Why Rich Messaging Is the Next Step in Digital Patient Communication
By Sean Roy, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Dialog Health
LinkedIn: Sean Roy
LinkedIn: Dialog Health
Patients increasingly expect healthcare communication to feel as seamless as the digital experiences they encounter in areas like retail, travel, and banking. Retail has spent years perfecting the digital customer experience. A message from a retailer today might include product images, shipping updates, interactive buttons, or a direct way to communicate with support.
In many cases, the message itself becomes the experience. Customers can confirm purchases, track deliveries, or resolve issues without leaving their messages. When done well, the experience feels almost effortless. Instead of asking customers to visit a website, use an app or download one, or place a phone call, retailers often allow them to take action immediately, sometimes with a single tap or quick reply. Visual elements like images and structured layouts help people quickly understand what a message is about and what they can do next.
Healthcare communication has traditionally moved at a different pace. Phone calls, mailed reminders, and basic text alerts have long been the primary ways organizations reach patients. While these methods still serve a purpose, they can feel disconnected from the kinds of digital interactions people experience elsewhere.
Many patients now expect healthcare communication to work, look, and feel the same way. They would prefer to confirm appointments, review instructions, or receive updates through the same messaging apps they already use throughout the day.
Text messaging has already helped healthcare close part of that gap. Appointment reminders, care alerts, and follow-up messages have proven effective at reaching patients quickly and reliably. But messaging itself is evolving. As mobile communication matures, richer messaging capabilities, including emerging standards like Rich Communication Services (RCS), are beginning to reshape patient communication.
Healthcare’s Shift Toward Messaging
Healthcare did not adopt text messaging overnight. For many organizations, introducing Short Message Service (SMS) represented a significant operational shift. Scheduling teams had to adjust workflows, compliance teams needed to evaluate privacy safeguards, and patients had to become comfortable communicating with providers through a new channel.
Over time, those concerns have largely given way to broader adoption. Texting has proven to be a reliable way to deliver reminders and instructions, share updates, provide education, and stay connected with patients before and after visits.
At the same time, traditional SMS has limits. Messages are mostly text-based, branding options are minimal, and many interactions still require patients to click links that lead to external systems. The message may start the conversation, but the task itself often happens somewhere else.
Healthcare organizations are starting to look beyond those limitations.
The Emergence of Rich Messaging
Rich messaging technologies expand what can happen inside a text conversation. Instead of sending a plain reminder, organizations can deliver messages that include verified sender identities, interactive buttons, structured options, images, or short videos.
For patients, this can make communication easier to follow and easier to act on. A patient might confirm an appointment, review preparation instructions, or request additional information directly from the message thread rather than navigating multiple systems.
One emerging example is RCS, which builds on traditional texting by enabling richer and more interactive messaging experiences within native messaging apps. Adoption is still developing, but the trajectory for RCS is clear: messaging is evolving into a platform for more meaningful patient interaction.
Where Rich Messaging May Improve the Patient Experience
As rich messaging capabilities evolve, several use cases stand out as natural starting points for healthcare providers.
Pre-visit preparation. Preparing for an appointment often involves reminders, directions, intake forms, and instructions. When these steps are spread across multiple channels, confusion can arise and risk can increase. Rich messaging allows organizations to present that information more clearly within a single conversation thread. Patients may be able to confirm their appointment, review preparation steps, or complete intake tasks without leaving the message.
Patient education and follow-up. Healthcare instructions can be difficult to absorb, particularly following a procedure or diagnosis. Messaging that incorporates images, short videos, or step-by-step guidance can make those instructions easier to understand. Since the information remains within the message thread, patients can revisit it whenever they need a reminder.
Simplified scheduling. Many patients struggle to call their providers to make appointments during business hours or navigate complex scheduling systems. Interactive messages that present appointment options or nearby care locations could allow patients to schedule or reschedule with just a few taps.
These types of interactions are common in industries outside of healthcare. While healthcare does not need to replicate those experiences exactly, there is growing recognition that communication should feel just as intuitive.
Moving Toward a More Connected Patient Experience
Healthcare will always operate under different constraints than retail. Privacy requirements, clinical workflows, and the seriousness of medical decisions require thoughtful implementation of any new communication approach. At the same time, patient expectations continue to evolve. People increasingly expect healthcare interactions to reflect the convenience they experience in other parts of their lives.
Messaging is becoming one of the most important channels for meeting those expectations. It allows healthcare organizations to reach patients on devices they already use and trust, no app download required.
Rich messaging represents the next stage in that evolution. Healthcare organizations that begin exploring these capabilities now will be better positioned to meet rising patient expectations while creating communication that is clearer, faster, and easier to act on.