Patients now have greater access to communications about their health records. Earlier this fall, Epic’s Hello World application went live across the Johns Hopkins enterprise. Hello World is Epic’s SMS solution which, in addition to automating communications to patients and family members, enables clinical and administrative users to send notifications, reminders, and other self-service communications from within the Epic platform directly to patients’ phones as text messages. By integrating directly with the patient record, Hello World offers the most accurate and up-to-date information when communicating with patients. The application also ensures the number on file for a patient is valid and increases security and patient satisfaction by allowing patients to quickly and easily consent to receive text messages via their preferred communication method. The use cases for Hello World are rapidly expanding, but as of go-live, here are a few highlights:
Currently, automated appointment and referral text message reminders are operating through a third-party vendor, but the goal is to transition these use cases to Hello World by early FY26 (which begins July 1).
