Zoom Happy hours had a moment, uniting us with friends we haven’t had a drink with in years. Working remote became the norm, igniting hotly debated workplace change. Our kids’ education went digital, bolstering the ed tech industry. Every facet of our lives shifted in response to COVID-19, using both technology and creativity to power the pivot. While this shift has shaken up our personal lives, the real inflection point belongs to healthcare.
With 44% of US hospitals using The Wellness Network‘s patient education and engagement solutions, we’ve launched products to solve acute problems and are re-imagining the hospital of tomorrow. Customer interviews and utilization data reveal that what we’ve always known remains even truer during today’s COVID-19 crisis— workflow solutions that allow providers to educate patients in a way that saves time without compromising health outcomes or patient experience are crucial. Here are the top two principles we’re sharing with pharma partners on HCP engagement:
1. Understanding how hospital workflow is and isn’t changing is key. We’ve learned from providers in our 2,300 hospitals that there is no ‘one size fits all.’ Regional impact of COVID-19, hospital size and department all impact the degree to which workflow has changed. From tablets with provider-patient virtual interaction capability, customizable TV, a digital education platform and EMR integration for communication outside of the hospital to disposable print to drive utilization, we’re meeting HCP needs with a variety of solutions. Just as the pandemic requires creativity and flexibility, the post-COVID world will, too.
2. While workflow is changing, the need to educate patients is not. Patients still have ordinary needs in the face of extraordinary circumstances. Chronic conditions still need to be managed, babies continue to be born, and surgical recoveries must be achieved. As clinicians are strapped for time, acceptance of new solutions has accelerated. This will drive opportunity post-COVID as providers are more open-minded to new ways of engagement than ever before.
Today’s changing healthcare landscape brings immense opportunity to innovate without losing sight of evergreen truths that still guide the relationships between patients, providers and pharma, and hospitals will continue to play a significant role post-pandemic.
This post was published in the MM&M July 2020 eBook.
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