Suburban Health Organization’s nine-member organizations will be able to use Diagnotes to send and receive HIPAA-compliant text messages and access medical records, the company said.

SHO is an organization of independent central Indiana hospitals and hospital systems; Diagnotes should help them communicate in post-acute care plans, officials said.

Its hospitals “have varied needs for secure communication practices,” said Craig Wilson, M.D., the chief medical officer at SHO. “Some want to more effectively connect with patients.  … Others may want to have texting connections with caregivers at their long-term care centers in order to maximize safe post-acute transitions of care.”

SHO hospitals are affiliated with more than 200 nursing homes, the company said. Beyond secure texting, members can record the work of patient calls and conferences. This may allow them to receive reimbursement from Medicare for the time they spend on non-face-to-face care of patients with chronic conditions such as diabetes or heart disease.