BridgeInteract Vs. Phreesia®: Which Patient Engagement Software Is Best For Your Organization?

In today’s fast-evolving healthcare landscape, patient engagement software has become essential for improving patient satisfaction and streamlining administrative workflows.

Various patient engagement software vendors have emerged to meet this demand, including Phreesia®, a digital patient intake software with some additional patient engagement features. However, some companies using Phreesia have been less than satisfied with the software’s performance and costs. BridgeInteract, a modular, comprehensive patient engagement, has emerged as a promising Phreesia alternative for healthcare organizations seeking a more flexible, cost-effective solution.

Choosing the right software partner for your organization can mean the difference between success and stagnation in healthcare’s race to digital transformation. Both BridgeInteract and Phreesia offer robust solutions, but their approaches differ significantly. This comparison explores the Phreesia pros and cons and contrasts them with BridgeInteract to help healthcare organizations choose the best option for their needs.

Why Use Patient Engagement Software?

Patient engagement software is designed to:

• Simplify administrative tasks like billing and scheduling.
• Improve operational efficiency.
• Foster better communication between patients and providers.
• Enhance patient satisfaction and retention.

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To achieve these goals, ‘patient engagement software’ can have a broad scope, including bill pay and invoicing, electronic health record (EHR) access, a patient portal, scheduling software, and much more. Different types of healthcare organizations (hospitals, clinics, labs, specialty practices) might require different features. Still, all kinds can benefit from a patient engagement platform tailored to their needs. A well-designed solution can save costs, reduce manual errors, and keep patients engaged throughout their healthcare journey.

Is BridgeInteract A Good Phreesia Alternative?

Of the two platforms compared in this article, Phreesia is more widely used, while BridgeInteract is seeing growing adoption among healthcare organizations seeking a Phreesia alternative. One reason for this is that BridgeInteract offers some features that Phreesia does not, filling in the gaps that providers encountered in previous experiences with healthcare software. Let’s break down the main similarities and differences between these two platforms.

Bridge vs. Phreesia: At A Glance

Billing					Bridge	Phreesia
Insurance Eligibility Verification Ability to collect patient insurance information and check patient insurance status from practice management system or directly from EDI, including co-pay amount.
Secure Online Bill Pay Ability for patients to pay bills online.
Copay Payments Patients can make copayments online during the check-in process.
Invoice and Payment History Access to past invoices incl. encounter detail and payment records.

Communication					Bridge	Phreesia
Broadcast Messaging Ability to send bulk messages (i.e. in-portal,SMS and email) to a cohort of patients based on filters.
Two-Way Communication (Patient-Provider) Ability for patients and providers/staff to securely communicate through a secure portal.
Recall Messaging Ability to send automated messages to patients to address gaps in care and/or recommended appointments.
Live Chat Ability to instant message via an website, app or SMS text between a patient and a provider/staff admin panel

Education					Bridge	Phreesia
Patient Education Ability to send patient education to patients or provide a library of patient education to browse.

Forms					Bridge	Phreesia
Patient Surveys and Reviews Ability for patients to complete surveys remotely via their own device.
Screeners Patient screeners and health risk assessments, including PHQ-9, GAD-7, CHAT, etc. integrated to EHR.
Form Builder Allows healthcare providers to create custom digital forms for patient use.

Intake					Bridge	Phreesia
Patient Intake Software Ability to fill out check-in and/or intake/registration forms from patient’s device or via tablet/kiosk.
Check-In Kiosk / Tablet Self-service kiosks or tablets for patients to check in at the healthcare facility.

Marketing					Bridge	Phreesia
Automated, Targeted Campaigns AI technology to automatically send messages (in-portal, SMS and email) to patients based a a pre-defined criteria.

Mobile					Bridge	Phreesia
Mobile App Mobile app (aka. Digital Front Door) for patients to access key patient information, incl. patient portal functionality. Published to Apple App and Google Play Store.
Client-Branded Mobile App Mobile app is client-branded.

Platform					Bridge	Phreesia
Homegrown Engagement Suite A suite of patient engagement tools.
Population Health Management Reporting for key patient data (ie. conditions, interactions, medications, etc.).
Analytics and Reporting Platform analytics and reporting incl. audit logs.
Value-Based Care Reporting Reporting for key metrics related to value-based care, including patient engagement and quality measures.
Provider/Staff Mobile App A mobile application for healthcare providers and staff to manage patient portal-related functionality, including engaging in virtual visits.

Portal					Bridge	Phreesia
Patient Portal (ONC Certified) ONC certified / CHPL-list web application featuring login area for patients to access their health information.
Patient Dashboard Secure login area for patients to access their health information.
Referral Requests Ability for a patient to request a referral to a specialist through an electronic form.
Rx Refill Requests Ability of patients to electronically request refill prescriptions be forwarded to appropriate pharmacies.

Scheduling					Bridge	Phreesia
Online Scheduling Software Ability for patients to view and request appointments online without live staff assistance.
Automated Appointment Reminders Automatically-generated appointment reminders (SMS and/or email).
Patient Self Scheduling (incl. Custom Workflows and Website-based Scheduling) Ability for patients to self-schedule on a wide variety of appointment types supporting different scheduling workflows based on location, provider and appointment type.

Telehealth					Bridge	Phreesia
Telehealth Appointments Platform that facilitates interactions between patient and provider in lieu of face-to-face visits. Typically enables real-time video visits.
Native Video Visits Seamless integration of video conferencing for telehealth encounters.
Virtual Waiting Room Patients can wait for their appointments virtually.

Which patient engagement software is best for your organization? Compare more platforms.

Core Features Shared By Both Platforms

BridgeInteract and Phreesia are both strong contenders in the patient engagement space. Each platform provides the essential features of patient engagement, including:

Key Differences Between BridgeInteract And Phreesia

Although both platforms have overlapping features, they approach patient engagement problems from different directions.

Let’s explore the key differences that set these platforms apart:

Patient Portal

BridgeInteract delivers an excellent patient experience through Bridge Portal. This centralized hub allows patients to view medical records, schedule appointments, complete forms, request prescription refills, communicate with medical personnel, and much more.

Bridge Portal is the flagship module of BridgeInteract, and integrates seamlessly with other modules to expand its functionality. For example, Bridge Pay enables patients to view and pay bills within the portal, and Bridge Virtual Care allows for telehealth appointments to be conducted via the portal. Patients have their own accounts, which they can securely access via passwordless biometric logins. Family and proxy accounts are also supported.

Phreesia does not offer a patient portal. Instead, patients log in to Phreesia’s websites with multi-step, one-time credentials. They do not create an account and have minimal control over their information outside of completing forms, paying bills, or scheduling appointments.

Ultimately, while both vendors allow patients to engage with their healthcare provider online, BridgeInteract’s patient-centric design and more versatile portal make it the go-to for any healthcare organization that wants a patient portal.

Security

Security should always be a top priority in any healthcare technology, as a costly data breach can occur at any point in the digital supply chain. Both platforms maintain strong security credentials, such as SOC-2, and undergo regular third-party audits to confirm HIPAA compliance. In addition, Phreesia holds HITRUST certification. However, Phreesia has a history of using intake forms that request authorization to serve you targeted advertising based on your own personal information. Patients who do not carefully read the forms may not realize that they are opting in to the sharing of their personal health information with advertisers; to which some parties have raised concerns. (Source: Washington Post)

In contrast, BridgeInteract has ONC certification to confirm compliance with health data standards for secure and reliable record access set by the Department of Health and Human services. One advantage of BridgeInteract is that its modular design allows clients to create a feature-complete patient engagement solution to ensure all their digital tools are secured by the same high standards.

Communication Tools

Phreesia provides basic recall messaging such as appointment reminders, SMS texts, and some surveys. Communication in this respect is mainly one-way (from provider to patient).

BridgeInteract offers more advanced communication tools, including broadcast messaging (mass communication to targeted groups based on filters), two-way secure messaging, live chat, and patient education libraries. Using Bridge Communication, patients and providers can carry on real back-and-forth conversations in a HIPAA-compliant environment, and patients benefit from swift, accessible responses via live chat.

Customization And Branding

Phreesia offers only limited customization options. The platform’s visuals, layout, and identity are relatively fixed, no matter the client. Phreesia’s branding appears throughout the platform. Its advantage lies in consistency and the value of Phreesia’s own brand.

BridgeInteract, on the other hand, provides extensive customization options. Its modular design allows organizations to build their own engagement suite according to their budget and needs, along with custom forms and a client-branded mobile app and portal. This level of flexibility enables cost savings (you don’t pay for functions you won’t use) and offers an opportunity for clients to build their brand using their preferred logos, colors, and other design elements.

Mobile Integration

Mobile healthcare, or mHealth, is an increasingly important aspect of modern healthcare. Phreesia does offer access to its platform on mobile devices via Phreesia Mobile, but these services are limited to check-in, viewing medical data, and bill pay. This is a useful feature that reinforces the platform’s core intake functionalities.

BridgeInteract is more mobile-focused, offering fully featured, dedicated apps for both patients and providers through Bridge Mobile. Depending on the modules selected by the client, these apps can provide all the patient portal features, expanding beyond intake to include scheduling, virtual visits, and communication. The BridgeInteract provider app is a separate feature that serves as a handy on-the-go task management and admin hub for medical staff. Furthermore, BridgeInteract apps can be client-branded, empowering organizations to publish their own branded app on the Apple Store and Google Play Store.

Ease Of Use

Depending on the expertise of your IT team and the precise tools preferred by your organization. Both platforms feature API integrations to integrate their platforms with other medical software.

However, a typical complaint in online reviews of Phreesia is that the software is not particularly user-friendly and can be difficult to set up or integrate with existing tools. Specialty clinics and FQHCs have also raised concerns that the software is not easily customized to their needs (1).

BridgeInteract’s modular approach makes it easier to start small and scale up as needed, letting organizations adapt to new tools at their own pace. The BridgeInteract team has extensive experience in API integrations, including custom solutions, and is highly responsive to customization needs. Flagship modules such as Bridge Portal and Bridge Mobile are representative of the vendor’s focus on user experience, with an emphasis on accessibility and intuitive design.

Marketing And Engagement

A good patient engagement vendor should provide high-quality digital services and support your marketing efforts to increase patient acquisition and retention.

Phreesia offers several features to help healthcare organizations with their marketing. One avenue is through its sub-company, MediFind, an online service provider directory. Another feature aimed at patient retention is PhreesiaOnCall, a customer service helpdesk designed to offer after-hours phone support for patients. Both of these come bundled with the company’s intake services.

BridgeInteract’s marketing functionality features more sophisticated patient outreach tools, leveraging advanced AI technology to create automated targeted campaigns via SMS, email, and the patient portal. This allows providers to tailor their marketing resources to where they will be most effective.

Value-Based Care Reporting

Healthcare organizations can receive significant financial aid from the federal government through value-based care initiatives so long as they can prove that they meet specific metrics.

Both platforms incorporate analytics and reporting tools. Phreesia also supports value-based care reporting via built-in Patient Activation Measure® Performance Measure (PAM-PM), which can assist providers in collecting data for MIPS evaluations. However, BridgeInteract offers a wider range of tools to track and analyze patient outcomes, provider performance, and care quality to support multiple value-based care initiatives, e.g., MACRA, MIPS, and Meaningful Use.

Advanced Telehealth Features

As technology advances, patient demands for accessibility grow, and harsh lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic sink in, telehealth will only become even more important in healthcare. Although both vendors offer telehealth features, only one provides more advanced functionalities to future-proof your practice.

Phreesia supports basic telehealth functionalities through an integration with Zoom for Healthcare®. This integration allows providers to send links to Zoom video calls in their messages to patients.

BridgeInteract does this and more. Through its Bridge Virtual Care module, the platform integrates advanced telehealth capabilities, including video conferencing (patients can invite third parties) and virtual waiting rooms where patients can complete relevant intake forms and engage with live chat support. Rather than simply sending patients to a Zoom app, these functionalities integrate seamlessly with other BridgeInteract modules to make telehealth a core part of your care ecosystem.

Final Thoughts: The BridgeInteract Edge

When comparing BridgeInteract and Phreesia, it’s clear that both platforms provide useful tools for a healthcare organization’s success. However, BridgeInteract sets itself apart with its unified platform and modular design. Unlike Phreesia, which addresses only parts of the patient journey, BridgeInteract offers:

• A seamless user experience across all tools. Everything works with everything else, streamlining admin and ensuring compatibility UX between all tools.
• Full compatibility with any EHR system, not just a few.
• Module options allow organizations to choose the tools they want, saving costs compared to bundled solutions.

BridgeInteract’s high level of customization makes it much more than a simple Phreesia alternative. BridgeInteract clients can build exactly the kind of patient engagement solution they need, making smart use of their budget and resources. Organizations can add more modules and customizations as they grow, adapting to changing conditions while remaining confident that any expansions integrate perfectly with their other digital tools.

This flexibility makes BridgeInteract the superior choice for healthcare organizations seeking a cost-effective, all-in-one solution tailored to their needs.

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Schedule a demo with BridgeInteract today and discover how it can transform your patient engagement strategy.

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Disclaimer: [Phreesia®] is a registered trademark of Phreesia, which is not affiliated with our service. Competitive comparison information on our website is presented in good faith and believed to be up-to-date and accurate and based upon their then-current marketing materials as of December 30th, 2024. If you notice any errors or out-of-date statements please email our support address to let us know.

Sources:

1. GetApp (n.d.) Phreesia reviews. Available at: Link. (Accessed: 21 December 2024).
2. Stat News. (2023) Medical data privacy: concerns rise around patient engagement software. Available at: Link. (Accessed: 21 December 2024).
3. Reddit (2022) Phreesia for physician’s office check-in? Available at: Link. (Accessed: 21 December 2024).