EyeWorld Asia-Pacific September 2021 Issue

NEWS & OPINION EWAP SEPTEMBER 2021 53 by Liz Hillman EyeWorld Editorial Co-Director Contact information Varma: Su.Lee@HPMedcenter.com Weiner: LinkedIn@joshfweiner Yuen: dr.yuen@hotmail.com Pandemic pushed digital communication P ractice communications with patients were already moving toward digital when possible, but the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced reduced in-office time and sought to eliminate physical touchpoints, pushed slow adopters forward. A Medscape report said: “The digital transformation in the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries was accelerated during the coronavirus pandemic. The key opinion leaders and industry experts agree that in the post-pandemic world, even as lockdowns are lifted and restrictions relaxed, the emerging trends for an increase in digital communications will stay.” 1 Josh Weiner said one of the initial challenges for practices as they grappled with the pandemic early on was communication. “Practices urgently needed to let patients know what COVID-19 meant for their office and how patients could get the care they needed. Practices suddenly experienced something most never had before—the need to reach out to their entire patient base at once. Digital communication (email or text message) was critical.” Rohit Varma, MD, said his practice changed how they communicated with patients in three ways as a result of the pandemic. “One, we send everyone an email as well as a mailer about what to expect and how we’re keeping our office safe for them, what things they should keep in mind, and what things they should do. Two, we have information on our website. This article originally appeared in the July 2021 issue of EyeWorld . It has been slightly modified and appears here with permission from the ASCRS Ophthalmic Services Corp.