Key Resources Mentioned in Today's Episode

• Reuters Article: Large employers push back on U.S. healthcare mergers during coronavirus crisis
• New York Times Article: The Public Has Been Forgiving. But Hospitals Got Some Things Wrong.
• World Health Organization Article: More than 117 million children at risk of missing out on measles vaccines, as COVID-19 surges

Key TakeAways

Coming out of Memorial Weekend

• It's important to keep in mind that we've flattened the curve, but we're not out of the woods yet. Health systems and marketers need to reiterate to their community the importance of social distancing and personal hygiene.

How to Prepare for a Second Wave

• Health systems should do some research and polling to gauge if the public sentiment about their hospitals has gone up or down.
• Health systems need to evaluate what's been done in the past so they can prepare for the fall. They should ask:
  • How have we rolled out communications for past flu seasons?
  • What's the plan of action if we have to contend with the flu and COVID-19?
  • What does this all mean for testing capabilities?
  • How do we roll out communications and recommendations for the public?

M&A Activity

• A variety of large employers are pushing back against M&A activity due to fears relating to a lack of quality care and higher costs.
• Large systems might be predatory toward smaller systems that are in need of financial support.

The Impacts of Delayed Care

• One hundred million children are unable to receive the vaccines due to delayed care.
• We have to consider pediatric public health and its relation to vaccines and make sure we're communicating with parents.
• It's important to communicate with at-risk groups to make sure those children are receiving care.
• Marketers should consider the high number of unemployment figures we're seeing during this time and recognize that many of these children's parents had insurance tied to their occupation.