Daily COVID Briefing - April 27, 2020

Key Takeaways

Cigna Claims Data Report

• Hospitalization rates for atrial fibrillation decreased 35% over the two months
• Hospitalizations decreased 28% for epilepsy and seizures, 24% for gastrointestinal bleeds, and 22% for aortic aneurysms and dissections
• Admissions for acute appendicitis and acute coronary syndromes, which include heart attacks, dropped 13% and 11%, respectively

The Latest on Earned Media

• After Scripps' Chief Medical Officer went on television to assure the community that hospitals were safe, cardiologists noticed a 40% jump in work
• Fundamental pillar for earned media is to "think human"
• Understand that everyone is going through their own experience, and the more we can be empathetic with consumers the more effective our stories will be
• If your story fits into two of the three areas below, it's a story worth pursuing: 
• Is it related to a strategic business initiative?
• Do you have a story/solution that is making a tangible difference right now in the COVID-19 response?
• Do you have something meaningful to share with your peers or that the mass audience can benefit from?
• For health systems, telling feel-good stories amid COVID-19 will help build or rebuild brand reputation throughout the local market

Being Proactive

• Explaining to consumers how you are planning on opening back up for surgical care, chronic care, and emergency care will provide trust to the community that everything is being put into place to keep people safe and healthy
• Health systems need to be prepared to navigate billing conversation as patients will start to receive bills for the care they received for COVID-19 treatment