Kyruus Blog

2020 was a year filed with change and learning–learning how to operate access centers remotely, learning how to accelerate digital roadmaps, and learning how to launch and scale virtual care programs. And as we continue to deal with the pandemic and plan for the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine to people across the country, many of us continue to find ourselves in a position of learning. This desire for knowledge (and accessing it) will be essential over the coming months and it is also something that is clear from our most read content pieces–healthcare leaders need the latest insights into how consumers find and access care, analytics to understand the state of their access experience, and proven strategies from other organizations on how to transform digital access. To stay informed in 2021 and make a difference in how patients access care, check out the list below of the four most downloaded resources from 2020:

In many of our recent blogs, we have talked about the disruption the pandemic has caused in healthcare, how it has changed the healthcare landscape, and reshaped the patient journey. With many organizations having already pivoted (and some continuing to do so), the conversation has become “what’s next?” Though COVID-19 cases remain high in many areas, now is the time to start thinking about recovery and what it could look like.

From fighting COVID-19 to deploying telehealth platforms rapidly, the last 12 months have certainly presented the healthcare industry and those that work in it with a number of new – and unpredictable – challenges. However, the last 12 months have also been full of learnings and growth, teaching organizations how to drive greater alignment when executing strategic initiatives and engage with consumers in new and innovative ways.

Without question COVID-19 has caused incredible disruption to industries across the board, with the healthcare sector experiencing some of the greatest challenges. At the same time, however, the pandemic has been a catalyst for rapid innovation, revealing opportunities to rethink and transform approaches to care delivery and access. From learning to operate remote call centers to looking for more digitally-enabled ways to engage with patients (e.g., virtual care, virtual assistants), the pandemic has pushed health systems to reimagine—and quickly—their approaches to enabling patient access.

Since the COVID-19 virus emerged in the U.S., the country’s health systems and hospitals have felt a significant strain on their resources and staff as they continue to face rising volumes of patients. Amid this chaos, many organizations have risen to the challenge, using technology to expand access and relieve some of the pressure on their limited resources. Here are some of the ways health systems are using technology to expand access to care during the pandemic:

How to read this graph: The bars illustrate the total number of searches for a term (e.g. diabetes) over the month via the Kyruus ProviderMatch platform and the heatmap breaks the data out by week. While people across the world have had to adjust their lives in the face of the coronavirus crisis, hospitals, health systems, their staff, and the patients turning to them for care have undoubtedly felt the greatest impact. Healthcare organizations face the tough task of not only caring for the influx of patients needing assessment and care for coronavirus, but also ensuring they effectively facilitate care for patients in their communities with non-COVID-related medical needs, such as chronic conditions, mental health, and cancer.