December marks the ninth month that the United States has been dealing with the severities of the COVID-19 pandemic with no clear end in sight. Case numbers are on the rise again and healthcare providers are forced to remain vigilant and act swiftly in response to developing conditions. In previous blog posts, we have analyzed our product data to identify key trends reflective of any possible shifts in patient engagement strategies among our customers. This comparative analysis of patient messaging data between Spring of 2019 versus Spring of 2020, shows that since last year, broadcast messaging has grown to be a key tool for helping our customers keep their patients engaged.
Below with a graph showing the week over week growth of unique broadcasts created versus new COVID-19 cases, check it out:
Immediately, we can see that recent broadcast usage in 2020 remains relatively high in comparison to broadcast usage in 2019. More interestingly, we can see a correlation between rising COVID-19 case numbers and unique broadcast messages being created. Following the initial spike of broadcasts in March of 2020, we can see quantities decrease a bit before starting to climb back up around the week of September 14th. This is also when we see the number of new COVID-19 cases start to creep back up before quickly surging up to current numbers.
This relationship implies that customers are continuing to find broadcast messages to be effective when mass communicating with patients during the pandemic. Luma’s broadcast messaging feature was designed specifically for mass communications, so it is exciting to see that our customers are finding it useful during these difficult times.
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We dive deeper in the graph below, showing the monthly distribution of broadcast messaging by different channels of communication. While we see the popularity of emails periodically, mobile texting undoubtedly remains the most popular channel of communication. We have consistently examined text to be the most effective form of direct patient communication, so it is encouraging to see that our customers are also seeing the benefits of a text based communication strategy.
Broadcast messaging is just one of the ways that our customers have been adapting not only to the constantly changing conditions of the pandemic, but also to the increased demand for more effective patient engagement. It will be interesting to follow these metrics as we move throughout the pandemic and beyond, as standards and demands for patient engagement are only getting higher. Features like broadcast messaging are looking like they might be here to stay.
If you have not already, check out this post on our recommended best practices for managing the COVID-19 pandemic as well as our end-to-end suite of COVID-19 solutions to see if Luma can offer you any tools to help manage your practice at this time. We anticipate our data to continue to reflect our customers’ patient engagement strategies, especially as the pandemic continues to develop, so be sure to check back on our blog to get the latest information.