The days of hope are here in the form of the new Covid-19 vaccine. With the impacts of Covid on healthcare still as fresh as the morning dew, hospitals and other healthcare units are on the lookout for the befitting communication strategy that engages, educates, and makes people trust the vaccine.

 India being listed as the third country with highest Covid-19 cases, it is a crucial hour for healthcare professionals, and the Ministry of Healthcare to spread the word for the entire population and encourage the uptake.

 All that healthcare players’ need is timely, transparent, and trust-worthy information that eases the apprehensions around the vaccine and promotes its acceptance. As simple as it may sound, implementing the effective communication strategy is anything but not easy.

 India being a diversified country, it takes numerous consumable pieces of communication across the print and digital media.

 Around 7 million Indians have been vaccinated so far. Even though the numbers seem pretty impressive, they are disappointing in reality compared to the population of the nation.

 Covid Vaccination: The Blockers of Trust

 Most people not trusting the vaccine and the media houses are of no help in resolving this major trust issue. Healthcare industry should understand the blockers first to improve the vaccine uptake.

 Rumors - As Covid-19 is a new disease, people tend to believe the hearsay. Effective measures to manage the rumors with reliable information is the need of the hour.

Apprehensions - Most people are not yet ready to take the vaccine. The hesitancy needs to be addressed with valid data that indicates the vaccine's safety and efficiency.

Hesitancy - Every medical treatment has its own side effects. Preparing the people about the potential risk factors of Covid vaccine is the way to go rather than hiding the actual facts.

 Ensure you revisit your hospital operations management and capacity management before devising the patient engagement strategy. Here are a few tips for hospitals to create an effective COVID-19 vaccine communication strategy for your patients.

 Evidence-Based Communication:

Healthcare marketing has always been following the ethical and evidence-based communication strategies. And, walking in the same path is needed no matter how desperate the times have become for healthcare institutes.

Take forward your media capacity building approaches by enhancing the communication with accurate information, focusing on the specific facets of the communication based on the stages involved in the life cycle of the Covid vaccine.

Strengthen Your Communication Outreach:  

With the reducing attention of the audience, you might want to redesign and rethink your media outreach approaches altogether. Ensure your communication evokes positivity and carries the trust factor by sharing the truth.

Keep your communication omnipresent. Most media houses urge the hospitals to rely only on the digital media.

However, do not underestimate the power of print media. In fact, we are still living in the times that attributes the trust factor to the print media more than it does to the digital media.

A Communication Strategy that Covers It All:

Ensure your communication is noted by people of various walks of life. Engage with the regional media, be it TV, print, or social media, to reach the underprivileged groups of the society.

Workshops, webinars, and live sessions with the established figures in the healthcare, and public sectors would instill the trust-factor in the public.

Focus on the communication that suits the entire life cycle of the vaccination process, from starting to the end.

For instance, your collaterals should cover starting from the importance of vaccination, how to take it, where you should take it, and information about the side effects (if any).

Media and Communication Analysis:

Follow phase-wise communication strategy and AB test your communication to know the content pegs that are bringing better engagement.

The vaccine sentiment is constantly changing based on various factors. Monitor the media trends and analyze them before releasing your next campaign.

Media monitoring and analysis helps you gain public confidence, show ways to fan behaviors, and overcome the fears around the Covid vaccine.

Communication Training and Documentation:

The marketing and communication teams are expected to deliver better and receivable pieces of content on Covid-19 vaccine.

It is extremely important to focus on preparing these teams for the tasks ahead of them. Focus more on learning and development for both hospital operational and patient care teams.

In addition, document the content related to engagement, advocacy, and other communication activities regularly. Documentation works as a playbook for your marketing team.

Handful Tips for Healthcare Marketers on Covid-19 Vaccine Communication

●       Detail the entire vaccination process - Where, When and How.

●       Ensure your communication emphasizes on the safety factors

●       Be prepared for the social and media trends and ensure your communication is in sync

●       Leverage on media advocacy and involve social and civil society groups

●       Divide your communication strategy based on your region (state, district, urban and panchayat level)

 Influence the marketing guidelines from experienced minds and take advantage of the Healthcare consulting firms that will help you drive media campaigns to derive better engagement from your audience.

The world is still reeling from the wake of the pandemic. Healthcare players are very well aware that these are unprecedented times and spells like these require innovative hospital management tactics that fit the bill.

 The country is heading into the 8th month of the lockdown, yet the players still need answers and solutions for a plethora of aspects in everyday healthcare operations such as critical care management, human resources management and vendor management for hospitals.

 Amid the rapidly increasing healthcare needs, overwhelming service demands, and shortage of human resources, healthcare players are looking at the experienced healthcare consultants for a partnership that compliments their healthcare delivery efforts.

 Most hospitals have already adapted to patient flow metrics and are experiencing the footfalls that are almost equivalent to pre-lockdown numbers.

 As much as it is a welcoming factor for the management, allocating their resources for the growing needs, managing the infrastructure effectively for covid and non-covid healthcare delivery is much more than a bigger task without a strategy in place.

 Here is a step by step guide for the players as to what exactly are the challenges faced by healthcare players in adapting the new normal and how can they make their shift seamless. Continue reading.

 ●      Revenue losses - At the end of June 2020, healthcare as an industry was looking at a whopping 22000 crores of loss in terms of revenue. This is a major concern for the players to look into right now. 

●      Patient Acquisition and Retention - Patient acquisition and retention are two of the most challenging tasks on the table for the healthcare providers. Though the telemedicine approach is trying to fill the gap, it is never assuring.

●      Keeping Up with the Changes - These are unprecedented times and there is no denying. WHO, governments and healthcare authorities are issuing guidelines that are expected to be adapted faster by hospitals.

●      Juggling Between the Covid and Non-covid Delivery - Managing and training the staff in order to be able to juggle between the operational tasks is a steep road to climb.

●      Shortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) - Shortage of PPE has been one of the major hindrances that are detaining the efficiency and timely delivery. The growing gap between the global supply chain touchpoints is a real concern for the healthcare providers. 

 The entire Covid-19 situation is an emergency task ahead of healthcare management. And, the efficient handling of an emergency situation is simply as good as that particular hospital’s Incident Command System or Responsive Unit.

 Guidelines to Manage Patient Care Better

 Hospitals of all sizes need to have a system in place, if not it is time to create one at the earliest. A well-functioning incident management system contains predefined operational guidelines to deal with the clinical, human resources, infrastructure management, pharmacy, and other essential aspects involved in effective hospital operations.  

 ❏     Balanced Focus on Essential Care and Covid-19 -

     ●      The care rendering for Covid-19 should not suppress the critical care services such as critical care, surgical care, and other regular clinical care.

●      Considering the clinical and operational resources available, list down the healthcare services your hospital can immediately proceed with and streamline the operations accordingly.

●      Continuing the balance between the both wings, plan and allocate sufficient resources that are in the hospital’s capacity.

 ❏     Prepare for the Surge in Patient Inflow -

●      As the unlocking process eases out the community more and more, hospitals are needed to be prepared for the increased patient inflow.

●      Evaluate the human resources and logistic resources and use the clinical data to determine the level of preparedness of your hospital.

●      Take help from the best healthcare consulting firms in order to keep your preparation on track for the surge the players about to face. 

 ❏     Focusing on the Non-Clinical Aspects -

 ●      Hospital infrastructure plays a major role in enabling the hospital to continue with essential care and Covid-19 care.

●      Plan your facility that is immune to contain the infections and gives your clinical and operational team a breathing space to juggle between effortlessly.

●      Take extra preventive measures at the vulnerable spots in a hospital such as laboratories, common areas, pharmacies and cafeteria.

 Precise and meaningful communication between each team, departments, and all the stakeholders involved plays a pivotal role in hospitals making a seamless shift to the pre-Covid-19 operational capacity.

 Follow these guidelines and get in touch with a trusted healthcare consulting firm to ensure your hospital is ready to handle the upcoming surge.

Specialists from the medical services industry agree that telemedicine has been around for quite a while now, but its significance was acknowledged clearly during the pandemic, which has given a lift to the health tech system in India. Because of the lockdown, organizations have been pushed towards digitization so as to support their business. Also, this has quickened digitization and has seen expanding opportunities in health care area in India, which is battling the pandemic from cutting edges.

 Who all supports this digitization transformation and how ?

 A report discovered that five crore Indians picked for online medical services between March 1 and May 31, 2020, during the public lockdown, accordingly recording a 500 percent development in online medical care conferences. The report likewise said that 80 percent of them were first-time telemedicine clients. Similarly, 44 percent of the clients were from non-metro urban areas. Corona virus not just prompted the acknowledgment of tele-consultations by patients but also doctors. Earlier doctors found it easier to consult a patient face to face, but when the pandemic broke out, doctors pivoted to digitization. There are quite a number of apps that have always been in the scene working in the online consultation space at present.

 Our medical care model is assisting with helping us relieve diseases and increase life efficiency. Latest technological advancements have given us innovative solutions to improve the quality of patient online consultations. From physical devices to smart health care systems transmitting data in real time and solving life-threatening diseases. Government has nudged hospital information system in embracing medical records using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to pull out data to contribute better treatment. During the Pandemic, Ministry of Health and Welfare (MoHW), has collaborated with Niti Aayog and released Telemedicine Practice Guidelines enabling Registered Medical Professionals to give healthcare in remote areas using Health Information Technology.

What is Health Information Technology?

It refers to the electronic system that stores all the patients data which can be stored, shared and analyzed by health care professionals and also used by patients to view their data.

Health Information System includes:

Electronic Health Records (EHR): All these health data are stored online where your doctor will be able to view your previous reports even when their hospital offices are not functioning.

Personal Health Records: This segment is completely controlled by you. It includes all your personal information that are produced by you. For example tracking your next doctor visit, monitoring what you eat, your blood pressure level, your height, weight etc,.

E-Prescription: We all know how difficult it is to read any doctors handwriting! But an E-prescription can never be misread, and even the written prescription can be misplaced. E-prescription helps you connect to the pharmacy directly.

Secure and safe: All of these health information are encrypted well that only authorized personnel will be granted access to the data. Hospital information system can make your life easier to record and track all your data in one place.

 Next time you visit a health care consulting firm, make sure you ask them about the e-prescription to completely eliminate the hassle of managing the reports!

How does this Health Information Technology help us?

Quicker, more precise remedies: E-recommending frameworks sends the prescription to the drug store for you so your medication is ready for pickup when you show up, sparing you time. E-prescription can likewise lessen the possibility for medicine mistakes.

Rapid data sharing: When a supplier includes patients’ notes or test results to your  Electronic Health Records, that data is accessible to the medical service suppliers who are approved to see your records.

Reduced administrative work: As a patient, you would have answered similar inquiries regarding your data and clinical history many times. When everything is online, you need not share your electronic health data to medical services suppliers over and over again.

Reduced pointless number of tests: Doctors at times requests tests that you've had taken before basically on the grounds that they have not seen your previous test records. If all your test results are recorded in Electronic Health Records (EHR) a medical care supplier can see your earlier test results that are accessible and request only essential tests, sparing time and money.

 Easy follow-ups: Many EHRs join updated systems for both you and your physician. Few EHRs remind your physician to catch up with you about progressing health conditions or to offer you data or on the other hand benefits because of changes in your health. Simultaneously, some EHRs can send you email or instant message updates about current treatments and prescriptions, and different approaches to improve your well-being.Specialists from the medical services industry agree that telemedicine has been around for quite a while now, but its significance was acknowledged clearly during the pandemic, which has given a lift to the health tech system in India. Because of the lockdown, organizations have been pushed towards digitization so as to support their business. Also, this has quickened digitization and has seen expanding opportunities in health care area in India, which is battling the pandemic from cutting edges.

 Who all supports this digitization transformation and how ?

 A report discovered that five crore Indians picked for online medical services between March 1 and May 31, 2020, during the public lockdown, accordingly recording a 500 percent development in online medical care conferences. The report likewise said that 80 percent of them were first-time telemedicine clients. Similarly, 44 percent of the clients were from non-metro urban areas. Corona virus not just prompted the acknowledgment of tele-consultations by patients but also doctors. Earlier doctors found it easier to consult a patient face to face, but when the pandemic broke out, doctors pivoted to digitization. There are quite a number of apps that have always been in the scene working in the online consultation space at present.

 Our medical care model is assisting with helping us relieve diseases and increase life efficiency. Latest technological advancements have given us innovative solutions to improve the quality of patient online consultations. From physical devices to smart health care systems transmitting data in real time and solving life-threatening diseases. Government has nudged hospital information system in embracing medical records using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to pull out data to contribute better treatment. During the Pandemic, Ministry of Health and Welfare (MoHW), has collaborated with Niti Aayog and released Telemedicine Practice Guidelines enabling Registered Medical Professionals to give healthcare in remote areas using Health Information Technology.

What is Health Information Technology?

It refers to the electronic system that stores all the patients data which can be stored, shared and analyzed by health care professionals and also used by patients to view their data.

Health Information System includes:

Electronic Health Records (EHR): All these health data are stored online where your doctor will be able to view your previous reports even when their hospital offices are not functioning.

Personal Health Records: This segment is completely controlled by you. It includes all your personal information that are produced by you. For example tracking your next doctor visit, monitoring what you eat, your blood pressure level, your height, weight etc,.

E-Prescription: We all know how difficult it is to read any doctors handwriting! But an E-prescription can never be misread, and even the written prescription can be misplaced. E-prescription helps you connect to the pharmacy directly.

Secure and safe: All of these health information are encrypted well that only authorized personnel will be granted access to the data. Hospital information system can make your life easier to record and track all your data in one place.

Next time you visit a health care consulting firm, make sure you ask them about the e-prescription to completely eliminate the hassle of managing the reports!

 How does this Health Information Technology help us?

 Quicker, more precise remedies: E-recommending frameworks sends the prescription to the drug store for you so your medication is ready for pickup when you show up, sparing you time. E-prescription can likewise lessen the possibility for medicine mistakes.

Rapid data sharing: When a supplier includes patients’ notes or test results to your  Electronic Health Records, that data is accessible to the medical service suppliers who are approved to see your records.

Reduced administrative work: As a patient, you would have answered similar inquiries regarding your data and clinical history many times. When everything is online, you need not share your electronic health data to medical services suppliers over and over again.

Reduced pointless number of tests: Doctors at times requests tests that you've had taken before basically on the grounds that they have not seen your previous test records. If all your test results are recorded in Electronic Health Records (EHR) a medical care supplier can see your earlier test results that are accessible and request only essential tests, sparing time and money.

Easy follow-ups: Many EHRs join updated systems for both you and your physician. Few EHRs remind your physician to catch up with you about progressing health conditions or to offer you data or on the other hand benefits because of changes in your health. Simultaneously, some EHRs can send you email or instant message updates about current treatments and prescriptions, and different approaches to improve your well-being.

As India slowly started unravelling the lockdown in many states, the healthcare industry, along with the other industries, is gearing up to provide the much-needed healthcare services like the days prior to the pandemic.

 However, restoration of other services when the fight with the Covid-19 pandemic is still on is a mammoth task. A well devised post-lockdown organizational strategies for hospitals are the need of the hour.

 Post-Lockdown Strategies for Hospitals

 The speed and stealth of the virus made it impossible for the governments and public health service divisions to keep the pandemic at bay. Analyzing the current scenario, and the other health demands of the public, checking the depth before the dip would be a wise thing for a hospital to do.

 Here is a strategy playbook for healthcare facilities to follow to make a smooth transition into post-lockdown healthcare operations.

 Optimize Out-patient Delivery Mechanism 

 Hospitals are experiencing a bottleneck in their intensive and emergency healthcare departments due the spike in Covid-19 cases. Optimizing the out-patient delivery model for all non-critical conditions would be the option to choose.

     ●      Prioritize healthcare services that, if differed, may result in readmission or cause potential patient harm.

●       Take measures for rapid expansion of healthcare delivery models such as out-patient and leverage telemedicine for all the non-prioritized health conditions.

●       Maintain a threshold of care system that segregates care into 4 segments in the event of a deferral - immediate potential patient harm, potential patient harm in near future, less unlikely to cause harm, and highly unlikely to cause harm.

●   Appropriate admissions and re-evaluating the need for admission gives your hospital capacity to optimize your delivery.

   Telemedicine - The Go-to way for General Medicine

 Telemedicine has always been a nice-to-have healthcare delivery system and now it has become imperative for hospitals. Here are a few reasons why you should include telemedicine in your post-lockdown strategy.

 ●   Optimizing the healthcare services by bringing them to the doors of the needy, telemedicine is the future of healthcare delivery systems.

●  Starting from the primary healthcare providers to the specialists, healthcare players can leverage telemedicine to provide health solutions.

●   It is the potential alternative for the providers to monitor, follow-up, and offer the further course of action for almost all types of medical needs.

●   Apart from the mainstream healthcare services, behavioural counselling, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and advanced care planning can be done seamlessly using telemedicine.

     Strategies to Maintain a Balanced Transition

 As the hospitals are functioning at their full capacity dedicated to Covid-19 but making the transition to a balancing point where the other essential health services are rendered is exigent.

 ●   Epidemiological handling strategies are still questionable and rudimentary in many hospitals.

●   Making the infrastructural and resources split and allocating dedicated health service centers is the key in successful handling.

●  With the disrupted supply chain systems, it is time for the hospitals to come to the common grounds, share data, and employ strategies such as location pooling.

●   Location pooling a method in which a particular condition is treated at a particular facility for that particular community.

Hospital Capacity Management 

Considering the cross-infections and Covid-19 transmission it is highly unlikely for the hospitals to function at full capacity. However hospitals can enhance their current capacity by following these measures.

 ●   Keep your workforce well-informed about the ongoing response needs of each health need of the patients.

●     Make adjustments to healthcare delivery in such a way that the in-person care is reduced. 

●  Keep the infection prevention guidelines in practice and tailor them to comply with the current scenario.

●   Take measures to identify higher acuity health care needs (non-Covid-19), screen and refer them appropriately.

 Critical care management and emergency care management are the two departments that need a regulated perspective.

 Successful handling of any pandemic needs realization of all possible options and solutions. Employing telemedicine, out-patient service delivery systems, re-purposing the service capacity for non-urgency services and establishing a coordinated hospital ecosystem are the silver linings in mitigating the risks the human race is facing currently.

 Explore your healthcare facility’s critical care and emergency care capacities, non-Covid-19 healthcare service delivery, and ways to sustain and maintain the fiscal viability with the help of experienced and best healthcare consulting firms in India to change the tide.