Grasshopper vs Vonage?

[eaglepsych]

Solo private practice. Currently have my landline / work phone number permanently forwarded to my cell.

Want to switch to grasshopper vs Vonage I think. Any suggestions?

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[Aramis4u]

Have you considered using Google voice?

Pros:
It is free.
It has texting options.
You can use it with any mobile/cell provider.
It has caller screening
Most Voicemails(American accents are relatively well transcribed) get converted to text and sent to your email and also to your cell as a message.
Can change numbers and retain all the old voicemails
Can block specific numbers.
Can call international at cheapest rates in the market.
On some mobile phones(Samsung) and operators(T mobile) can get call alerts even if there is no cell phone tower signal reception.

Cons:
You need a gmail account.(who doesn't)
International SMS blocked.(have other apps for that)

My scenario:
I give out my google number to many and my personal number only to family. (Work-life balance)

Feel free to read more about Google Voice.
https://support.google.com/voice/answer/115061?hl=en



Disclaimer: No financial or other incentive to named entities/brands. Used names because I have researched tried and tested those brands.

 

[SomeDoc]

Have you considered using Google voice?

Pros:
It is free.
It has texting options.
You can use it with any mobile/cell provider.
It has caller screening
Most Voicemails(American accents are relatively well transcribed) get converted to text and sent to your email and also to your cell as a message.
Can change numbers and retain all the old voicemails
Can block specific numbers.
Can call international at cheapest rates in the market.
On some mobile phones(Samsung) and operators(T mobile) can get call alerts even if there is no cell phone tower signal reception.

Cons:
You need a gmail account.(who doesn't)
International SMS blocked.(have other apps for that)

My scenario:
I give out my google number to many and my personal number only to family. (Work-life balance)

Feel free to read more about Google Voice.
https://support.google.com/voice/answer/115061?hl=en



Disclaimer: No financial or other incentive to named entities/brands. Used names because I have researched tried and tested those brands.

Not recommended. Google voice saves call-related data, including voice messages. Voice data is uploaded to google's servers for processing- that's how they are able to provide transciption services. The data is stored by google to improve their voice recognition service.

 

[splik]

Have you considered using Google voice?

The main con is google voice is NOT HIPAA compliant. you absolutely should not use google voice for this purpose. Other google products are HIPAA compliant if you have a business associate agreement (BAA) which you have to pay for, but google voice is not currently covered by this. given the number of google security breaches, the risk of using it is too great.

 

[Aramis4u]

Agree with the comments regarding Hipaa standards.
From Google :
Google offers a BAA covering Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Drive (including Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Forms), Google Sites, and Google Apps Vault services.

Google Apps customers are responsible for determining whether they are subject to HIPAA requirements and whether they use or intend to use Google services in connection with PHI. Customers who have not entered into a BAA with Google must not use Google services in connection with PHI.

Google voice may not be an option at all if you are required to be HIPAAcompliant (i.e. if you are taking insurance).
But from a practical standpoint, you can turn of the voice to text feature, which makes it as secure as any othervoicemail service, most of which are storing voicemails on a server anyway.