SR Health Blog

As we battle the current surge of COVID cases and hospitalizations there’s yet another  danger to public health lurking behind the scenes—COVID misinformation.

For healthcare organizations and the public, the Delta variant of the COVID virus couldn’t have surged across the country at a worse time. Cases and hospitalizations are spiking, mask wars are raging, and kids are returning to school this month. Most concerning of all, a large portion of Americans remain unvaccinated.

While we’re hoping it’s just a temporary setback, recent data showing a trending uptick in COVID cases and hospitalizations in the U.S. and around the world is a sure sign that greater precautions are called for.

It turns out that the word of mouth approach to championing the COVID vaccine to on-the-fence friends and family may be more powerful than we thought.

We’re light years ahead of where we were a year ago in the battle against COVID but that doesn’t mean there’s still not room for improvement in vaccinating as many Americans as possible.

“3 Keys to Increasing Appointments in 2021”

As COVID vaccination rates continue to climb this summer, we’re starting to see encouraging signs of life as health systems and medical practices rebound from an abysmal 2020. Nearly 44 percent of the nation’s population is fully vaccinated, including more than 51 percent of people ages 12 and up. This may indicate that patients are feeling more comfortable and safer returning to care visits as the COVID crisis in the U.S. subsides.

While mass vaccination sites were clearly indispensable when we needed to get shots in arms as quickly as possible to those who wanted them, most large-scale vaccinations centers around the country now folding as demand flattens out. The challenge now to healthcare is to continue to roll out the vaccine to a significant remainder of Americans at more localized sites such as doctors’ offices, pharmacies, and temporary walk-up clinics.

The U.S. News & World Report webinar, “Designing a Digital Patient Experience for the On-Demand Customer,” was presented on April 27. The webinar featured a panel of healthcare experts, including Josh Weiner, CEO of SR Health; Dr. Thomas Maddox of BJC HealthCare; Katie Scott of My UPMC; and Sara Vaezy of Providence. Click here to watch the webinar in its entirety.

It’s encouraging that in the ongoing battle against the pandemic, we’re continually seeing greater vaccination coverage and momentum in the vaccine rollout. For the last two weeks straight, the U.S. has dispensed more than 3 million doses of the COVID vaccine daily. The following is a look at some other ways we’re succeeding in fighting the pandemic and also some areas identified for increased education and outreach efforts.