One of the things I love most about my job is hearing from our partners, and their marketing teams, about the unique strategies and tactics they use to promote virtual care. Recently, I had the opportunity to speak with our partners at Kingman Regional Medical Center (KRMC), located in Kingman, Arizona, about how they’ve been working to communicate with patients regarding treatment for COVID-19.
KRMC has been offering Care Anywhere, their Fabric powered virtual care platform, to patients since October 2019. The platform offers online, on-demand access to care through intelligent interviews and also the capability to step up to a video or phone visit.
When COVID-19 struck, KRMC recognized the significant value their virtual care platform could provide by safely treating patients—especially as the only care provider in their rural community.
With the help of the team at Fabric, KRMC quickly launched our COVID-19 screening tool and unique COVID-19 protocol via Care Anywhere. Their team went from one or two providers staffing virtual visits, to nearly 20. They also configured all COVID-19 related visits to be free for their patients.
From my, admittedly biased, perspective as a communications and content specialist—this is the best part of their story. KRMC didn’t just stand up the infrastructure to treat patients virtually—they ran a full campaign to educate patients on the importance of using Care Anywhere, especially for COVID-19. They had the perfect message for the moment, and got it out across the best channels to reach their community.
Their slogan for the campaign was direct—”COVID Symptoms? Stay home and use Care Anywhere”. They advertised on social media, in radio ads, and even in clinics and hospitals. On the radio, ads encouraged patients with milder symptoms to simply go online and complete a visit for free, while reminding those with severe cases to always call 911. Meanwhile, out in the community, people organically started joining in the social campaign, sharing Care Anywhere’s promo video to local Facebook groups raving about their experiences.
The message has reached the community in a significant way. Year to date, KRMC has triaged and treated more than 16,230 patients via Care Anywhere. That’s more than half the population of Kingman, Arizona! Virtual care has proven its power to limit the spread of COVID-19 and bring convenient care to individuals across the country—and that starts with getting the word out to patients that virtual care exists. Kudo’s to KRMC for educating their communities and being a trusted source for care through COVID-19 and beyond.
