Healthcare communications – adapting to ‘the new normal’

After the initial shock of ‘lockdown’, many in the healthcare communications industry realised we had been preparing for a move to a virtual work environment, online communications and telehealth for years.

However, the trajectory had dramatically accelerated. The move to virtual spaces, from team meetings to international advisory boards and congresses, happened overnight. It even brought positive benefits, such as securing high profile speakers, who normally would not have the time to take part, and increasing meeting accessibility for delegates.

We also saw a breakdown in the barriers between different health audiences. Through mapping the health conversation leveraging social network analysis, we saw communication pathways open up as healthcare professionals who used to focus on their own specialities increased their collaboration with professionals outside their normal networks. Policymakers, media and the public all interacted on health issues, changing the shape and pattern of communications.

WHO and CDC even started to compete with the media as primary sources cited by influencers. COVID-19 was creating a framework for a far more efficient transmission of public health messaging, not just in infectious disease, but across a range of disease areas.