The state of healthcare communications: Diagnosing the future of patient connection

Backed by science and technology, healthcare experiences and outcomes keep improving. From new medicines and advanced diagnostics to personalized treatment plans, the ability to serve people and keep them well is always evolving. Healthcare communications need to keep evolving too. 

The messages a healthcare organization like yours sends every day are an extension of patient care. It’s not just the “bedside manner” of physicians and practitioners that matters. Each message you send is an opportunity to connect, advise, and improve the lives of the people who trust your brand with their health. 

Are your healthcare communications delivering what people really need? 

In early 2025, Sinch surveyed 2,800 consumers and more than 400 business leaders in healthcare to find out what people expect from these communications and how health-related brands should reach them. We detailed many of the findings in our report, The state of customer communications.  

However, there were too many insights for just one report. That’s why we’re taking a deep dive into results that relate to communication strategies in healthcare. 

Whether it’s an appointment reminder, a lab test result, or personalized guidance for individuals, the needs and expectations of the modern patient keep getting higher. The state of healthcare communications explores everything from the use of artificial intelligence to messages that help protect personal health information (PHI). 

In this article, we’ll cover some of the major takeaways from Sinch’s research. You can download the full healthcare report for all of the details. 

The start of any communication strategy involves choosing the right channels for reaching the people you serve. The truth is, there is no single best channel. Different people have different preferences, and the healthcare communication experience is unique. 

While Sinch’s consumer research found people may prefer email for basic promotional and transactional messages, healthcare is different. Just 30% of those surveyed said email is the best channel for healthcare communication. While that’s still the most common choice, people also believe in-app messages on patient portals (21%) and phone calls using the voice channel (16%) are ideal. 

Regardless, healthcare providers can’t choose just one channel. Healthcare communication requires a multichannel approach, delivering the right message at the right time on the right channel. Because consumer preferences are diverse and certain communications work best via specific channels, healthcare respondents revealed they use a diverse mix of messaging solutions: 

Multichannel communications can quickly lead to complications. You need to decide how to connect these channels for a cohesive patient experience, how to connect communications with other systems, and how to protect privacy at the same time. 

When Sinch asked healthcare business leaders to identify their communication challenges, security and privacy compliance topped the list at 46%. Challenges with integration (42%) and the cost of communication (38%) followed. 

Even though our survey found most healthcare respondents said their communications were at least partially integrated, improving those integrations is not only a challenge but a priority as well. 37% plan to work on integrating communications with their tech stack in 2025. 

However, the cost of communication is a clear challenge in healthcare that may impede those efforts. Close to half of healthcare respondents indicated they will either maintain (25%) or reduce (25%) investments in communication this year. That’s significantly more than any other industry Sinch surveyed. Less than 3% of retail, finance, and technology respondents indicated they’d be reducing communication spend. 

Reduced spending could slow down important efforts in healthcare communication. That includes plans to adopt and optimize artificial intelligence for healthcare interactions. 

Here are several key findings around security and privacy in healthcare communications: 

Even though nearly half of healthcare respondents don’t plan to invest more in communication this year, healthcare leaders don’t appear to be holding back from investing in artificial intelligence. Nearly 98% of healthcare respondents in our survey said they are using AI in some form. That includes 57% who plan to adopt AI chatbots in 2025 and 55% who plan to adopt AI voice assistants. 

The rush to adopt AI in communications, however, doesn’t mean healthcare leaders don’t see the possibility for problems. 55% of respondents chose privacy and security as a concern for AI in healthcare communication.  

The next biggest concerns were accuracy and reliability (40%) and regulatory compliance (39%), the latter of which is also connected to privacy and security. Tied with compliance concerns is the issue of customer trust, which relates directly to both privacy and accuracy. 

When we look at the ways AI is being implemented in healthcare communication, it’s understandable why these factors are concerns. It’s a sign that leaders need to be careful, mindful, and strategic as AI solutions are introduced. 

Here’s how healthcare organization say they’re using AI in patient communication: 

It’s clear that consumers have hesitations about using AI for customer communications too. While 42% are willing to interact with a basic customer service bot that’s trained on a company’s support documentation, people seem less comfortable with AI healthcare chatbots. 

The number slips to 35% of consumers who’d be willing to interact with an AI-powered chatbot from a healthcare provider. 40% wouldn’t want to use such a chatbot and 25% are unsure. 

These results by no means suggest it’s a bad idea to invest in AI for healthcare communication. But it does indicate certain consumers might need convincing or time to get comfortable. 

The age of a patient could certainly impact willingness to use AI. Sinch found more than 50% of Gen Z and millennial respondents said they would use healthcare chatbots. But only 34% of Gen Xers and 15% of baby boomers are that comfortable with AI. 

AI innovation isn’t the only thing shaking up communication strategies. Rich Communication Services (RCS) bring engaging experiences and increased trust to the native messaging app on consumer smartphones. 

Sinch’s healthcare survey found more than 90% of respondents are familiar with RCS for Business, which is the business-to-consumer application of RCS. Among those familiar, 56% view RCS as game-changing for healthcare communications. Another 36% view RCS as useful but not necessarily essential. 

So, what is it that makes RCS messaging so interesting? For one thing, it turns mobile messaging into an app-like experience with plenty of possibilities for use in healthcare. 

Here are the top four potential benefits of RCS for Business messaging, according to healthcare survey respondents: 

A significant reason why RCS will improve trust and security is due to features available when a business becomes a verified sender. Once approved, RCS for Business messages are delivered with your brand’s name, official logo, and visual verification cues such as checkmarks/badges on Android devices. These visual indicators are a signal to subscribers that your message is legitimate and safe. 

While there are many uses for RCS in healthcare messaging, it’s important to note that, like SMS, RCS is not a HIPAA-compliant communication channel. Still, for marketing messages and anything that avoids using protect PHI, RCS can improve the patient experience. 

The state of healthcare communications report includes findings that show you how to keep patients engaged, informed, safe, and happy. 

That’s what Sinch calls “the four pillars of customer communication.” It’s a simple yet impactful framework that categorizes the ways you deliver meaningful messages throughout the patient experience: 

1. Engaged communications: These are the marketing messages, promotions, and personalized health advice that keep patients connected between visits.
2. Informed communications: These are the updates and notifications that remind patients about upcoming appointments, RX refills, billing, and more.  
3. Safe communications: These messages typically provide security and privacy by verifying account access through methods like one-time-passwords (OTPs). 
4. Happy communications: These include the conversations patients have with service and support. That could include a healthcare facility’s call center or a chatbot – whatever helps answer people’s questions. 

Let’s check out some key findings from our healthcare survey that point back to the four pillars of communication. 

In healthcare, marketing messages are often used to keep patients engaged between appointments. Healthcare marketers may follow a calendar of seasonal topics, such as months focused on raising awareness around issues like heart health or different types of cancer. Campaigns may also send out important reminders like getting a flu shot or getting a health screening. 

But where healthcare marketing really has an opportunity to stand out is through personalization. What’s more personal than a patient’s health and wellbeing? 

Sinch’s consumer research found more than 80% of people want or expect personalized healthcare messages that offer guidance. Here’s a closer look at stats involving personalization in healthcare. 

As we explored earlier, Sinch’s research found that healthcare organizations plan to invest in AI solutions throughout 2025, that includes chatbots and voice bots that interact with patients. At the same time, some people may feel uncertain or unwilling to do so. The survey found 40% of consumers respondents would not interact with a healthcare chatbot and 25% are unsure. 

However, engaging with AI for healthcare guidance is quickly becoming commonplace. For example, research from the Annenberg Public Policy Center found 75% of people who search for answers to health questions online get the answer from AI generated overviews at least some of the time.  

Another study of 2,000 Americans found close to 40% trust tools like ChatGPT to help them navigate health-related decisions. It stands to reason that AI trained by a healthcare company with a more specific use case, privacy guardrails, and disclaimers in place would be safer and more trustworthy.  

Experts like Trilokraj Tejasvi and Kellie Reynolds from the University of Michigan wrote for JMIR Dermatology that AI implementation could even reduce physician burnout while improving the healthcare experience.

Updating patients through careful communication can take many forms in healthcare. Whether it’s a community-wide alert, a prescription refill status update, or a notification about lab test results, important information gets delivered all the time. 

It is, however, possible to over-inform patients. Sinch’s research found these were the most common frustrations with informational updates in general: 

Your strategy for keeping patients informed should focus on reducing friction in their healthcare experience. Messages that provide updates should make working with your organization more convenient. If these communications are disruptive, unclear, or poorly timed, they become an inconvenience. 

The most common informational updates in healthcare are appointment confirmations and reminders. More than 90% of consumers Sinch surveyed called these messages very or somewhat important. In fact, close to one third (32%) of respondents said they might miss appointments without those helpful reminders. 

Not only does delivering these updates help patients remember to show up, it also keeps healthcare facilities running efficiently on schedule. Imagine the rescheduling hassle if one third, or even one out of every 10 patients missed their appointments.  

Keeping your patients safe involves protecting sensitive PHI, which means safeguarding access to that information. The right communications help you accomplish that by verifying identities before people get access to patient portals or online accounts. 

According to The HIPAA Journal, the U.S. healthcare industry saw 276 million breached health records in 2024. Phishing attacks are a large part of the problem. Any breach may be the foot in the door that bad actors need to hold healthcare data hostage. And while healthcare companies may train employees to be aware of phishing tactics, your patients are another story. 

When we asked consumers to identify the channel they believed was least likely to be used for deceptive purposes, email (35%) was the most chosen option. Unfortunately, email is perhaps the most popular threat vector for bad actors.

Another 27% of consumers believe in-app notifications are unlikely to be used for phishing. They’re obviously correct. The problem is – they’ll likely need to receive an email or text prompting them to log in to the patient portal first. 

This is why messages designed to protect account access are an irreplaceable part of patient communication. One-time passwords (OTPs) and multifactor authentication (MFA) messages sent via email or SMS as well as innovative solutions like Sinch Flash Call®  make logging in seamless and safe. 

The way your healthcare company treats people extends beyond the care they receive from providers. Every message is an opportunity to connect in a meaningful way that keeps people happy. 

Perhaps the best way to understand the needs of the people you serve is to ask them. Sinch’s survey found that 44% of those consumers want to provide feedback about their experience with healthcare providers. 

Of course, there are plenty of other touchpoints throughout the patient experience. Keeping patients happy and informed also involves calls to the nurse for clarification, rescheduling appointments, getting answers to billing or insurance questions, and many other situations. 

When getting support in general, Sinch’s research found live agents are often preferred, including chats with human representatives and using the voice channel, including call centers.  

AI-powered chatbots were less likely to be a preferred support option, and we’ve noted other hesitations around AI and healthcare. However, consumers who are on the fence about interacting with AI for healthcare support may simply need to understand the benefits. 

When asked if they’d describe their symptoms to an AI chatbot if it meant they received care faster, 41% said “Yes.” That’s a notable increase from the 35% who said they’d feel comfortable using a chatbot from a healthcare provider. It seems reducing wait times is enough to persuade some people to tell chatbots their physical symptoms. 

There’s good news here for healthcare brands investing in AI for patient communication. Despite the concerns, consumers’ attitudes are changing. Once the advantages of using AI become clear, acceptance and adoption may be more likely. 

Sinch customer MINDD is successfully supporting healthcare brands with an AI voice bot that helps triage patients. Check out the video for the full story: 

Do your patient communications truly keep people engaged, informed, safe, and supported? If there’s room for improvement, Sinch is here to help you deliver messages that meet the highest standards. 

We partner with healthcare organizations worldwide to create secure, scalable, and compliant communication solutions that work across the channels your patients rely on most. From appointment reminders and follow-up care instructions to secure identity verification and responsive support, with Sinch you can enhance every part of the patient journey. 

Check out customer stories from your industry and find out more about Sinch’s healthcare communication solutions.