QuadMed Makes Healthcare Access as Simple as Sending a Text
QuadMed, a national leader in employer-sponsored healthcare and a subsidiary of Quad (NYSE: QUAD), has announced enhanced text-first messaging capabilities that make it easier for patients to access care before, after, and between visits. The experience seamlessly integrates standard SMS with secure messaging, giving patients a more convenient way to stay connected while protecting their health information.
The move responds to a clear patient preference: a 2026 survey found that 90 percent of patients prefer to receive healthcare communications via text. QuadMed's secure messaging experience is designed to support HIPAA-compliant communication and is backed by a security program that has achieved HITRUST i1 Certification. Combined with the company's AI-enabled care navigation, 24/7 Symptom Checker, and eVisit tools, the enhanced experience aims to connect patients to the right care at the right time while freeing care teams to focus on patients.
"At QuadMed, convenience should never come at the expense of patient privacy. Text messaging is familiar and accessible, but standard SMS is not designed for confidential clinical communication."
— Kathryn Quadracci Flores, MD, CEO, QuadMedQuickly Connecting Patients to Care
Patients who opt in can use SMS to manage appointments, prepare for visits, stay on track with preventive care, and complete other non-confidential healthcare tasks. When sensitive information needs to be shared, the conversation starts with a text: patients receive a notification with a secure link that seamlessly moves the conversation into QuadMed's HIPAA-compliant messaging experience, where they can keep communicating with their care team.
Because that secure experience is connected to the patient's electronic health record, it supports ongoing conversations between visits, making it easy for patients to stay engaged with their care plan without sacrificing privacy.
"This privacy-by-design approach allows us to meet patients where they are while applying the safeguards their health information deserves."
— Kathryn Quadracci Flores, MD, CEO, QuadMedBuilding the Future of Trusted, Connected Care
QuadMed believes the future of healthcare depends on making care easier to access without compromising patient trust. As it expands its AI-enabled platform, future innovations will include personalized self-service experiences, including an intelligent assistant that helps patients understand their health information, complete routine tasks, and confidently navigate their care. Every new capability is built on the same privacy-by-design foundation, and these digital tools are designed to augment — not replace — care, keeping clinicians at the center of every patient interaction. For over 35 years, employers have trusted QuadMed to improve health, enhance productivity, and reduce costs.
Text-first, by demand. With 90% of patients preferring healthcare texts in a 2026 survey, QuadMed launched a messaging experience that blends convenient SMS with secure clinical communication.
Privacy by design. Routine tasks stay on standard SMS, while sensitive conversations shift via a secure link into HIPAA-compliant, HITRUST i1-certified messaging.
Connected to the EHR. Secure messaging ties into the patient's electronic health record, supporting ongoing care-plan conversations between visits.
AI that supports care teams. Paired with AI-enabled care navigation, a 24/7 Symptom Checker, and eVisit tools, the platform frees clinicians to focus on patients.
More to come. Future features include a personalized intelligent assistant, all built to augment rather than replace human clinicians at the center of care.