COVID-19 has made healthcare policy the hot topic of the 2020 election. As healthcare public relations professionals, it’s always top of mind for us and our clients. We’ve got two very different candidates heading into the November election: President Donald Trump (R) and former Vice President Joe Biden (D). Let’s take a look at how they match up on key issues:

The Aria Marketing staff has spent the past seven months supporting our health IT clients from home amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. While working remotely has introduced us to many challenges, like issues with internet coverage, Zoom calls, homeschooling, and crowded households, the Aria team has found innovative ways to set themselves up for success at home. Hear from members of the Aria team below on best practices for working from home as well as what they miss most about our office:

As most of us in the healthcare IT sphere know, telehealth adoption has exploded thanks to COVID-19. In fact, according to a recent survey from our client Kyruus, 75% of patients had their first virtual visit in 2020 and Frost & Sullivan forecasts a sevenfold growth in telehealth usage by 2025.

At the start of the pandemic, Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the Department for Health and Human Services (HHS) eased some HIPAA security rules to aid with the rapid shift to virtual care, particularly specifically allowing health systems to use non-compliant remote communication technology such as Zoom, Skype or FaceTime without facing penalties. While the move sped up the adoption of telemedicine, it didn’t eliminate the security and privacy risks associated with them.

As we’ve entered week 10 of social distancing here in Massachusetts, all eyes are on strategies for resuming activities without compromising safety. Working at a healthcare-focused PR agency like Aria during the COVID-19 pandemic has given us insight not only on the acute effects of the crisis, but on the wider-reaching consequences the virus has on the industry. With quarantine and stay-at-home orders in place, people have missed routine and non-emergent medical appointments, forgoing care that they might have sought in a more normal circumstance.

Welcoming in a new year is an excellent time to think about what went well, what didn't, and what we can do to improve the next 12 months. Similarly to how we strategize to be more impactful with our healthcare IT work, we use the new year to strategize and come up with new ways to maximize our own health and wellness. A few years ago, we had the idea to close our offices the week between Christmas and New Year’s; a perk for which we are all still very grateful.

As the world begins to “return to normal,” there are some innovations, processes and habits we picked up during the COVID-19 lockdown that actually weren’t so bad – in fact, there are a few COVID adaptations I think we should keep.

The entire world is experiencing the effects of the coronavirus pandemic as it is impacting every facet of our lives from our jobs, to the way we shop for groceries, to social engagements and more. In particular, the content of the news has changed with the majority of information now being shared through the lens of COVID-19. As a healthcare PR agency, Aria is uniquely positioned to support our healthcare clients (who provide services across the industry) during this period of uncertainty.