Cloud-based CRMs and vaccines

In the last 12 months, the world has been forced to confront the fact that the technology supporting our healthcare system fell behind. From initial tracking, to mass testing, and now vaccinations, the healthcare industry has faced harsh criticism for its inefficiencies and disorganization.

Now, as we look to 2021 and the future of healthcare, we have a responsibility to ensure our infrastructure is sophisticated enough to handle different strains, vaccines, secondary conditions and more. Here’s how we get there.

Universal Access

A system is only as strong as the people who can access it. COVID-19 is one of the most expansive healthcare initiatives in the world’s history and we need tools that properly connect all those involved, including the patient. A patient-centered CRM portal provides all relevant health and medical records so everyone can better understand their own health, the health of their community, and the ongoing risks. It also allows physicians to engage with patients real-time, and enterprises can monitor large groups with minimal delay.

Questions on efficacy, especially with multiple vaccines, will only continue. Is the patient due for their second shot? Will there be a 2022 booster? Will people need additional vaccinations for different strains? Creating and maintaining a CRM ensures that patients will understand their eligibility, risk factors, and next steps when these issues come up.

Patient Follow-Up Post Vaccination

The patient-physician-enterprise connection doesn’t end once a shot has been administered and it’s not just to handle the next major event described above. Being vaccinated is just like any other medical procedure: patients should be monitored to record adverse reactions or side effects as part of this ongoing mass-scale clinical trial. Having the right patient CRM portal and cloud infrastructure will help all three parties work together for possible adjustments or future changes to the vaccine based on that person’s demographic, health status, current location, etc.

Proper Inventory Management

At the beginning, our digital software failed us during the vaccine rollout due to its inability to keep up with shifting allocations, patient rescheduling and new distribution regulations handed down by the government. Creating and shipping the vaccines to distribution centers is only part of the problem: the real work lies in managing the process to get shots in arms. As more companies develop vaccines and more Americans become eligible, we’ll need to rely on technology that’s robust enough to handle the volume but agile enough to adapt to changes on the fly.

In-Depth Research and Data Sharing

The only way scientists and physicians can learn from the variety of treatments being used to fight COVID-19 is to share data. The patient-physician-enterprise connection needs to share information in both directions to ensure a sound health and safety decision. A digital CRM cloud provides all parties to coordinate, share, and act on data (e.g. the patient’s vaccination history, underlying health conditions and COVID-19 test results post-vaccination) in real-time. Pharmaceutical companies can use aggregate health records to monitor for potential side effects and adjust their vaccine. Physicians can report data to local health agencies more efficiently, freeing them up to focus more on their patient’s health. Implementing a robust CRM tool presents unlimited possibilities and brings us one step closer to bringing our current fragmented health ecosystem together.

This year is poised to bring about a health tech revolution centered around a virtual patient experience. The way we get there is through a robust, patient-centered, cloud-based CRM that links the patient, physician and the enterprise. These solutions will ultimately provide a better level of care to the patient now and in the future.