Vendor support is the eighth-most critical factor to consider when selecting a secure texting provider, as outlined in our series. A strong foundation of support is needed from secure texting vendors to ensure user satisfaction and adoption is sustained in the immediate and long term.

Here are some key points to consider when selecting a well-supported secure texting application:

• Accessible Support Staff: How accessible is the secure texting application’s support team? During what hours can they be reached? How can they be reached—by phone, email, chat? Is there a way to escalate a support request in cases of emergency? Healthcare is a 24/7 businesses. A top secure texting vendor will offer comprehensive support no matter the time. Pay special attention to which support lines are left open outside of conventional working hours. STRONG ADVICE—Talk to the vendors’ customers about this issue before making your decision.

• Training: Who is responsible for training your intended users on how to use the application? How frequent will the trainings be? Will they be led remotely or on-site? The vendor typically will train clinicians to use the app when it first is released. To ensure adoption remains high, though, a secure texting provider should offer more comprehensive training to employees who will serve as an expert for their user group. Will departmental staff be trained on keeping hospital information (like On-Call lists) up-to-date? Who from their team can address the questions of their peers in real-time? Patient-facing apps require a more complex training process as care team members themselves will need to educate patients during appointments. Will the vendor offer guidance on designating certain clinicians to walk patients through their new apps? Will the vendor train those tasked with educating patients on app usage?

• Satisfaction Surveys: How does the vendor monitor user satisfaction? What are their user satisfaction scores over time? How do they capture user feedback and how do they act on this to improve the product?

• Custom development: No one hospital or health provider is the same. For that reason, the secure texting app you select should be flexible enough that changes based on the processes, workflows or behaviors of your unique team are supported.

Vendor support is one the last things many think about when evaluating technology vendors despite its critical importance. Choose a secure texting vendor with strong support processes and teams in place to fully support your organization in achieving high user adoption and sustained app usage.