Israel's leading hospital provides health services via WhatsApp
The WhatsApp service makes it possible for patients to request and receive information 24 hours a day as well as facilitate secure document transfer - all done with one easy phone call.
By ZACHARY KEYSERMain entrance to the Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer(photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer in Ramat Gan, the largest hospital in Israel, now provides health services through the popular messaging application WhatsApp – and will be the first major public hospital in the country to offer this type of communication alternative to their patients.The ability to communicate via WhatsApp was integrated into the medical center's already existing SimpleChat structure by Tel Aviv-based Elad Software Systems, which created of the initial chat system. It concentrates all forms of referrals, whether by email, phone, SMS, online messenger or WhatsApp, into one easily accessible database."Installing WhatsApp in the hospital's service system will allow us to route up to 50% of the calls currently received by digital channels to allow patients to receive documents and provide information over the course of one easy phone call," Shimi Ernst, CIO and digital transformation manager at Sheba Medical Center said."We deal with about 3,000 telephone inquiries every day, so improvements to service and efficiencyare significantly beneficial" for patients and medical staff, he said. Installing WhatsApp on the system allows us to significantly improve the customer experience and helps us strengthen our relationship with our patients."Sheba Medical - ranked the tenth best hospital in the world, according to a report by Newsweek - allows those seeking outpatient medical services to coordinate their hospital visit through a live or automated customer support representative, depending on preference, via WhatsApp - significantly shortening wait times for all center services.In addition, the WhatsApp service makes it possible for patients to request and receive information 24 hours a day as well as facilitate secure document transfer – all in one phone call.The service underwent a soft-launch in early September, and since that pilot, the amount of WhatsApp referrals has steadily risen every week. Now, 20% of calls funneled through the Sheba's medical call center are placed through WhatsApp, demonstrating that the hospital's patients are quickly adopting the new communication protocols.
