Portal-based solutions were designed “to support patient appointment bookings, reminders, and communication with health care providers via secure messaging from anywhere via the internet,” writes the study Toward Normalizing Inclusive Design by Uncovering Patient Experiences of a Web Portal in a Dental Hospital: Mixed Methods Study. “For patients, portals have been reported to benefit clinician-patient relationships, health status awareness, and adherence to therapy and medications.” However, patient portals have unintentionally introduced barriers that reduce accessibility and personalization. This has caused therapists to make a shift from using platforms like Zoho and other portal-based communication tools.
Zoho is a cloud-based Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform that provides an extensive suite of business applications designed to streamline communication, collaboration, and day-to-day operations. Its ecosystem includes more than 50 integrated tools, allowing organizations to manage multiple functions from one place.
Key product offerings include:
While Zoho is not a dedicated healthcare platform; however, many small practices, clinics, and health-adjacent businesses use it for administrative and operational tasks. Key applications include:
However, Zoho’s healthcare use is generally limited to administrative workflows. Only Zoho Mail offers the option for a business associate agreement (BAA), meaning most other apps in the Zoho ecosystem cannot be used to handle protected health information (PHI) under HIPAA. As a result, many therapists and healthcare providers use Zoho for business management tasks but rely on purpose-built, HIPAA compliant platforms for clinical communication and documentation.
While patient portals (and similar digital, portal-based solutions) offer potential benefits, research shows several important disadvantages and limitations, many of which challenge their effectiveness in practice. Findings from the study Barriers to Patient Portal Access and Use: Evidence from the Health Information National Trends Survey list several important limitations of portal-based solutions in healthcare:
Go deeper: The disadvantages of patient portals
While patient portals may be widely used, they are not always the most accessible or effective way for patients and providers to communicate. The above study proves that many patients struggle with portal logins, navigation, or limited mobile usability, and clinicians often need more flexible tools for timely communication. As a result, healthcare organizations, including therapists, are increasingly turning to alternative solutions that offer easier access, stronger engagement, and better alignment with real-world workflows.
Many telehealth platforms, like Zoom and SimplePractice, now include secure chat, video calls, and document sharing built into the visit workflow. Rather than relying on a portal, patients can receive links that authenticate them directly into their virtual session or secure chat.
According to an article published by Harvard Health, the advantages of telemedicine include:
Secure messaging apps are specialized applications or services designed to encrypt messages, maintain audit logs, and manage access. In healthcare, they support the “delivery of messages containing clinical documents and/or other information between healthcare organizations, sent either directly or through one or more secure messaging providers,” says the Australian Digital Health Agency.
The article notes that healthcare providers benefit by:
Stephen Ginn from Cambridge University notes that “email is a major means of communication in healthcare and it facilitates the fast delivery of messages and information.” With more than 251 million emails exchanged among global users every minute, secure email platforms may be the best option for patient/client communication.
According to Ginn, the benefits of email for both provider and client/patient include the following:
Read also: Why email is the best complement to conventional healthcare
Paubox is a leading secure email solution tailored for healthcare organizations seeking seamless HIPAA compliant communication. It encrypts emails automatically and delivers them directly to the recipient’s regular inbox without extra steps or passwords. This approach improves patient engagement by making secure communication simple and convenient while maintaining maximum data protection. Paubox also provides robust features such as real-time threat detection, comprehensive audit logs, and a signed business associate agreement (BAA), ensuring full compliance with HIPAA regulations. By easily integrating with existing email systems, Paubox helps healthcare providers streamline workflows, reduce administrative burdens, and safeguard PHI effectively.
See also: HIPAA Compliant Email: The Definitive Guide (2025 Update)
Many patients are more responsive to email, text, or app-based communication than they are to portals. Offering multiple communication options typically increases engagement, especially for patients who prefer simpler tools.
Most alternatives, such as secure email, telehealth messaging, and encrypted apps, support two-way communication. Traditional SMS-only systems may be limited unless integrated with a secure messaging platform.
Many HIPAA compliant communication platforms, like Paubox, offer EHR integration, allowing messages and shared documents to be linked directly to patient records for seamless documentation and workflow.