees are being directed to work from home.

An intelligent mix of live chat and automation, like the SnapEngage COVID-19 Symptom Checker bot, is helping over-burdened staff address customer and employee concerns, thereby stemming Coronavirus business impact.

Moneypenny, a leading answering service in the UK and US serving over 50,000 businesses, has already seen the impact of Coronavirus on their clients. According to Joanna Swash, its Chief Executive Officer, clients are preparing to close offices and work remotely, and they are turning to Moneypenny for help with remote operations and agents.

“Coronavirus is forcing us to change the way we work at an unprecedented rate. With businesses making preparations to operate remotely, chat offers a flexible, real-time method for high volume communication. In fact, it’s ideal for homeworking because it’s cloud based, multiple team members can manage chats and the chat box can be hidden whenever they’re not available.” ~ Joanna Swash, CEO at Moneypenny

In recent months Moneypenny has experienced a 33% increase in chat volume and Coronavirus is now accelerating this trend. More and more businesses are also approaching Moneypenny for help with business continuity preparations – keeping customers away from telephone switchboards and instead triaging their questions quickly online. Swash believes this trend will continue, even after Coronavirus (COVID-19) stabilizes.

More government agencies are using live chat

Local and national government agencies are rapidly going through contingency planning exercises in light of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Their strategies are leading to changes in the way they operate. Government agencies are using live chat to handle increased inquiries from the public. Rather than coming into crowded government offices, these agencies are encouraging citizens to ask tax, utility, health, and other questions directly over chat.

“I have today asked our IT department to raise an order for additional live chat technology to allow us to expand our chat offering and flex some of our working arrangements.” ~ UK Public Sector Organization

Healthcare is leaning on tech to slow Coronavirus impact

There is no doubt that the impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) on healthcare is unprecedented. Hospitals and healthcare clinics are already challenged. The time factor with Coronavirus, especially for vulnerable patients, goes from general concern to life-threatening very quickly. Many healthcare providers are using live chat and bots to assist with rapid response triage, while building patient trust at the same time.

Triage: understand a patient’s situation before making an appointment

Automation and live chat can help providers quickly determine which patients need help right away, and which can wait. With SnapEngage, providers can create automated Pre-Chat and Proactive Chat dialogues that anticipate clients’ needs in this trying time and stretch the customer service ability of business staff.

Deaconess, a leading health system in the Evansville, Indiana, uses the SnapEngage proactive and Chatbot API features to offer a Coronavirus Symptom Checker. The chatbot offers a sequence of questions and answers to help patients understand their options.

“The ability to quickly identify patients in need of urgent medical care is more important than ever. The SnapEngage Guide Bot and other automation features can save healthcare staff significant time by answering common questions up-front.” ~ Sofia Rossato, CEO at SnapEngage

Trust: protect patients with HIPAA compliant chat

There are many live chat solutions on the market. Most are not HIPAA compliant. In a time of crisis, healthcare providers must answer questions quickly. It is frustrating for a patient with symptoms to be told that they cannot share personal information over chat.

SnapEngage was the world’s first HIPAA compliant chat platform. Patients can share personal information and rest assured that their data will be protected. Patients and staff can feel comfortable knowing that the communication channel is safe. Healthcare providers are increasing their use of HIPAA compliant chat to improve the patient journey, patient loyalty, and time to resolution.

“In the current climate, people need reassurance and the quickest way to give them that is by being available – from anywhere, at any time. Live chat is a product of our ‘always on’ world and now it’s facilitating continuous communication to keep people safe and informed. I’d urge any business to assess their current provision and act now.” ~ Joanna Swash, CEO at Moneypenny

How to scale communication during a pandemic

Businesses that can address customers’ needs the quickest in times of uncertainty will secure brand loyalty for years to come. Overloaded customer service staff manning the phones and emails simply won’t be able to scale. Many companies will experience a reduction in staff due to school closures, lack of home support, quarantines, and, unfortunately, illness.

Try these strategies for reducing the Coronavirus business impact. That means lowering time-to-resolution and scaling your support operations quickly.

  • Automate important messages with Proactive Chat
  • Guide visitors to the right location on your website quickly using Guide Bot
  • Outsource live chat agents with trusted partners like Moneypenny

Bonus: a quick way to stretch communications systems

How can you address your potential staff shortages? Here’s a quick change you can make today: include an option to chat in all of your emails for quicker support.

Contact SnapEngage to learn how we can help your business reduce the impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19). Access the Help Center for detailed tips and tricks.

 

Contact us to see how we can help your business

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Anticipate Patient Needs with HIPAA-Compliant Live Chat to Gain Trust

Posted on by suzanneleigh

Adopt Live Chat and Foster Loyalty

The patient journey doesn’t begin and end with an office visit. Ongoing care means accessible and effective communication. Adopt Live Chat to anticipate patients’ needs and personalize their experience.   

The core of patients’ needs lie in being understood. When your patients believe you’re familiar with their needs, you’ve won half the battle. Live Chat allows your agents to see what patients are typing before they submit their request.

Solidify loyalty by providing patients with options that respond to their situation. When you enable patients to connect with your agents online or by phone — without exiting the chat — you assure them that their needs will be met. 

Allowing patients an easy way to connect with the same agent gives them a sense of ease. They trust that you know who they are. Patient trust and loyalty are the driver for retention and growth.

Anticipate patients’ needs and respond in real time

Goal:
  • Connect with more patients more often to build trust and loyalty.
Why:
  • Build long-term loyal relationships with your patients to drive greater use of your products and services.
How:
  • Reward returning visitors or patients with personalized messaging. 
  • Answer their questions faster by seeing what they type before they submit their request. 
  • Give patients the option to call the same agent directly from within the chat.

 

Adoption toolkit 

By adopting these HIPAA compliant chat tools, you can provide patients with an exceptional experience.

  1. Collect information beforehand with a Pre-Chat form. The form is extremely customizable. You can maximize the patient experience by collecting critical information before the chat begins. Eliminate misrouted calls and patient frustration. Give patients the option to skip the form and reduce patient wait times with Proactive Chat.
  2. Give your agents a heads up with Sneak Peak. Your team can respond more precisely if they can see what patients are typing before they hit send. Patients will see “…” while your agents are typing. If an answer takes longer than 60 seconds, you can auto-inform patients that an answer is in the works with Shortcut.
  3. Resolve complex issues quickly with the Call Me feature. Enable Call Me to allow patients to speak with your agents on the phone or online with a headset (speakers/mic) without closing the chat. Unlimited calls are allowed. Patients feel heard and agents can resolve problems quicker. 

Tools for success recap

Collect key information before starting a chat with a Pre-Chat Form
…but don’t require the form if they are about to leave  with Proactive Chat
Reduce patient wait times with Sneak Peek
Resolve complex issues quickly with the Call Me feature

 

Sample workflow

Adopt your Live Chat toolkit to build loyalty

SnapEngage offers a suite of HIPAA-compliant professional service packages designed to increase organizational efficiency, answer queries faster, and gain a larger presence with patients. 

Staff and physicians spend less time searching for patient data and routing calls. Patients are safe from being trapped in the accidental run around. 

The goal? Remove all patient obstacles in a less work intensive way. With chat support it’s quicker, easier, and more accessible.

 

Scale your business (not your costs) with HIPAA-compliant live chat

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What Happens in a HIPAA Violation?

Posted on by suzanneleigh

Understanding What Happens in a HIPAA Violation Can Protect You

The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) reviews thousands of HIPAA cases every year. In 2018, companies in violation of HIPAA were fined $28.7 million. It’s essential that organizations understand what happens in a HIPAA violation so that they can avoid being fined. Here are some of the reasons those companies had to pay HIPAA fines.

  • An unencrypted laptop storing ePHI was stolen from an employee’s residence
  • An employee lost some unencrypted USB drives storing ePHI
  • ePHI wasn’t encrypted on enterprise-wide systems
  • A hospital allowed filming onsite without obtaining authorization from patients
  • A doctor disclosed PHI to a news reporter
  • A company didn’t have a business associate agreement in place with a vendor 
  • A company didn’t make sure its vendor was in compliance — it held unsecured ePHI in a web-based system 
  • A company failed to properly respond to a patient’s request to send their ePHI to a third party

All of these violations could have been avoided by practicing periodic HIPAA risk assessments and compliance reviews to check possible points of failure in tech, employees, and business practices

Can anyone file a HIPAA complaint against you?

 

No matter how compliant you are, anyone can submit a HIPAA complaint against you, whether you have violated HIPAA or not. The OCR. makes it easy for anyone to submit a HIPAA complaint with just a few clicks. Complaints can be filed online with the OCR directly, or with your own Compliance Officer. This isn’t meant to shock you, but to give you a sobering look at what to expect. If you know what happens in a HIPAA violation, you can be prepared.

What happens when HIPAA receives a complaint?

 

When the OCR receives a complaint, they review it according to the HIPAA Enforcement Rule to ascertain whether it violated the Security or Privacy rule, or whether any criminal activity was involved. If the complaint wasn’t filed within 180 days of the alleged violation or OCR believes the complaint didn’t violate any rules, it’s dismissed. 

If criminal activity is detected in violation of the criminal provision of HIPAA (42 U.S.C. 1320d-6), the OCR will refer the complaint to the Department of Justice for investigation. If there is no criminal activity but a possible violation of the Security or Privacy rule, then the OCR will open an investigation.

What happens in a HIPAA violation investigation?

 

If the OCR decides to investigate a HIPAA complaint, it will contact the company named in the complaint and the person who filed the complaint. At this point, the OCR will gather evidence from both parties. They will ask you for a copy of your company’s policies and procedures, risk assessment history, and any other HIPAA compliance review material that may be relevant. This is where you can nip complaints in the bud if you are prepared.

The OCR will review the information and determine whether or not the Privacy or Security rule was violated. If the OCR doesn’t find any violations of the HIPAA rules, it resolves the case. If it sees evidence of noncompliance, it takes action in one or more of the following ways:

  • Voluntary compliance;
  • Corrective action; and/or
  • Resolution agreement.

What is voluntary compliance?

In many cases, the company knows what went wrong by the time the OCR has contacted it or at least learns what went wrong. It’s not uncommon for a company and its business associates to fix the problem while the investigation is ongoing. The OCR will even offer technical assistance if needed. 

What is corrective action?

Cases that require corrective action can sometimes take years to investigate, depending on their complexity. The company or business associate will have to make corrections to their HIPAA Privacy and Security policies, procedures, safeguards, and training. Corrective action often comes with a Resolution Agreement. 

How does a Resolution Agreement work?

A Resolution Agreement is a signed agreement between a non-compliant company or business associate and the HHS. The agreement can impose a fine and require monitoring from one to three years — the company has to make periodic reports to the HHS.

 

An example of a basic HIPAA Violation that cost an SME $85,000

 

Company:  Korunda Medical is a healthcare company that offers primary care and pain management to approximately 2,000 patients annually. It has a central office, five satellite offices, two primary care physicians, and five interventional pain physicians.

 

What happened?  A patient asked Korunda several times to forward his or her records to a third party in a particular electronic format. 

 

What did Korunda do wrong?  Korunda dragged its feet on the request, charged more than the reasonably cost-based fees allowed under HIPAA, and didn’t provide the records in the requested electronic format.
 

What rule did Korunda violate? Individuals’ Right under HIPAA to Access their Health Information 45 C.F.R. § 164.524


What action was taken? Initially, the OCR provided technical assistance to Korunda to teach them how they were supposed to respond to the request — and closed the case. 

 

Why did Korunda get fined? The OCR received a second complaint about the same thing four days after it had provided the technical assistance to Korunda.

 

How was the case resolved? Korunda entered into a Resolution Agreement requiring an $85,000 fee and one year of a monitored Corrective Action Plan during which Karunda was ordered to:

  1. Revise policies and procedures within 30 days and prove it. 
  2. Create and present training materials within 60 days. 
  3. Submit a list of all the patient requests for PHI, the dates, particulars, and the cost every 90 days.
  4. Report any employee who failed to comply within 30 days.
  5. Submit an Implementation Report summarizing progress within 120 days.
  6. File an Annual Report within 60 days of the close of the one-year monitoring period.

How much are the fines for HIPAA compliance violations?

 

Most Privacy and Security Rule investigations are resolved informally with technical assistance or Resolution Agreements. If the OCR decides to impose a civil money penalty (CMP), companies can either pay the penalty or request a hearing with an HHS judge if they disagree. If the judge rules that the fine is justified, companies can then appeal to the HHS appeals board within 30 days.

HIPAA has four levels of fines depending on the severity of the violation. Penalties can be imposed each year, every year, for each violation category. Violations that involve willful neglect (Levels 3 and 4 can lead to criminal charges.) 

  1. Had no idea they violated HIPAA violation. 

$100-$50K per violation. $25K max per year. 

2. There is reasonable cause to believe they knew they violated HIPAA. 

$1K – $50K per violation. $100K max per year. 

3. Showed willful neglect of HIPAA rules but corrected the violation within 30 days.

$10K-$50K per violation. $250K max per year. 

4. Showed willful neglect of HIPAA rules and failed to correct the violation within 30 days.

$50k per violation. $1.5M max per year. 

 

What’s the best way to avoid a HIPAA fine?

 

Your best defense against HIPAA enforcement and fines is to assume that you’ll have a HIPAA complaint filed against you at some point. Why? Because a HIPAA complaint opens the door to an audit where additional violations could be discovered.

Even if the original complaint ends up being false, the ensuing investigation and audit could uncover other HIPAA violations resulting in fines. Organizations that are merely box-checking for compliance could get in deep trouble here.

By assuming that you could be audited at any time, you’re more likely to stay on top of your HIPAA compliance reviews with periodic risk assessments. It’s better if you find all of your possible points of failure by exploring what happens in a HIPAA violation, and correct them yourself before an OCR auditor does.

 

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New Patient Acquisition With Conversational Technology

Posted on by marketing

Live chat and healthcare

Chat is becoming a preferred communication method for patients in healthcare. In many cases, HIPAA-compliant chat is the best real-time communication option for patients in cases where privacy, speed and convenience are critical.

The name of the game: increase your pool of new clients quickly.

But you’re busy. Quick wins are often the best option.

Live chat doesn’t have to take weeks of time to enable on your website. In fact, some healthcare clients are up and running in as little as 3 business days. Give patients the immediacy they deserve and are already familiar with, and start chatting today.

 

Getting started with conversational technology

  • Goal: Increase new patient appointments
  • Why: To become a more sustainable business by boosting engagement with new website visitors
  • How: Engage your website traffic!
 

Quickstarter toolkit 

We recommend having a few handy tools in your toolkit, some of which you may already have. 

1. Professionally represent your practice with your own team members. Your team are the experts. Showcase your expertise across all patient communications, and provide a personal and delightful website experience the first time.

2. Streamline the new patient process with Proactive chat.

If live chat is a medical bag, then proactive chat is the stethoscope. Or the thermometer. It’s the tool you can get the most bang for your buck with, the one you use most often.

That’s because proactive chat allows you to customize messages to proactively trigger to website visitors. Do more than chat with site visitors, engage them at the right time and place with targeted messaging.

3. Customize and unify all conversations with Shortcuts.

Shortcuts provide an instant library of quick chat messages for chat agents to use. Shortcuts reduce response time so you can spend more time helping site visitors ultimately schedule an appointment.

Bonus: a common use case for shortcuts is as a frequently asked questions (FAQ) tool. 

 

Sample workflow

sample workflow

Build your live chat toolkit

 

Start communicating with more patients today. Conversational technology is no longer just an option, it’s a necessity. Patient trust and confidence are of the utmost importance. Show patients and site visitors alike that you care about them. We at SnapEngage believe in the power of conversations. If you don’t have live chat already, now is the time.

Transform your practice with HIPAA-compliant conversational technology

How SOC 2 Reports Ensure Cloud-based Data Security

Posted on by suzanneleigh
Business today means cloud-based data processing. Companies that outsource to SaaS cloud-based service providers need to make sure that their integrity is maintained throughout their entire data supply chain. In this era of increased data privacy legislation, if your service provider isn’t compliant, you can be held liable and risk damage to your brand. 

SOC 2 audit reports were designed for business associates such as IT-enabled SaaS and cloud computing service providers that store data in the cloud. They are internally facing audits conducted by an external SOC 2 Auditor. 

SOC 2 is not a regulation like HIPAA, GDPR, or CCPA, and isn’t required for SaaS or cloud vendors. However, for companies that handle electronic personal health information (ePHI) —or any other personal data — SOC 2 is a data best practice. It ensures that a business associate’s data privacy and security policies are in alignment with a company’s data privacy regulations and can be adapted for service providers that need to comply with multiple regulations. 

What is SOC?

Companies that outsource to vendors must make sure that they choose vendors who have effective internal controls. These standards are known as SOC or Service Organization Control. 

SOC for service providers are audit reports performed by an independent auditor that prove vendors meet the requirements of the companies that do business with them. There are three types of SOC reports SOC 1, SOC 2, and SOC 3. They are not upgrades of each other but different kinds of reports. 

SOC 1 focuses on a service provider’s financial reporting, whereas SOC 2 and SOC 3 both scrutinize a vendor’s security and data protection. The difference between SOC 2 and SOC 3 is restricted use. A SOC 3 report can be openly distributed, but a SOC 2 report is internal and limited to the vendor and the company requesting it from the vendor.

Today, any company that stores customer data in the cloud should strive to meet SOC 2 requirements to minimize the risk of unauthorized exposure and liability. 

What is SOC 2 Compliance?

The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) designed SOC 2 for outsourced IT-enabled SaaS and cloud computing service providers that handle a company’s data. At its core, SOC 2 is primarily an auditing procedure that ensures SaaS and cloud-computing providers securely manage data to protect both the privacy of a business’s clients and its interests. 

But SOC 2 is more than just a technical audit. It also establishes strict criteria that vendors must comply with to properly and securely manage customer data following five Trust Service Principles — security, availability, processing, integrity, confidentiality, and privacy. 

What are the five Trust Service Principles of SOC 2?

SOC 2 audit reports ensure that companies maintain internal corporate governance, risk management, and regulatory oversight by requiring their service providers to manage data according to these five Trust Service Principles.

1. The Security Principal

Security means the protection of data during its collection, use, processing, transmission, and storage. It also means the protection of the systems that process, transmit, and store the information which allow the primary organization to meet its goals. 

Security can include access controls, network and web application firewalls, two-factor authentication, and intrusion detection to protect data and the data systems against abuse, theft, misuse, breaches, and any other unauthorized access of data and systems.

2. The Availability Principal

Availability refers to the accessibility of the systems, data, services, and products as outlined in the service level agreement (SLA) with a company to manage its daily business processes. 

The availability principle isn’t focused on functionality and usability, but rather on the systems themselves, such as controls to support accessibility for operations and monitoring network performance. For example, a backup site failover plan, should any incident occur that impedes the availability of systems, would be governed by the availability principal.

3. The Processing Integrity Principle

The processing integrity principle has to do with whether a system is doing its job by processing data that is complete, valid, accurate, timely, and authorized. Processing integrity is more concerned with the processing behavior itself rather than the integrity of the data. However, systems should function free of error, delay, omission, and any unauthorized or accidental manipulation of data.

4. The Confidentiality Principle

The confidentiality principle governs a company’s ability to protect its confidential information throughout the data lifecycle until the data’s removal. Confidentiality is not the same as privacy in that privacy deals with personal information. In contrast, confidentiality — while it can include personal information — is intended for information that a company needs to control, such as intellectual property. 

Confidential requirements included in contracts or legal clauses would also fit under the umbrella of the confidentiality principle. Other information might be trade secrets, proprietary information, business plans, or sensitive financial information. Protections under this principle may involve encryption, firewalls, access controls, and any other safeguards for information processed or stored on systems.

5. The Privacy Principle

The privacy principle focuses entirely on personal information that is collected, used, stored, disclosed, and disposed of in line with a company’s objectives and privacy policies. 

Personal information is any information that can identify an individual. Personal information can include a name, home or email address, ID numbers, physical characteristics, purchase history, medical or health history, financial information, IP addresses, or biometric identifiers, and other identity indicators. Electronic personal health information (ePHI), as outlined by HIPAA, would fall under the privacy principle.

The SOC 2 privacy principle follows the criteria established by the Generally Accepted Privacy Principles (GAPP). The GAPP consists of ten privacy principles that manage and prevent privacy risks. 

What are Soc 2 Reports?

SOC 2 has two different report types that are the output of SOC 2 audits by external auditors. A SOC 2 Type I report assesses and reports on the design and functionality of a service provider’s system controls at a given point in time. A SOC 2 Type II report tests and reports on a service provider’s controls over a period of time (a minimum of six months), which attests to the operating effectiveness of its system controls.

Companies can request SOC 2 reports from SaaS or IT-enabled cloud service providers to assess and monitor any risks associated with a third party’s technology services. Vendors can also request the audits and reports on themselves. SOC 2 reports give companies vital information about how vendors manage data and maintain controls around their systems and processes involving sensitive data.

To put it simply, when a business associate is SOC 2 compliant, companies feel more confident trusting it to handle their data. For companies that handle electronic personal health information (ePHI) and are subject to the HIPAA, or that need added privacy and security controls to meet other data privacy regulations, SOC 2 reports add another layer of assurance against violations or data breaches. 

 

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Release Notes February 21st 2020

Posted on by Niki Finegan

Hello SnapEngagers,

we have been overdue with an update of our recently released updates, changes and fixes we have worked on besides the recently announced Guide Bot (Beta) and HIPAA SMS features.

Updates

  • Channels: We added an option to identify individual Facebook users in the CSV Logs export with their Facebook ID.
  • Analytics: Added a percentage number to the Availability Report to see at a glance what % of time agents were in the Online VS Paused status.
  • Hub: We have moved the “+ Start new Team Chat” option to the top of the left side team chat column so the option is easier to find for agents that have a lot of ongoing team chats already.

Resolved Issues:

  • Security:
    • Resolved a cross-site scripting issue on our signin page which was reported by Sohail Shaikhm, Certified Penetration Tester.
  • Analytics:
    • Removed the ‘gmtDate’ and ‘localDate’ fields from Analytics -> Agent Performance -> Response -> Agent report export.
    • Availability report: Fixed an issue where the online hours in range was showing 0
  • Hub:
    • Resolved an issue where a message typed but not sent in one chat was visible in the next chat when switching between the two using keyboard shortcuts.
    • Applied a number of improvements to the loading time of Hub for agents configured on a high (100+) number of widgets
    • Resolved an issue where Hub showed the home screen when clicking on the ‘load more chats’ button in the sidebar.
    • Resolved an issue with Hub not loading on IE11
  • Visitor Chat: 
    • Fixed an ‘unexpected token’ error when a single quote mark was used in the pre-chat greeting message.
    • Fixed an issue where the visitor JavaScript was polling for new messages after an offline form submission.

 

HIPAA Compliant SMS Messaging, The Fastest Way To Connect With Patients

Posted on by marketing

Connecting with patients has never been easier

 

Patients want to communicate on the go and from mobile devices. In fact, over 65% of all web interactions take place on a mobile device. Text messaging is the #1 way Americans under 50 communicate. And that goes for more than just millennials. Texting has amassed multiple generations. Healthcare providers have been feeling the pressure to accommodate this need while maintaining HIPAA compliance.

 

Free download: HIPAA Compliance White Paper

Request white paper now

 

Is texting HIPAA compliant? 

On the surface, this looks like a grey area. Texting messaging, one phone to one phone, is itself not HIPAA compliant. But let’s take a look at the fine print. If the following can be covered, then HIPAA compliant texting is possible, and best of all, legal.

  • If the text messages can be encrypted
  • If PHI (Protected Health Information) can be prohibited

Why are these important factors? 

  1. No encryption means no auditing abilities. A big no-no in the HIPAA world. Encryption goes hand-in-hand with maximum security measures.
  2. Mobile devices are easily misplaced or lost, leaving conversations available to anyone
  3. PHI is protected and private. It is up to healthcare organizations to ensure privacy.

The bottom line is to do your homework and ask questions when dealing with HIPAA compliance. We recommend having an IT team to work with to ensure your website/system is under a secure firewall to protect against hacks.

Is HIPAA compliant SMS messaging right for my practice?

 

There are many pros to including a HIPAA compliant SMS line in patient offerings.

1. Remove hurdles that come with patient portals, emails, and phone calls Did you know that only 20% of emails are read, while on average 98% of text messages are read? Plus, patients can send you photos in real-time to address urgent ailments and get the quickest possible patient care.

2. Text messaging is a platform that patients already know how to use  It’s hard enough to train and support an internal team and internal patient portal. But on top of that, patients can be confused by the redirecting and might not feel comfortable entering in private information.

3. HIPAA compliant SMS is secure The name says it all, but this simple fact and verbiage can put a patients’ mind at ease. Healthcare providers communicate upfront about the security of the conversation, giving patients peace of mind right from the start.

4. Healthcare teams do not have to use their own mobile phones There is also no need to purchase a separate mobile phone for your office. In order to stay compliant, all text conversations route back to and live in a secure chat portal. This means that only the patient needs a mobile phone for the conversation to happen, and the healthcare provider on the other side will answer from a desktop computer. One device for the patient, one device for the provider, because sometimes life is fair 🙂

How SnapEngage keeps texting HIPAA compliant

Purchasing an SMS number through a HIPAA compliant provider is the first step. SnapEngage is an example of a HIPAA compliant provider. Next, determine verbiage to let patients know they will be redirected to a secure portal. This takes out any guesswork. SMS also allows patients to remain anonymous if they so choose. The patient will be prompted to click a link to continue on a secure channel. They are redirected, and ta-da! Healthcare chat agents continue to chat from one chat portal, and the conversation remains secure.

Is texting right for you?

Think about patient demographics and how a text solution could work for them. Consider also asking current patients what they think of a secure text feature. And if you decide to purchase an SMS line, tell everyone! You can advertise the number on your website, new patient brochures, new patient check-ins; anywhere you think patients and prospective patients can find it useful. Lastly, start texting. Everyone’s doing it.

 

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