Healthcare is drowning in phone calls. Your front desk is overwhelmed with appointment confirmations, prescription refill requests, and insurance questions. Patients are frustrated with long hold times. And your staff? They’re burned out from playing phone tag all day.
But here’s what’s changing:
The best medical practices are moving away from phone-heavy workflows and embracing patient communication software that actually works.
Not by chasing every new health tech trend, but by implementing tools that reduce administrative burden, improve patient satisfaction, and keep revenue flowing.
The right patient communication software helps you do exactly that:
- Automate appointment reminders and confirmations
- Enable secure messaging between patients and providers
- Streamline patient intake and payment collection
- Reduce no-shows and improve practice efficiency
- Keep patients engaged throughout their care journey
These are the platforms my colleagues and I recommend to medical practices looking to modernize their patient communication.
(And yes, they actually reduce workload instead of adding to it)
The best part?
These tools integrate seamlessly with existing practice management systems and EHRs. No matter your practice size or specialty.
My Top Patient Communication Software for 2025
- Klara: Secure messaging platform with telemedicine and workflow automation
- NexHealth: All-in-one patient experience platform with real-time scheduling
- Solutionreach: Comprehensive patient engagement with automated reminders and payments
Klara
Best for practices wanting to reduce phone volume through secure messaging
Pricing: From $12 per user per month; demo available
I’ve watched Klara transform practices by converting endless phone calls into organized, secure conversations. What makes it special is how simple it is for patients to use—no app downloads, no complex logins.
Patients can text your practice number or start conversations through your website, and everything lands in your Klara dashboard.
Turn Phone Calls Into Secure Text Messages
Klara’s call-to-text feature is brilliant for busy practices. When patients call and you can’t answer immediately, they can seamlessly switch to texting instead of waiting on hold.
This is huge for patient satisfaction. Instead of calling back three times about prescription refills, patients send one text message. You respond when convenient, and they get their answer without phone tag.
I know a dermatology practice that reduced their daily phone calls by 60% after implementing Klara. Their patients love being able to send photos of skin concerns directly through secure messaging.
Automate Patient Outreach Without Losing the Personal Touch
What I really appreciate about Klara is how it handles routine patient communication automatically while keeping everything personal and relevant.
You can set up automated appointment reminders, pre-visit instructions, and post-visit follow-ups. But these aren’t generic blast messages—they’re tailored to each patient’s appointment type and provider.
For example, a patient seeing an orthopedist gets different pre-visit instructions than someone coming in for a routine physical. Klara pulls this information from your EHR and sends the right message to the right patient.
The workflow automation extends beyond appointments. You can automate insurance verification requests, review requests after positive visits, and even medication reminder campaigns.
Streamline Team Communication
One feature that consistently impresses me is how Klara handles internal communication. When a patient message comes in, it can be automatically routed to the right team member based on message content or patient assignment.
Your nursing staff can handle clinical questions, front desk manages scheduling, and billing handles payment inquiries. Everyone sees the full conversation history, so patients never have to repeat their story.
You can also add internal notes to conversations that patients can’t see. This helps coordinate care and ensure important details don’t get lost.
Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| No patient app required—works via text and web chat | Limited reporting compared to enterprise solutions |
| Excellent EHR integrations with most major systems | Some advanced features require higher-tier plans |
| HIPAA-compliant with easy implementation |
Klara Alternative: Weave
Weave offers similar patient communication features but includes phone system integration and more extensive practice management tools.
It’s particularly strong for practices that want an all-in-one solution including VoIP phones, patient communication, and reputation management.
However, Klara’s focused approach to messaging often provides a cleaner user experience for practices primarily concerned with reducing phone volume.
NexHealth
Best for practices prioritizing online scheduling and patient self-service
Pricing: From $350 per month; custom pricing based on practice size and features
NexHealth excels at creating a seamless digital experience for patients. If your practice struggles with scheduling efficiency or wants patients to handle more tasks independently, this is your solution.
The platform’s real-time scheduling integration with practice management systems is exceptionally reliable.
Enable True Real-Time Online Scheduling
NexHealth’s scheduling capability goes beyond basic online booking. It syncs bidirectionally with your practice management system in real-time, so appointments booked online immediately appear in your schedule.
More importantly, cancellations and reschedules update everywhere instantly. This prevents double-bookings and ensures your schedule stays accurate across all platforms.
I work with a family medicine practice that saw their phone-based scheduling requests drop by 40% after implementing NexHealth. Patients can see actual availability, book appointments that fit their schedules, and even join waitlists for earlier openings.
Automate Patient Intake and Payment Collection
NexHealth shines in digitizing the entire patient experience. Patients complete intake forms, verify insurance, and even submit co-payments before arriving at your office.
This dramatically reduces check-in time and improves patient flow. Instead of patients arriving 15 minutes early to fill out paperwork, they complete everything from home.
The payment processing integration is particularly smooth. Patients can pay for services, outstanding balances, and even future appointments through secure, automated payment requests.
Create Personalized Patient Campaigns
The platform includes sophisticated patient outreach capabilities. You can create targeted campaigns based on patient demographics, appointment history, or specific conditions.
For example, you might send diabetes management tips to patients with that diagnosis, or seasonal allergy reminders to patients with relevant history.
These campaigns help with patient retention and demonstrate proactive care, which patients really appreciate.
Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Exceptional real-time scheduling accuracy and reliability | Higher price point than some alternatives |
| Comprehensive patient self-service capabilities | Can be overwhelming for smaller practices with simple needs |
| Strong integration with major practice management systems | Implementation may take longer than simpler solutions |
NexHealth Alternative: SimplePractice
SimplePractice offers patient communication and scheduling features at a lower price point, particularly for smaller practices.
It includes many of the same core features but with a simpler interface and more straightforward pricing structure.
However, NexHealth’s real-time syncing capabilities and advanced automation features make it worth the investment for practices handling high patient volumes or multiple providers.
Solutionreach
Best for practices focused on reducing no-shows and maximizing patient retention
Pricing: From $329 per month; tiered pricing based on practice size and features
Solutionreach has been in the patient engagement space for over 20 years, and it shows in their comprehensive feature set. This is the platform for practices that want to automate their entire patient communication workflow.
Their strength is in automated appointment reminders and follow-up campaigns that actually reduce no-shows.
Dramatically Reduce No-Show Rates
Solutionreach’s appointment reminder system is incredibly sophisticated. It doesn’t just send one reminder—it creates a sequence of touchpoints leading up to each appointment.
Patients might receive an initial reminder a week out, a confirmation request three days prior, and a final reminder the day before. Each message can be customized by appointment type, provider, or patient preference.
A cardiology practice I work with reduced their no-show rate from 18% to 7% within six months of implementing Solutionreach. That translates to significant revenue recovery and better schedule utilization.
Automate Revenue Cycle Communication
What sets Solutionreach apart is how it connects patient communication to your revenue cycle. The platform can automatically send payment reminders, insurance verification requests, and collection notices.
But it goes beyond basic billing communication. You can send pre-visit financial estimates, payment plan options, and even automated thank-you messages after payments are received.
This automation reduces the administrative burden on your billing team while improving patient satisfaction with transparent communication about costs.
Build Long-Term Patient Relationships
Solutionreach includes tools for ongoing patient engagement beyond just appointments and billing. You can send health education newsletters, birthday messages, and preventive care reminders based on patient history.
The platform tracks patient communication preferences, so some patients receive text messages while others get emails or phone calls. This personalization improves response rates and patient satisfaction.
Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Comprehensive automation reduces staff workload significantly | Some users report customer service inconsistencies |
| Strong revenue cycle integration improves practice profitability | Interface can feel complex for new users |
| Excellent no-show reduction capabilities | Higher cost for smaller practices with basic needs |
Solutionreach Alternative: Relatient
Relatient offers similar patient engagement features with a focus on text-based communication and self-scheduling.
It has a cleaner, more modern interface and competitive pricing for practices that don’t need all of Solutionreach’s advanced revenue cycle features.
However, Solutionreach’s comprehensive automation and proven track record make it the better choice for practices serious about reducing administrative workload and improving patient retention.
Other Tools Worth Considering
Beyond these top three, there are several specialized tools that work well for specific practice needs:
- TeleVox for larger healthcare organizations needing enterprise-grade automation and AI-powered patient conversations
- Luma Health for practices wanting comprehensive patient journey optimization and advanced analytics
- Weave for practices that want patient communication integrated with phone systems and reputation management
- Phreesia for practices focused on patient intake automation and clinical workflow integration
The right patient communication software can transform your practice operations and patient satisfaction scores.
Start with one of these three platforms based on your primary need: Klara for reducing phone volume, NexHealth for scheduling efficiency, or Solutionreach for comprehensive patient engagement.
Most vendors offer demos or trial periods, so you can test the platform with your actual workflows before making a commitment.
The investment in patient communication software typically pays for itself within months through reduced no-shows, improved efficiency, and higher patient satisfaction scores.
