How to Evaluate Clinical Communication & Collaboration Software: Complete Checklist

Evaluating healthcare software vendors is a critical step of introducing new technologies into clinical settings. However, the process can be overwhelming without understanding exactly what features to look for or what pain points you want to solve. 

Choosing the right clinical communication and collaboration platform directly impacts patient safety, clinician workflow, and operational efficiency, so it’s imperative to be thorough in the selection process. 

Below, this healthcare software evaluation guide will discuss why vendor assessment matters, the key evaluation criteria to consider, and a step-by-step framework for the vendor evaluation process. Hypercare has also created a downloadable clinical communication software evaluation checklist for organizations to use to support the process. 

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Why Vendor Assessment Matters in Healthcare

Vendor assessment is an evaluation and approval process that healthcare organizations often use to determine if prospective vendors can meet your organization standards and obligations once under agreement. 

The ultimate goal is by properly conducting due diligence, you can secure a low-risk, best-in-class vendor that is the right fit for your healthcare organization.

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Risks of choosing the wrong platform

Ineffective communication tools can perpetuate existing communication gaps if they aren’t a right fit for your organization. For example, your goal may be to create a unified workflow that saves physicians’ time and alleviates administrative burden. But if the communication tool you select isn’t easy to use, doesn’t seamlessly integrate with existing systems, or requires frequent maintenance, then it may create even more fragmentation and exacerbate existing issues. 

From an operational perspective, choosing the wrong platform can be costly for healthcare organizations. The time and resources spent in the evaluation and procurement process, onboarding the tool, integrating it into the communication infrastructure, and training staff may potentially be rendered useless if the tool isn’t an effective long-term solution.

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Benefits of a thorough evaluation

Conducting rigorous due diligence during a healthcare vendor evaluation is critical to safeguarding both clinical operations and organizational reputation. 

A structured assessment goes beyond feature comparison. It must also validate that the solution meets regulatory obligations, upholds the highest standards of data privacy and security, and integrates seamlessly into existing clinical systems and workflows. 

By thoroughly vetting vendors, healthcare organizations can reduce the risk of compliance breaches, operational disruptions, and costly implementation missteps. Additionally, the evaluation process enables leaders to identify platforms that deliver measurable ROI through improved efficiency, reduced communication errors, and enhanced patient safety. Comprehensive vendor evaluation is not only a defensive measure but also a strategic step toward advancing organizational goals.

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Key Evaluation Criteria for Clinical Communication Platforms

Below are the key areas to consider when evaluating clinical communication and collaboration software.

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1. Core functionality and features

The core features of any clinical communications platform you’re evaluating must support the critical communication and collaboration functions behind timely, coordinated patient care.

Platform features should match the needs of modern healthcare settings to help build a comprehensive communication infrastructure. 

Features to look for include: 

• Secure messaging: The platform’s secure messaging functionality should include capabilities such as two-way texting, priority messaging with escalations and read receipts, and team-based messaging. These help streamline communication, increase visibility, and provide more structure and clarity for clinical teams. 
• On-call scheduling: Platforms with built-in on-call scheduling reduce delays and ensure healthcare teams can contact the right person at the right time. 
• Code team activation: In emergencies, code teams must be activated quickly. Assess the platform’s code team activation capabilities by looking for real-time mobile alerts and automations.
• Pager replacement: An all-in-one pager and answering service is a modern alternative to outdated communication methods.
• Integrations: Platforms with open API make it easy to seamlessly integrate with existing systems such as EHRs, scheduling platforms, paging systems, bedside alarms, and single sign-on providers. 

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2. Security and compliance

A clinical communications platform must treat security and regulatory compliance as foundational requirements rather than optional features. 

Start by confirming the platform’s healthcare compliance with HIPAA and PHIPA to ensure it’s healthcare compliant. Without these criteria, the platform won’t meet the strict standards to protect patient information that healthcare organizations must follow.

Conduct further evaluation into how the vendor embeds privacy and security controls across the product. There must be key safeguards in place – such as encrypted messaging, audit logs, and role-based access controls – in order to protect patient and organization data from privacy breaches, or substantial financial and legal penalties. Additionally, verify any authentications and certifications such as SOC 2 Type 2 for added security measures.

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3. Integration and interoperability

Effective clinical communications depend on seamless integration with the existing clinical ecosystem.

A viable platform should natively support standard, familiar healthcare interfaces and provide flexible APIs so it can be embedded into clinician workflows without introducing manual workarounds. 

Evaluate both the technical standards supported and the vendor’s practical experience integrating with tools in your existing workflow including EHRs, scheduling platforms, paging systems, bedside alarms, and single sign-on providers. 

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4. Reliability and performance

In acute care settings, system outages or degraded performance can have immediate consequences to patient safety. Evaluate a vendor’s operational resilience, capacity planning, and proven uptime. Understand their service levels and the operational practices they use to prevent, detect, and recover from incidents. 

Additionally, confirm whether they have built-in mechanisms such as failover systems to maintain communication during partial outages or Code Grey emergencies. If your hospital experiences underlying connectivity issues, the option to switch between cellular, Wi-Fi, or wired networks while still having access to critical tools across multiple devices is essential. 

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5. Onboarding and support

Assess the vendor’s implementation and deployment process, training opportunities, and ongoing support model. Look for vendors who provide structured change management assistance, measurable adoption programs, and a clear plan to transition from implementation to steady-state support.

Case studies or customer reviews are also useful resources to learn more about real experiences healthcare providers have had when onboarding a potential vendor. 

For instance, one hospital case study revealed that within the first month of implementing Hypercare’s clinical communication platform across its organization, 70% of eligible users were active, over 45,000 messages were sent, and 46 different on-call schedules were imported and managed. 

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6. ROI and Pricing 

A platform’s pricing structure and demonstrated ROI are essential criteria to securing leadership buy-in. The platform should help improve patient outcomes and decrease the costs associated with repeat visits, mismanaged care, or prolonged stays. 

Research has found that prolonged stays can indicate delays in treatment, complications, or inefficient hospital operations – all of which are affected by miscommunication. Additionally, miscommunication has costly long-term effects such as malpractice claims. One report found that communication failures resulted in $1.7 billion in malpractice costs. 

Consider costs associated with time savings, and mitigated safety and liability risk, as well. The cost of implementing a new platform and training staff is likely far less than the costly risks of poor communication. 

When it comes to pricing, review the platform’s subscription fees – whether monthly, per user, or per message – as well as costs associated with implementation and integration, training, and ongoing support. Calculate the total cost of ownership (TCO) over a multi-year timeline and contrast these costs with your existing expenses such as pagers and their associated services. 

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Step‑by‑Step Vendor Evaluation Process

When researching clinical communication platforms, follow this step-by-step process to confidently navigate the vendor evaluation process. 

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1. Assess your organization’s needs

The first step is ensuring key stakeholders are aligned on clinical, operational, technical, and regulatory requirements before evaluating vendors. Gather input from decision makers including hospital administrators, CIO or IT directors, procurement, and clinical department leaders. 

Next, map out current workflows, tools, and pain points and organize them by department, role, and function. Additionally, consider getting input directly from end users for deeper insights into communication gaps, existing workflows, and desired outcomes. This helps provide a comprehensive view into what your organization needs from its clinical communications platform. 

Once you’ve aligned on the desired requirements, categorize them based on priority levels, using tags such as P1 and P3. For example, requirements listed as P1 are non-negotiable while those tagged as P3 are nice-to-have features. 

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2. Build a shortlist

Oftentimes at large organizations, vendor evaluation begins with a procurement bidding process. This involves creating a Request for Proposal (RFP) which is used to solicit bids from potential healthcare vendors. 

If you’re taking the manual approach to vendor assessment, start by researching the market to build a shortlist of potential vendors to evaluate. Scan analyst reports, gather industry referrals, and review vendor websites to identify 3-5 candidates that meet your criteria. Vendors should ideally showcase evidence of healthcare industry experience as generic software won’t meet the specific – oftentimes complex – needs of a healthcare organization. 

As you’re researching companies, refer back to your priority requirements to help qualify each vendor. Those that don’t have your P1 requirements should be automatically disqualified from the list, for instance. 

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3. Compare vendors using a scorecard

The next step is to rate vendors on the criteria above – features, security, interoperability, reliability, support, and cost. Quantify the relative importance of each domain by using a weighted ranking system to help order the list. Consider which features and functions are mandatory requirements – without them, a vendor is automatically disqualified.

Below is an example scorecard based on the evaluation criteria listed above: 

• Security and compliance requirements: mandatory (yes/no)
• Clinical usability and core features: 35
• Interoperability and integrations: 15
• Reliability and performance: 15
• Onboarding and support: 10
• Pricing and ROI: 25
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Total = 100

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4. Pilot and gather feedback

Testing the product in real world scenarios can be a way to validate clinical fit, integration reliability, and change impact before deploying a full rollout. One factor to consider is that pilot programs can be an added cost and require more time and resources for the testing period. Some platforms offer free trials, which is a risk-free way to try out the platform before committing. 

If you want to go this route, start by conducting demos or pilot programs with a small group of staff or select departments. Engage clinicians and administrators who represent end users to evaluate the platform’s user experience and provide feedback. The more insight provided during the pilot, the more information you have to make a confident decision.

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5. Decision and negotiation

Once you’ve identified a vendor that can support your long-term goals, you can move into the negotiation and finalization phase. 

Evaluate contract terms, review service level agreements (SLAs), and discuss implementation timelines based on your organization’s needs. If you have custom requests, this is the time to make them. For instance, if your pilot program revealed the need for further training, you may be able to request on-site training sessions during deployment. 

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Comparing Hypercare to Other Vendors

Hypercare is a unified clinical communications platform built to keep healthcare providers connected and compliant to deliver safer, more coordinated patient care. To support your platform evaluation process, here is a breakdown of how Hypercare compares to other communication vendors. 

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Hypercare vs. Vocera

Hypercare offers a modern, mobile-first and cloud-based clinical communication platform designed for the evolving needs of healthcare providers. 

Unlike Vocera’s legacy system, Hypercare combines secure messaging, on-call scheduling, and pager replacement into one seamless platform, simplifying workflows and clinical communication across healthcare teams. 

Compared to Vocera, which often requires extensive resources and time to implement, as well as managing and maintaining dedicated hardware, Hypercare is faster and simpler to deploy and requires significantly less maintenance from IT.

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Hypercare vs. Spok

Spok is primarily a paging service and network that focuses on switchboard operators and relies on legacy pager systems. Hypercare is a Spok alternative built for clinical teams and healthcare providers. 

Hypercare streamlines secure messaging, on-call scheduling, and team collaboration. While Spok also offers messaging, scheduling, and a contact directory, it does so across siloed apps, making communication slower and less reliable than Hypercare. Hypercare is optimized for clinical providers first and foremost, designed to specifically bypass or automate much of the administrative actions that Spok facilitates.

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Hypercare vs. Cerner CareAware

Cerner CareAware (Oracle Health) primarily focuses on connecting medical device data to electronic health records (EHR). The platform offers limited clinical communication tools, including secure messaging and escalation management, but doesn’t go beyond that. 

In comparison, Hypercare’s clinical communication platform includes real-time, automated on-call scheduling that updates across the system, without requiring manual syncing. It’s a stronger alternative to CareAware, which does not have any native on-call management or scheduling functions. This can often delay communication and introduce workflow complexity for clinical teams.

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Downloadable Clinical Communication Software Evaluation Checklist

Having a framework to follow can help make the vendor selection process easier and ensures as minimal bias as possible. Hypercare created this clinical communication software evaluation checklist with those goals in mind. Based on our extensive research efforts, and from speaking directly with hospital management leaders and healthcare experts, this healthcare vendor assessment is a thorough way to select the right platform for your organization. 

Click to download the complete checklist (PDF)

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If you have any questions about the checklist or want to talk to experienced experts, we are always here to help. You can reach out to us at support@hypercare.com or schedule a demo below.