Using Influencers and Social Media to Make the American Public Aware of the New Availability of Telehealth Services

  • HHS offers HIPAA regulatory relief and approves Medicare payment for telehealth services
  • Despite the recent shift in patient behavior and recent regulatory relief, a majority of the American public is still not accustomed to using Telehealth services
  • Influential, a social data & conversion company invested in by IBM Watson and William Morris Endeavor (WME), has built a methodology that leverages influencers and social media to drive awareness, brand lift, and provable ROI in the publics' utilization of telehealth services.
  • www.influential.co

CONTACT
Leigh Grant
Senior Account Executive, Influential
Phone: 425-458-8938
Email: lgrant@influential.co
Website: www.influential.co

INFLUENTIAL'S COVID 19 MEDIA HANDBOOK

LOS ANGELES, CA -- EMPLOYEE BENEFIT UPDATE NEWS SERVICE™ -- MARCH 18, 2020: Yesterday, the Trump administration announced major regulatory relief to permit the American public to access telehealth services stating that "We encourage everyone to maximize use of telehealth to limit exposure to the virus." The Administration has suspended components of HIPAA regulation to allow patients greater access to Telehealth via commonly used platforms like FaceTime and Skype. Further the Administration has announced expanded Medicare telehealth coverage that will enable beneficiaries to receive a wider range of healthcare services from their doctors without having to travel to a healthcare facility. Beginning on March 6, 2020, Medicare--administered by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)--will temporarily pay clinicians to provide telehealth services for beneficiaries residing across the entire country.

Despite the recent shift in patient behavior and the regulatory relief outlined above, a vast portion of the American public is still not accustomed to using Telehealth services. In a recent survey by JD Power,* it was found that only 9.6% of Americans have used Telehealth in 2019, and most of those tend to be young users in the 18-24 age bracket. The issue is made more acute by the lack of awareness of telehealth services across America. 74.3% of Americans say they either don't have access or are unaware of telehealth options. Awareness that leads to adoption will be critical, especially now that we're witnessing accelerated rates of Influenza in Q1 and the proliferation of the novel COVID-19 across many busy urban centers.

At Influential, a social data & conversion company invested in by IBM Watson and William Morris Endeavor (WME), we have built a methodology that leverages influencers and social media to drive awareness, brand lift, and provable ROI in the publics' utilization of telehealth services. This approach has shifted behaviors on behalf of Fortune 1000 companies, including several major health care service providers, insurers, and wellness companies. In the current state of social distancing, it is more critical than ever for companies to reach the health care consumer via social media.

Influential has prepared a COVID-19 preparedness handbook that provides transparent insights on who's advertising, what content they are creating, consumer sentiment, and how companies are activating social content for postponed events using last year's attendees. We trust this information will be invaluable over the next few weeks/months to appropriately assess and strategize with your comms/PR and media teams.

TO REQUEST YOUR COPY OF INFLUENTIAL'S COVID 19 MEDIA HANDBOOK:

Contact Leigh Grant, Senior Account Executive, Influential at 425-458-8938 or lgrant@influential.co.