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 we close out the first month of 2018, the Aria team thought it would be fun to look back at some of the most cringe-worthy PR debacles of 2017. Unfortunately, there were many to choose from, but we thought these five really stood out from the pack!

September flew by, but the Aria team didn’t waste any time getting great results for our clients. Scroll down to see September’s top highlights:

The Aria office was abuzz this week with the news of which clients secured a coveted position on one of the industry’s biggest stages – HIMSS 2018. Considering the time and effort that goes into each (very extensive) speaking proposal, it’s no wonder the public relations team gets excited when notifications come out.

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.

Springtime is finally here in Boston, and along with it came some rain, the promise of summer, and our new intern, Sean Chase. We welcomed Sean to the Aria team for the spring semester, and we are happy to announce he has decided to stay for the summer. I sat down with Sean to learn a bit more about him, and in order to get all the details, I decided to ask him the five W’s (and one H) – who, what, when, where, why, and how? Read on to learn more!

Earlier this week, the Supreme Court heard arguments regarding the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), aka Obamacare, which could have a major impact on the U.S. healthcare system. While the ACA has faced many legal challenges and Congress has made numerous attempts to repeal it since its passage in 2010, the current case before the Supreme Court is the closest it has come to being completely overturned.

Interoperability is a consistently hot topic in healthcare, and as a PR firm specializing in healthcare IT thought leadership PR and marketing, we often find ourselves thinking and writing about its potential industry impact.

It has been a whirlwind few weeks in the healthcare industry (and the whole country) between the resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 presidential election. However, we shouldn’t let this news totally overshadow another important headline in the health IT space: “ONC pushes back compliance dates for info-blocking rule.”

While podcasts have been around for more than a decade, with the emergence of smartphones, streaming services and virtual home assistants (aka Amazon, Alexa), podcasts have only recently become part of our daily routine. In fact, Apple downloads surpassed 50 billion last year alone!

With over half a million podcasts available in close to 100 languages, this genre of social media is growing daily. I took a step back to figure out what all the hype is about and came up with the following three takeaways:

Six months ago, Aria Marketing welcomed me with open arms as a new-to-the-industry intern to join their team of PR pro’s, and I have been grateful for that moment every day since. Coming in with little knowledge of healthcare IT, and limited PR experience, Aria Marketing showed me the ropes and introduced me to the ever-changing world of healthcare PR. 

Celebrities are doing it, your kids are doing it, the media is doing it, and even the president is doing it! These days, it seems like everyone is communicating in 160 characters or less. But should your business be #tweeting? We get this question a lot from our healthcare IT clients, and the answer is “yes” – as long as you are tweeting strategically. Companies from every industry are now utilizing Twitter to increase brand awareness and connect with target audiences. Here are the top six reasons why we think your healthcare company should get a handle (Twitter handle that is) on the popular social media platform:

Why the Biggest Threat to Your Health Could Be Cybercrime

October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. While companies across all industries ought to be concerned with protecting data, it is particularly important to do so in healthcare. For nearly ten years, Aria has served as the public relations agency of record for CynergisTek, a leader in cybersecurity, privacy, and compliance in healthcare. As a result, we’ve become particularly attuned to the various risks and threats that healthcare providers, health IT companies, and patients face every day. Here are a few reasons why healthcare organizations need to prioritize the privacy and security of the data they manage, this month and beyond:

As PR professionals, we are constantly working to get our clients in the conversation – from securing press opportunities and speaking slots to announcing new product launches and strategizing social media programs. The goal of all of this, of course, is to get in front of decision-makers that will be moved enough to take out their wallets – but it’s challenging to directly link PR results to sales, or even to leads. Every once in a while, I get a call or email from someone that read an article about a health IT client and wants to discuss purchasing their technology, but it’s a rare (yet oddly satisfying) occurrence.

A couple of weeks ago, a few members of our team attended the annual Thrive Summit, put on by our client, Virgin Pulse. This three-day conference was jam-packed with inspiring wellness messages delivered through motivating keynotes, client testimonials and other informative sessions. Here are some of our takeaways and highlights.

When it comes to new media, we here at Aria are big fans of podcasts, and we are obviously not alone as new podcasts continue to pop up all the time. Podcasts are a great way for our healthcare IT clients to share their messages, thought leadership and provide valuable insights on timely issues. As PR practitioners, it is our job to make sure our clients are well-prepared for any and all media opportunities. In that spirit, for any of our readers who may one day participate in a podcast, see our below tips and best practices to prepare:

After spraining my ankle in August, I started going to see Matthew Kraft, PT, DPT at Baystate Physical Therapy on a weekly basis to rehab my newly sprained ankle as well as strengthen my other previously broken ankle. He worked wonders and got me up and running (literally) – and also provided such great tips for addressing other bodily pains I was experiencing.

Last month, Aria attended the third annual Health IT Marketing and PR Conference in Atlanta. At the show, our longtime client, Rick Weissinger, VP of corporate marketing, at Craneware, gave an interesting presentation on best practices for tackling a company rebrand. We connected with Rick after the show to dig a bit deeper into what a rebrand really is, and why Craneware, a company well-known for championing revenue integrity, chose to give its brand a face-lift. Check out our Q&A with Rick below to learn more about his experience and insights:

Working in the healthcare PR industry, it is our job here at Aria Marketing to keep up with the latest industry news, including regulatory changes, new trends, major company announcements, and much more. E-newsletters are a great way to keep our fingers on the pulse of the news cycle as they summarize the top stories of the day and package them up in an easy-to-consume format. However, with hundreds of healthcare e-newsletters to choose from, it’s difficult to know where to start or which ones have the most value. To save your inbox, we’ve compiled a list of some of our favorite e-newsletters to keep you informed on the latest industry news.

Wow, it feels like just yesterday I was Googling “how to pronounce interoperability” while Ubering to my first interview for an internship with Aria Marketing. Not only did I think I would never figure out the correct pronunciation, but I also never could have imagined what the following two years (and counting) had in store.