KLAS Reports TigerText is Top Vendor for Secure Medical Messaging

A new KLAS report has been issued naming TigerText the market leader for secure messaging solutions for the healthcare industry, ahead of the highly anticipated Best in KLAS for Secure Messaging report due early in 2016

The healthcare secure messaging market is now fiercely competitive, with over 100 companies now providing secure SMS solutions for healthcare providers. Secure messaging solutions allow HIPAA-covered entities to send SMS messages without violating HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules.

TigerText has recently been named as the market leader in the field, providing the most widely adopted solution for healthcare providers, healthcare clearinghouses, health plans and their business associates. Hospital executives are twice as likely to consider implementing TigerText’s secure messaging platform than the nearest competitor. In fact, TigerText has been adopted by more healthcare providers than the companies in positions 2-7 combined.

The company’s reputation and level of innovation have been the driving forces that have fueled uptake. According to KLAS, “The high speed-to-value proposition offered by TigerText has allowed them to secure the largest market share of any secure messaging vendor.”

Brad Brooks, CEO of TigerText, is delighted to have the company’s healthcare messaging service validated by KLAS. The organization is a well-respected, independent assessor of new healthcare technology and receiving praise from KLAS is additional confirmation that the company is moving in the right direction.

After hearing the news, Brooks said, it is “extremely rewarding to have an esteemed organization like KLAS validate our overwhelming leadership position in secure messaging for healthcare.” He went on to say, “As the veteran player in the secure messaging space, we remain intensely focused on driving healthcare innovation through our commitment to deliver the highest value for our customers.”

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To produce its reports, KLAS first obtains feedback from healthcare providers who have already implemented the solutions under review. Some of the feedback received by early adopters of TigerText secure messaging solutions are detailed below:

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KLAS – Providing Healthcare Organizations with Advice on the Best Technology to Implement

KLAS was formed in 1996 by Kent Gale, an IT executive with first-hand experience gained from working in the healthcare industry. Gale was frustrated by the lack of transparency in healthcare and formed KLAS to help tackle the issue. The organization prides itself on providing impartial, accurate and honest reviews of healthcare vendors’ products and services. KLAS reports are compiled after a considerable amount of feedback has been gained by healthcare industry professionals on how the latest technology performs in practice. The company’s analysts then assess the products and consult vendors. The reports produced by KLAS, along with its annual BEST in KLAS Awards, provide key insights which help healthcare executives make the right decisions about new healthcare technology.

Annual Awards for Best in KLAS for Secure Messaging

KLAS has recently conducted the research for an upcoming Best in KLAS for Secure Messaging Awards. The major players and up and coming providers of secure healthcare messaging solutions have been assessed by the organization’s experts as part of the study. The Best in KLAS for Secure Messaging Awards are due to be announced soon, with the full Best in KLAS report due for release in early January 2016.

Reasoning Behind Best in KLAS for Secure Messaging Awards?

The rankings for Best in KLAS for secure messaging gives hospital executives, CISOs and CIOs an insight into the services now being provided, along with valuable information about the products currently on offer. The Best in KLAS Awards list will detail some of the most popular platforms available, along with new offerings from smaller providers just entering the secure SMS message market.

With so many companies now entering the market, the choice available can be overwhelming. However, not all providers offer the same level of security, usability and flexibility. Many products on offer also lack an easy to use interface and getting familiar with the product involves a relatively steep learning curve.

Healthcare executives seek an easy communication solution that will guarantee privacy, but will be embraced by physicians, nurses and other healthcare professionals. If a messaging solution is not straightforward and easy to use, it will be difficult to convince healthcare professionals to use it. This is another reason why TigerText has been so widely adopted. The user interface is intuitive and easy to use with minimal training.

To date over 5,000 facilities have adopted TigerText as their secure messaging provider, including four of the top five biggest for-profit health systems in the United States.

Standard SMS Messages are not HIPAA-Compliant

Many healthcare organizations seek a more efficient method of communication for their healthcare professionals. With more healthcare services being provided off-site, it is vital that all members of the care team are able to communicate rapidly and get the information they need quickly and efficiently.  There are various options available for companies to send messages to remote workers and improve communication; however, many of these are insecure. While that may not be an issue for some industries, it poses major problems for the healthcare industry, which is governed by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA).

Standard SMS messages and insecure, and while they can be used by healthcare providers to improve communication between physicians, nurses and administrative staff, they cannot be used to communicate PHI or PII.

Standard text messages can remain on service providers’ servers for days, weeks or months. Messages can be relayed and could potentially be stored on servers operated by multiple telecoms networks. There is no guarantee that those servers will be secure, and it is impossible to tell how many people could potentially access the content in those messages. Since standard SMS texts are unencrypted, they can potentially be intercepted during transmission, and there is no guarantee that the person receiving the message will be the intended recipient.

HIPAA Rules are strict, and penalties for failing to secure PHI are punishable with heavy fines and sanctions. Civil criminal cases can even be filed for not adhering to HIPAA Rules and exposing the Protected Health Information of patients and health plan members.

The only way for healthcare providers to use SMS to improve communication and guarantee compliance with HIPAA Rules is to use a SMS service with end to end encryption and robust authentication controls, such the secure messaging platform provided by TigerText.

Author: Richard Anderson

Richard Anderson is the Editor-in-Chief of NetSec.news