Using Messaging Platforms in Breastfeeding Peer Counseling Programs

As the leading provider of healthcare messaging for WIC, Teletask has worked with peer counseling programs across 20+ states to develop best practices for leveraging communication technology to support breastfeeding participants. This guide focuses on how to effectively use SMS, voice, and email platforms to enhance peer counselor reach, responsiveness, and impact.

Why Messaging Platforms Matter for Peer Counseling

Approximately 75% of Millennial and Gen Z Americans prefer to text rather than call. For peer counseling programs, this preference creates an opportunity: text-based communication allows counselors to provide support asynchronously, respond to participants during critical moments, and maintain consistent contact without requiring constant phone availability.

The key is meeting participants where they are—on their mobile devices, through their preferred communication channel.

Setting Up Your Messaging Workflow

Enable Two-Way Texting from Familiar Numbers

Participants should be able to text the clinic or agency phone number they already know—no app downloads or new numbers to remember. This removes barriers to communication and builds on existing trust.

Best practices:

• Use your existing clinic phone numbers for texting

• Set up auto-responses acknowledging receipt of messages

• Create routing rules to direct texts to the appropriate peer counselor or team

• Enable easy chat transfer when cases need escalation to DBEs or nutritionists

Organize Counselor Access and Permissions

Structure your platform access to match your organizational hierarchy:

• State/agency administrators: Oversee all communications, create templates, manage campaigns

• Peer counselor leads: Monitor team activity, review message templates, access reporting

• Individual peer counselors: View and respond to their assigned participants only

• DBEs/IBCLCs: Receive escalated cases with full conversation history

Granular permissions ensure participant confidentiality while enabling appropriate oversight.

Creating Effective Automated Messaging Campaigns

Trigger-Based Educational Messages

Set up automated campaigns triggered by participant data:

Prenatal campaigns (triggered by estimated due date):

• 8 weeks before EDD: Benefits of breastfeeding

• 4 weeks before EDD: Preparing your support network

• 2 weeks before EDD: Early breastfeeding basics

• 1 week before EDD: Reminder about peer counselor availability

Postpartum campaigns (triggered by baby's birth date):

• Day 2: Congratulations message + immediate support availability

• Week 1: Latch troubleshooting tips

• Week 2: Supply concerns and reassurance

• Week 4: Growth spurts and cluster feeding

• Week 8: Returning to work and pumping

• Monthly messages continuing through the first year

Best practices for automated messages:

• Keep messages brief (160 characters or 1-2 sentences)

• Include a call-to-action: "Text back with questions"

• Personalize with participant names when possible

• Test messages at different times to find optimal send times

Build a Message Library

Create pre-approved message templates for common scenarios:

• Appointment reminders with date, time, and what to bring

• Non-judgmental missed appointment follow-ups

• Common questions: sore nipples, low supply concerns, growth spurts

• Encouragement messages celebrating milestones

• Resource referrals to WIC benefits, lactation consultants, support groups

• Emergency protocols: when to seek immediate medical attention

Organize templates by category and make them searchable so counselors can quickly find appropriate responses.

Best Practices for Two-Way Texting with Participants

Responding to Participant Messages

Response time guidelines:

• Acknowledge receipt within 1 hour during business hours

• Provide substantive responses within 2-4 hours when possible

• Set clear expectations about after-hours support

• Use scheduled messages for non-urgent responses outside business hours

Conversation best practices:

• Start with empathy: "That sounds really frustrating" or "You're doing great"

• Ask clarifying questions before giving advice

• Use simple, conversational language

• Break complex instructions into numbered steps

• Confirm understanding: "Does that make sense?"

Know When to Escalate

Set clear guidelines for when peer counselors should escalate to DBEs:

• Medical concerns (fever, infection signs, baby weight loss)

• Anatomical issues beyond counselor scope

• Maternal mental health concerns

• Situations outside counselor training or comfort level

Use internal notes to flag conversations, transfer chats with full history to DBEs, and document escalations for program tracking.

Leveraging Advanced Features

Multi-Language Support

Enable auto-translation to communicate across 100+ languages:

• Set participant language preferences in profiles

• Messages automatically translate in both directions

• Have bilingual staff review template translations before automation

Secure Document and Media Sharing

Use platform features for sharing educational images (proper latch photos, positioning guides), video demonstrations (hand expression, pump assembly), and secure forms. Participants can also share photos for assessment when appropriate.

Group Messaging for Support Sessions

Create group text threads for virtual breastfeeding support groups, cohorts with similar due dates, or specialized support (fathers, grandmothers). Establish ground rules, moderate actively, and archive groups after 3-6 months to keep them manageable.

Tracking and Improving Your Program

Monitor Key Metrics

Track platform analytics to evaluate effectiveness:

Engagement metrics:

• Message delivery and participant response rates

• Average response time by counselor

• Messages per participant

• Opt-out rates

Outcome metrics:

• Appointment attendance for participants who receive reminders

• Breastfeeding duration by level of messaging engagement

• Participant satisfaction scores

Optimize Based on Data

Use insights to improve your program:

• Test different message send times

• A/B test message wording for key campaigns

• Identify which automated messages get the most responses

• Recognize high-performing counselors and share their techniques

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

• Over-automation: Balance automated messages with personal touch

• Inconsistent tone: Ensure all counselors maintain a supportive, non-judgmental, peer-level tone

• Slow response times: Set realistic expectations and use auto-responses

• Ignoring data privacy: Always maintain HIPAA compliance and train staff on secure messaging

Real-World Success

WIC programs using messaging platforms for peer counseling report:

• 6% higher benefit redemption rates

• Improved appointment attendance

• Increased staff efficiency (counselors supporting more participants)

• Extended breastfeeding duration

Oregon WIC uses automated educational texting based on EDD/birthdate along with peer counselor texting modules. Massachusetts WIC reports significant staff efficiency improvements through automation, allowing counselors to focus more on complex support needs.

Conclusion

Communication technology enables peer counselors to provide more timely, accessible, and consistent support to breastfeeding participants. By meeting families through their preferred channel—text messaging—and leveraging automation for routine touchpoints, counselors can focus their personal attention where it matters most: supporting participants through challenges and celebrating their successes.

Teletask provides purpose-built tools for WIC peer counseling programs including two-way texting, automated campaigns, multilingual support, secure document sharing, and comprehensive analytics. Contact us at 888-484-9911 or email sales@teletask.com to learn how to enhance your peer counseling program with modern communication tools.

New Chat Features For Simpler Contact Organization

While 2020 has been a hectic year full of challenges, those of us at Teletask have been striving to develop new features for the Health Messenger to make the important work you do simpler and even more effective than before!

Update Contact Information in Chat Panel

While chatting with a participant, you no longer have to open a new window or a new tab to make changes to their contact information in the Contacts section. Now to the right of the chat, the contact information has the capability to be edited and saved, and those changes will be replicated throughout the entire portal, so no additional action is necessary.

Chat Status and Assignment History

Keep track of any chat message’s activity with status updates within the chat message itself. Actions like assigning the chat message to a user, assigning a subject to the chat, as well as opening and closing chats will be noted in the body of the chat. These updates are completely internal and will not be seen by the participant.

New Merge Tags and Surveys

Auto responses and surveys have undergone an update in the chat panel as well. Now you can include merge tags in auto-responses in order to personalize you auto-responses.

To create a custom auto-response for your chats, go to the Settings section of the Health Messenger portal:

Then, click on “Chat,” and scroll down until you find “Set Chat Templates.” Click on the “Add Option” button.

This will open up a window to create an auto-response. Much like with text and e-mail messages, you can insert merge tags via a drop-down menu as pictured on the right.

We’re confident that these new changes will help drive participant engagement throughout your organization. As always, should you have any questions or would like our assistance in setting up the chat functions for your users, we are available through any of our support channels.

The Teletask Scheduler

The new Teletask Scheduler gives your organization the ability to combine a great online scheduler with our automated messaging platform.

An Overview of Features

View appointments by List, Day, Week, or Month. Setup to view multiple clinics, simultaneous resources and appointment types. Custom work hours and preferences are settable per Clinic

3 Levels of access and user specific views. Users can be set to view the clinics of their choosing, with access to certain pages and functions. Admins can setup clinics and superusers can setup sub accounts.

Full Messaging Integration - Automatically send Appointment Reminders and Missed Appointment messages.

Client responses to appointment reminders can automatically update a calendar entry to a confirmed or cancelled appointment status.

Easy Universal Search - Quickly find patients or upcoming appointment with our universal Search function

Advanced Time Block Functions - Block times and set future blocking rules for certain times on your calendar. Perfect for complex staffing scheduled to ensure you don’t overbook.

Staff Messaging - Leave messages for fellow staff members in certain locations.

Custom Reporting on Schedules and user actions. Users can view and and print/export reports of their own schedules or schedule for their clinics.

Appointment Printing - Add a template to print your patient’s new appointments for them.

Full Admin Control - Admins can view who created which appointment, their message history, setup new clinics, appointment types, add users and more.

Reducing Readmissions Through Engagement Strategies

Various estimates put the annual cost of hospital readmissions in the tens of billions of dollars.  Many of the readmissions that occur in the U.S. each year are avoidable, and hospitals have been taking steps in recent years to reduce readmissions whenever possible.

Unfortunately, a lot of unnecessary financial burden still exists as a result of preventable readmissions. To combat readmissions and related costs, some healthcare professionals are turning their focus toward patient engagement. In fact, a recent survey shows that healthcare providers feel more communication is the key to better care, so they are increasing outreach and engagement efforts. This is positive news, because patient engagement offers several opportunities for improving clinical outcomes and reducing care costs.

The 30-day window after a patient has been discharged from the hospital is known for being a period of vulnerability. Half (50 percent) of the acute care professionals West surveyed said they believe that a lack of follow up by hospitals during this time is a leading factor that contributes to readmissions. Another 32 percent said that insufficient communication after discharge is at least partly to blame for readmissions.

 It is not just providers that feel inadequate communication is a problem. Patient feedback collected through Medicare’s HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) confirms that patients who have been hospitalized want to see more and better communication post-discharge, with half of patients saying they felt confused about some part of their care instructions after leaving the hospital.

Because many things can go wrong in the days and weeks after a patient has been discharged, medical professionals need to connect with patients in order to monitor their health and proactively address issues before they escalate into larger problems that cause patients to be readmitted.

Nielsen Survey Shows Patient Demand for Text

he proof of patient demand for text messaging continues to pile up.

An article from The Washington Post shared recent Nielsen survey findings around how Americans use digital technology in their healthcare. Overall, the data shows that while many providers have been slow to adopt the technology for their patients, those same patients are craving those digital opportunities for interaction.

The Nielsen survey found that among patients ages 18-34, more than four in 10 want text reminders about appointments.

A recent case study from Vanderbilt Medical Center has shown that offering text as an appointment reminder communication option has elevated patient response rates regardless of their delivery channel. After experiencing a 30% response rate when offering only automated phone calls to patients, offering the option of text has grown response rates among patients who want texts and those who still prefer phone calls. The patients who receive texts naturally respond at a higher rate (55%) because that’s the communication channel they prefer. And those patients who would still prefer to receive phone calls can keep that option in place. Since many patients who did receive calls have now moved to text, those who are left receiving calls now respond to messages at a 37% rate.

“We’re getting good results because our patients are making their own choice on how to be reminded,” says Brant Smith, Health Systems Analyst with Vanderbilt’s Capacity Management team.

Why Go Positive Preventative Reminders?

Why do patients choose to continue seeing a particular provider? ( and stay on track with treatment plans? ) Many times, it’s because that provider has proven their ability to deliver a high quality of care, and follow-up appointments are positive and supportive. Whenever possible, that earned trust should be on display in the outreach messages delivered to that patient. Providers can pull from their expertise and educate patients on why it is important for them to schedule a preventive exam or screening.

But there’s a little more to it than that. The effect of educating patients in preventative reminders can also depend on the tone you choose to address an issue. More specifically, focusing on the positive has proven to be more motivating than fear-based messages.

What types of outcomes could be mentioned as positive effects of better self-management? Feeling healthier, being happier with one’s appearance, having more energy and living longer are all popular motivational ideas.

Why do patients choose to stay on track with treatment plans or see a particular provider? Many times, it’s because that provider delivers a high quality of care. This high quality of care can be seen in follow-up appointments.

However, there are ways to continue care outside of appointments that improve self-management of the patients. Outreach messages or preventative messages, in between appointments, can allow providers to connect and educate patients.

Tone is an important part of the communication equation in preventative reminders. Patients are less motivated by fear-based communication. On the other hand, positive messages are proven to be more effective.

In the report Discussing Diabetes: The Essential Conversation That Could Change the Health of the Nation, when it comes to motivational factors, 73% of healthcare consumers surveyed said that a move toward pleasurable and positive outcomes would be most effective. In contrast, only 27% said that fear of pain and other negative consequences would be more motivational.

What can providers expect from positive self-management? Patients that have more energy, feel healthier, feel better about one’s appearance and living longer.

How effective communication and consumer technology are part of an Appointment Reminder Strategy.

The acceptance of consumer technology and effective communication can be used develop an appointment reminder strategy. A successful protocol can reduce missed appointments and help your patients stick to their treatment plans.  You can reach patients by: 

• Adopting mobile phone based reminder communications

According to the Pew Research Center, 91% of adults in the United States own cell phones. Therefore, the most sure fire way to reach your patients is on this device. Cell phones, are often in close proximity to their owners, and the message can be delivered promptly.

• Using multiple channels to communicate with patients

The benefit of communicating on multiple channels ensures the message is received correctly. Many cell phones and smart phones, have lines multiple ways of displaying information. These include email, text and voice messages. By using multiple channels, patients will have multiple reference points of information.

• Communicating with patients in their preferred language

Although English is the primary language spoken in the United States, when it comes to matters of health, effective communication is paramount. Patients who speak English as a second language can benefit from information communicated in their native tongue. There is less likelihood for misunderstanding when one can confirm the date, time, and location of their appointment. 

• Reaching out to patients at an ideal time of day

Receiving messages during the day, or in the early evening increases chances that the message will be heard, and the patient will confirm receipt of the message. Messages sent too early or too late in the day have a higher chance of being ignored or forgotten.

Effectiveness of SMS Appointment Reminders

Too much revenue being lost to patient no-shows, and appointment reminders, like postcards and personal calls are expensive and time consuming. Teletask Appointment Reminders enables you to efficiently deliver high volumes of patient phone, text and email reminders without overburdening your staff or breaking your budget. Not only do appointment reminders save healthcare professionals' time, Teletask Appointment Reminders reduce broken appointments by an average of 25-30%. You’ll keep patients on track with their care and retain that appointment revenue.

Our system can handle the logistics of delivering multiple message types for multiple appointments, and on multiple days. This is a complicated way of saying Teletask can take the burden out of setting each appointment or message and the follow-up. As the system handles the timing and the types of messages, your staff to focus on inter-personal communication.

Using multiple channels of communication ensures the information is accessible to the patient. We all used to receive postcards for upcoming appointments, and this was a nice gesture. However, smart phones, that we carry with us everyday enabled with text, email and voice messages, are now the most common location to store appointments. Teletask can seamlessly deliver, text, voice and emails messages without burdening your office's phone-lines or internet.

If the office is closed due to an emergency, our system can be accessed from off-site. This ensures, that even in an emergency closure, patients can be notified. This information, accessible with the proper credentials, ensures that staff can manage messages from any location with internet access.

In general, when using our appointment reminders, the day to day focus of the office will change very little.  Perhaps, the staff will spend less time leaving messages and following up, sending mail and more time delivering a high quality of care.

STAYING CONNECTED BEYOND THE OFFICE VISIT: IDEAS FOR BEST PRACTICES

Staying Connected Beyond the Office Visit: Best Practices for WIC Programs

Technology has fundamentally changed how people communicate. For WIC programs, this shift creates opportunities to stay connected with participants beyond clinic appointments—addressing common barriers like communication difficulties, scheduling challenges, and lack of awareness about benefits and services.

Why Digital Communication Improves Participant Engagement

Research shows that when participants receive text messages, voicemails, or emails from their WIC clinic, they feel more valued and connected to the program. Half of those receiving digital communications report feeling more valued, while a third say it improves their opinion of the provider and increases their likelihood to return.

For WIC, this translates into measurable outcomes: reduced no-shows, higher benefit redemption rates, and better program retention. Programs using comprehensive messaging platforms consistently report improved appointment attendance and 6% higher benefit redemption rates.

Start with Updated Contact Information

The foundation of effective digital communication is accurate participant data. While most participants prefer text messaging, many WIC programs lack current mobile numbers and email addresses in their systems.

Strategies for capturing contact information:

• Train intake staff to collect mobile numbers, email addresses, and communication preferences during enrollment

• Make contact updates a standard part of certification appointments

• Use opt-in keywords allowing participants to text your clinic number to join

• Include contact fields on online applications and forms

Important: Text messaging requires explicit participant consent to comply with TCPA regulations. Modern platforms include built-in consent management and opt-out capabilities.

Multi-Channel Messaging Gets Better Results

Text messaging should complement—not replace—voice calls and emails. Different participants prefer different channels, and using multiple methods over several days achieves the best results.

For appointment reminders, effective programs typically use:

• Email 7 days before with appointment details

• Two-way text 3 days before allowing confirmation or rescheduling

• Voice call 1 day before for non-responders

Programs using this staged, multi-channel approach see response rates nearly double compared to single-channel reminders.

Timing Matters More Than You Think

One major advantage of automation is reaching participants when they're actually available. Many WIC participants work during business hours, making traditional phone calls ineffective.

Automated systems can:

• Make evening calls (6-8 PM) when people are home

• Send texts mid-morning (9-11 AM) when engagement is highest

• Respect participants' schedules by avoiding very early or late contact

This strategic timing dramatically improves contact rates compared to staff leaving voicemails during office hours.

Automate Routine Communications, Focus Staff on High-Value Work

Beyond appointment reminders, WIC programs can automate numerous touchpoints:

• Benefit expiration alerts to improve redemption

• Recertification deadline reminders at 60, 30, and 14 days

• Emergency clinic closure notifications

• Farmers Market and community event promotions

• Educational content delivery based on child's age

• Missed appointment follow-ups

Automation doesn't replace human connection—it enhances it. By handling routine communications automatically, staff can focus on counseling, complex cases, and participants needing extra support.

Keep Your Calendar Full, Reduce No-Shows

Empty appointment slots and last-minute cancellations disrupt clinic operations and reduce your capacity to serve participants. Effective automated reminders with two-way text response options help identify cancellations early, giving you time to fill those slots.

Additional benefits include:

• Staff freed from making reminder calls

• Earlier identification of no-shows for follow-up

• Better capacity planning

• Reduced administrative burden

Real Results from WIC Programs

State WIC programs report significant improvements:

• Utah WIC: 80% contact rates using targeted multi-channel outreach, with 4-9% increases in appointment requests

• California WIC: Handles over 60 million messages annually for 1 million participants through centralized communication platform

• Massachusetts WIC: Reduced missed appointments and improved staff efficiency with automated messaging and multilingual support across seven languages

Conclusion

Staying connected beyond the clinic visit helps WIC overcome common engagement barriers and better serve families. By capturing accurate contact information, using multi-channel messaging at optimal times, and automating routine communications, programs can improve appointment attendance, increase benefit usage, and free staff to focus on what matters most—supporting participants.

The key is recognizing both technology and human factors: automation handles routine touchpoints efficiently, while staff provide the personalized support that only people can deliver.

5 SIGNS YOUR PRACTICE SHOULD ADOPT AUTOMATED PATIENT COMMUNICATION

2017 is in full swing, and a recent MedData Group survey found that 29% of practices are planning to adopt automated reminder technology in the next 12 months. Is your practice among that group? If you are still undecided about adding automated communication to your practice, here are five indicators that it is time to make a move:

Your patients are asking for it.
Reaching busy, on-the-go patients is an ongoing challenge. Automated communication that allows patients to receive and respond to your message at their convenience is an excellent way to give your practice cutting-edge appeal and improve response rates. Give patients the choice of phone call, text message or email notifications to see your patient satisfaction scores go up and no-show rates go down.

You are not seeing many familiar faces.
If your practice is predominantly focused on attracting new patients, you may be neglecting your existing patient base and putting yourself at risk of losing them. Recalling “lost” patients with automated wellness reminders could uncover a large number of patients that simply forgot to schedule their next appointment. Giving patients an opportunity to give feedback outside of the practice with automated surveys could reveal an underlying service or process problem that may be costing you patients.

Your schedule is booked solid.
Though a full schedule is every practice’s dream, the reality is this makes it harder for patients to be seen often causing them to go elsewhere for faster service. Automated appointment reminders will consistently provide patients with ample time to cancellation or reschedule. If everyone confirms their appointment as scheduled, then great! But when patients need to make an adjustment, you can use advance notice of those cancellations to move other patients waiting to be seen up in your schedule and improve satisfaction.

You are located in an area susceptible to extreme weather.
Unexpected office closings and the resulting rescheduling of appointments can be quite a headache. Automated notifications safeguard patients affected by an unexpected closing from the dissatisfaction, confusion and sometimes risk of coming to the office when you are out. An automated notification system with flexible and customizable messaging allows you to include additional information such as your plans for rescheduling to help reduce an influx of calls once you reopen.

The phone rings too much.
Unexpected increases in call volume or decreases in staffing may mean a longer hold time for those calling your practice. If you use this time wisely, you can reduce the number of unhappy callers who hang up after being on hold too long and provide important information to patients about your practice and their treatment.