13 Tips for Keeping Healthcare Workers Safe

Protecting healthcare workers has always been essential, but today’s environment brings new expectations around safety, efficiency, and infection prevention. Patients continue to look to healthcare teams as trusted experts, and it’s the responsibility of practices to create a safe, organized environment that minimizes unnecessary exposure to illness and physical strain.

To better understand how practices are adapting, Weave surveyed 750 providers and patients about their communication preferences and the steps they’re taking to improve workplace safety. The findings highlight practical ways communication technology can help reduce unnecessary contact, prevent crowding, and streamline daily operations.

Below are 13 actionable tips your healthcare practice can implement to support a safer work environment for your team.

1. Ditch Your Landline Phones

73% of healthcare practices say they feel confident in their ability to keep employees healthy at work. While caring for patients has always involved exposure to various germs and illnesses, outdated tools—like single-location landline phones—can make it harder to support modern safety needs.

VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) phones give staff more flexibility. Cloud-based communication makes it easier to manage calls remotely, reduce front-desk congestion, and avoid unnecessary close contact. More mobility equals fewer crowded spaces and safer workflows.

2. Adopt New Waiting Room Procedures

Nearly half of the providers surveyed say their customer service has improved as they’ve modernized their workflows. A major contributor? Rethinking the traditional waiting room.

Using a VoIP system, many practices now text patients upon arrival and ask them to wait in the parking lot until their appointment time. Sending digital wellness forms or screening questionnaires ahead of time also helps staff ensure that any potentially contagious individuals can be routed appropriately—protecting your team from extra exposure.

3. Convert to Text Messaging

68% of healthcare practices believe most communication will shift to text messaging within the next three years—and for good reason. Texting reduces unnecessary in-person visits and lets staff handle quick questions or updates without requiring a phone call or face-to-face discussion.

Automated missed-call texts help prevent walk-ins, keeping patient flow controlled and predictable. This reduces crowded front desks and helps protect staff from avoidable exposure.

4. Control Your Scheduling by Text

Only 18% of practices say they’re using texting to its fullest potential. Beyond simple conversations, business texting can automate scheduling and reduce last-minute arrivals.

Automated appointment reminders, confirmations, and rescheduling prompts help keep your calendar organized. Sentiment analysis tools can detect cancellation messages and update your schedule automatically. Clear, proactive communication minimizes unexpected office visits—an important element of protecting staff.

5. Don’t Forget About Emailing

Texting and calling are essential, but 33% of patients admit to ignoring or forgetting messages. Email provides another reliable channel to communicate safety guidelines, workflow changes, or important updates.

Email marketing tools also allow your practice to send more detailed information at scale—complete with templates, visuals, and calls to action—to ensure every patient understands how your office supports the health and safety of your team.

6. Ask for Feedback With Review Requests

Traditionally, practices relied on in-person feedback or paper surveys. Today, 38% of patients prefer giving feedback via text message.

Sending online review links by text helps staff gather feedback without requiring additional personal interaction at the front desk. It’s not only safer—it’s more efficient and helps build your online reputation.

7. Make Customer Insights Easy to Access

73% of providers say personalized communication is more effective than generic messaging. When staff have quick access to customer insights—medical history, upcoming appointments, outstanding balances, notes—they can resolve multiple tasks in a single call or text.

This reduces the number of in-person interactions required and helps keep foot traffic predictable and safe.

8. Support Distance With Contactless Payments

After appointments, many patients instinctively head to the front desk to pay or schedule follow-ups. Contactless payment methods—like text payments and mobile wallets—help patients skip this step entirely.

73% of providers say contactless payments support workplace safety by reducing lines and crowds at checkout.

9. Meet the Rising Demand for Contactless Payments

71% of practices say demand for tools like Text to Pay has grown significantly. It’s easy to see why: contactless payments allow patients to pay quickly from their phone, reducing front-desk interactions and keeping staff safe from unnecessary exposure.

10. Offer a Complete Payment Platform

While contactless solutions are growing, some patients still prefer traditional payment options. 69% of practices want a single payment platform that supports every payment type—contactless, cards, cash, and more.

Offering multiple options supports your entire patient base while allowing your team to guide patients toward safer, low-contact methods.

11. Transition Away From Credit Cards

67% of providers want to move away from handling physical credit cards due to hygiene concerns. Contactless options—including mobile wallets and text payments—help your practice decrease touchpoints and increase staff safety.

12. Improve Hygiene With Text to Pay

Credit card terminals and cash exchanges involve frequent physical contact. 51% of practices believe Text to Pay is more hygienic than traditional card processing.

Once your practice has a patient’s payment information securely stored, staff can process transactions through text—eliminating shared surfaces and reducing germ transmission.

13. Emphasize Growth and Safety

Safety initiatives don’t have to slow down business growth. In fact, high-growth practices are 41% more likely to adopt contactless payments and digital communication tools.

Leveraging modern technology helps practices streamline operations, reduce crowding, and provide a safer environment for both staff and patients.

If you’d like to learn more about how Weave’s all-in-one communication and payment platform can help protect your team while improving efficiency, contact us today.

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