Volume 02 | October 2020
Quarterly News & Updates
Greetings!
This newsletter we are excited to announce our Featured Partner of the Quarter program. Check out the article on Answer Kansas City below and learn how they are generating revenue utilizing miSecureMessages.

If you would like your business featured in an upcoming newsletter, please contact us.
Featured Quarterly Partner: Answer Kansas City
Answer Kansas City is a family-owned answering service that was started in 1976. Kent and Lisa Slavens have been the sole owners since 2003. They have a diverse client base that includes medical services, property management, and government services. In addition to telephone answering, Answer Kansas City offers a variety of services such as order taking, lead capture, remote receptionists, and text and email answering. With over 60 agents on staff, they are dedicated to providing a high level of quality customer service.

When Answer Kansas City decided they needed a better text messaging solution to adhere to HIPAA policies, they reviewed the miSecureMessages secure messaging app along with a few other options. miSecureMessages offered the encrypted HIPAA-compliant messaging solution they were seeking. Based on their experience as an Amtelco customer for over 31 years, deciding to move forward with miSecureMessages was an easy decision to make.

Answer Kansas City started using miSecureMessages in 2018. When deciding to transition to miSecureMessages, the only challenge they faced was some pushback from a couple of clients who didn’t want to use it. Lisa responded by emphasizing the importance of adhering to HIPAA guidelines and being prepared for audits. miSecureMessages offers reassurance and accountability with timestamps and message activity tracking. An audit log and a message log, complete with message histories, is also included.

In just over 2 years Answer Kansas City is utilizing just under 600 miSecureMessages licenses. They have found miSecureMessages to be easy to use and reliable. The total integration with Amtelco’s system has been a huge benefit. Lisa Slavens stated, “There have been very few hiccups with users. When there are, 99.9% of the time it's due to user error or no internet connection.”

miSecureMessages has been a good revenue generator for Answer Kansas City. miSecureMessages has given them the opportunity to offer a better and reliable product for less money. It’s very intuitive, reliable, and easy to use for both administrators and the end users. Lisa indicated that they have not experienced any downtime and have not encountered any issues they couldn’t resolve on their own. The seamless integrations, ability to send attachments, reporting, and the user-friendly admin portal are all features that have been helpful and efficient in their operations.

When asked for any words of advice for those considering miSecureMessages, Lisa Slavens stated, “Don’t wait – just do it. It’s super easy from an administrative standpoint as well as end users.” Lisa’s timesaver tip: put together an email template with the miSecureMessages user guides attached to make it quick and easy to send to new users.
Webinar
Managing your miSecureMessages Database

Date: Thursday, October 8, 2020
Time: 1:00 PM CDT

Join miSecureMessages support staff Megan Schroeter and Thomas Jimenez as they discuss best practices for archiving and purging your miSecureMessages database. This webinar will address the database for both hosted and on-premises customers.

New Version
Amtelco Releases MSM Server 6.7.7524.21338

miSecureMessages (MSM) Server Version 6.7.7524.21338 has passed Amtelco quality assurance testing and is ready for general release.

This version implements changes to eliminate performance problems for users with a large number of threads.

miSecureMessages Android Notifications
Question: I have an Android device and my sound notifications are not working properly. I have verified basic app and device settings which appear to be correct.

Answer: Google’s notification channel has an unknown issue causing the MSM app to not follow the app settings in regards to sounds. As Amtelco continues to work through this with Google, here are the steps to help:

  1. First, select the sound(s) you want through the MSM app (depending on your version, regular and high-priority).
  2. After selecting the sounds, you will need to uninstall the MSM app.
  3. Reinstall the MSM app and log in to your account.
  4. Do not change the sounds after reinstalling.
  5. If you wish to change the sounds, follow the above steps.

We hope to correct this issue with an upcoming app release. The current release at this time is 6.7.3.10.
Articles to Keep You Informed
The Evolution of Healthcare Communication Technology
In this post, we look into the past, present, and future of healthcare communication technology. Technology has evolved significantly over time, especially when it comes to the ways in which we communicate. In the healthcare industry, the pager has played a big role in keeping healthcare teams connected, and it still does today.

However, secure and HIPAA compliant messaging technologies have emerged within the last decade and are now competing with the traditional pager. This month, we’re covering the evolution of healthcare communication technology by looking at the tools used in the past, what is used in the healthcare industry today, and what we see to be the future of healthcare communication.

Using a Secure Messaging App as Part of a Disaster Recovery Plan
It might be an extreme weather event-- a hurricane, a forest fire, a tornado. Maybe it’s an act of terror, or maybe it’s a failure of aspect of the infrastructure. Regardless of the cause, a disaster situation requires a calm, premeditated recovery plan in order to minimize damage and casualties. Recent events in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico, and Las Vegas show just how chaotic the immediate aftermath of a disaster can be and just how essential it is to have a sound recovery plan in place.

There are many components to an effective disaster recovery plan. These include managing evacuation and emergency housing logistics, re-establishing information technology capabilities, restoring damaged infrastructure, and ensuring the continuity of human services. The common factor in a well-designed recovery plan, however, is the need for reliable lines of communication.

Helpful Links
Looking for tutorials, images, or other miSecureMessages materials? Check out the below link for these resources on our partner web page.

Still not finding what you are looking for? Click here to send us a message and let us know how we can help!