Health Tech and NHS IT PR and Communications During the COVID-19 Crisis - and Beyond
Opinion Article by Susan Venables, Founder, Client Services Director, Highland MarketingIt is hard to find positives in the sudden dislocation caused by the spread of the novel coronavirus. A little over two weeks ago, the NHS was being advised to encourage people to use NHS 111 Online to get advice about the disease and to ramp up online booking and remote consultations in primary care. A week later, it was being asked to free-up 30,000 beds ahead of the suspension of all non-urgent, elective operations from 15 April.
Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA), a global leader in health technology, today announced that it can help general practitioners and healthcare institutions manage the increased patient flows resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak through a dedicated and scalable telehealth solution that facilitates the use of online screening, follow-up questionnaires and monitoring, and external call center collaborations. 
Buddy Healthcare wants to help hospitals and healthcare professionals in the battle against the COVID-19. BuddyCare virtual care platform can be used for not only symptom tracking, remote monitoring and data collection purposes but also in digitizing secure communication between the individuals/patients and healthcare professionals. 
Allscripts (NASDAQ: MDRX) is taking several steps to further its commitment to help fight the global spread of COVID-19. The company is working closely with health agencies and governments around the world to keep abreast of changes and partnering with clients to share and enable their Allscripts solutions to help combat the spread of the virus and manage their patients. 
Orion Health is applying its resources, technology and experience to offer support to its customers, as healthcare organisations globally face exceptional challenges from the COVID-19 outbreak.