In a medical setting, clear team communication is critical. But for many teams, it’s a messy mix of non-compliant texts and verbal updates that lead to human error.
Using a secure, HIPAA-compliant work chat app is essential. This guide reviews the top 6 chat apps to help your team communicate more effectively and securely.
What to Look For in a Team Chat App for Healthcare Teams
When choosing an internal communication tool for your healthcare team, look for one that makes your work faster, safer, and smarter.
● HIPAA Compliance & Security: The app must be fully HIPAA-compliant, with full admin control and audit trails.
● EMR Integration: The best tools integrate with your EMR to create patient-specific chats and automate the flow of test results and updates.
● Clinical Workflow Tools: Your work chat app should have built-in features for task management.
● Simplicity: Your work chat should be as quick and easy as texting, for staff to use on their phones without any training.
● Data Security: All conversations and files must be stored securely in the cloud, not on personal devices, to prevent data leaks.
The 6 Best Work Chat Apps for Healthcare Teams
Here’s a look at six popular work chat options and how they compare.
1. Zenzap
Who is it good for?
Healthcare teams of all sizes that want a HIPAA-compliant chat app for internal communication that connects directly to their EMR.
What's great about it?
Zenzap combines simple, organized team chat with powerful clinical tools. Patient-specific chats are automatically created and updated through the deep integration with your EMR, and you have built-in tasks and checklists for shift handovers and daily work. The interface is as intuitive as a personal chat app, making it easy for the team to adopt. Additionally, Zenzap is built with advanced security features and privacy settings, giving you full admin control and ensuring compliance.
What's the catch?
Your team will need to download a new app to their phones.
👉 Try Zenzap for free: the chat app that's actually built for healthcare teams.
2. TigerConnect
Who is it good for?
Large hospitals looking for a secure replacement for pagers and urgent, one-to-one messages.
What's great about it?
TigerConnect is good for time-sensitive, role-based alerts (e.g., messaging the "on-call cardiologist"). It is HITRUST-certified and is secure.
What's the catch?
While it's good for alerts, it's not a chat platform. It’s not made for ongoing team discussions or managing daily tasks, and it lacks automated patient-specific chats.
3. Microsoft Teams
Who is it good for?
Large healthcare systems that are already paying for and are locked into the Microsoft 365 ecosystem.
What's great about it?
It is often included if you already have a Microsoft 365 subscription and can be configured for HIPAA compliance.
What's the catch?
Teams is heavy, slow, and confusing corporate software that is difficult to use on a mobile phone and lacks any native clinical workflow tools.
4. Slack
Who is it good for?
Desk-based teams like IT or research, with a large software budget.
What's great about it?
It's good for manually creating separate channels for different projects.
What's the catch?
It's a complex, corporate tool with no native EMR integration and is not built for mobile, making it a poor fit for on-the-floor teams.
5. Spruce
Who is it good for?
Small practices or solo practitioners on a tight budget who need a simple, compliant communication app.
What's great about it?
It's an affordable, HIPAA-compliant tool that unifies your phone, fax, and basic messaging in one place.
What's the catch?
It's more of a general communication hub than a work chat tool. It has very limited EMR integration and lacks automated patient-specific features and task management.
6. iMessage / WhatsApp
Who is it good for?
Officially, no one in a healthcare setting. In reality, it's used by teams who are taking a significant and unnecessary compliance risk for simple chat.
What's great about it?
It’s free, familiar, and easy to use.
What's the catch?
It is not HIPAA-compliant. Any discussion of patient information on these apps is a serious violation. Personal chat apps offer no security, no admin control, and no audit trails.
Final Verdict: The Best App for Healthcare Team Communication
While the convenience of personal apps is tempting, the compliance risks are too great. And while corporate or specialized tools can be made secure, they often lack the simplicity or deep EMR integration needed for efficient clinical work.
Zenzap is the best choice because it is simple, secure, and is the only tool on this list that connects directly to your EMR to create patient-specific chats.