Applause, Healthcare Organizations Team up to Fight COVID-19

Healthcare organizations are doing everything they can to fight back against COVID-19 (coronavirus), and that includes leveraging new digital initiatives.

Applause is helping healthcare providers Dignity Health and Banner Health to ensure their digital and telehealth experiences function properly and offer a strong user experience. Given how a visit to the doctor could result in exposure to coronavirus, healthcare providers’ need to provide excellent digital and telehealth experiences has never been higher than it is now.

Here are a couple of examples of testing work that Applause has been proud to support in recent weeks during the coronavirus pandemic.

Telehealth platforms prevent COVID-19 spread

Banner Health, which operates 28 hospitals in six states, is launching a new telehealth platform that enables patients to communicate with a physician digitally. This was in direct response to the coronavirus pandemic, with many patients now preferring to not visit the hospital and instead receive remote care.

Applause provided customer journey testing for Banner Health on its telehealth services. Leveraging Applause’s community of testers, Banner Health sought to learn more about what users want out of their virtual healthcare experience. Testers provided their feedback on the appropriateness of the information that was requested of them, if the cost, cancellation procedures and messaging were clear, and other elements.

“We were able to quickly test these telehealth platforms with dozens of people in a matter of days.”

Mark Schumacher, Senior Director of Digital Experience, Banner Health

Banner Health used that information to create stronger telehealth platforms that would make patients feel more comfortable and confident, and ultimately more easily transition to use telehealth services rather than in-person treatments.

“We were able to quickly test these telehealth platforms with dozens of people in a matter of days,” said Mark Schumacher, Banner Health’s Senior Director of Digital Experience. “That would’ve been impossible to do without Applause’s help. We’re using the feedback we got from the Applause team to ensure anyone who uses our telehealth platforms has the best possible experience and receives the same quality of care as they would with an in-person visit.”

New chatbot answers COVID-19 questions

Dignity Health, the fifth-largest hospital system in the United States, launched a new COVID-19-specific chatbot that answers questions about coronavirus, such as the latest news from the government, tips to prevent COVID-19 infections and common symptoms.

If patients believe they have symptoms of coronavirus, they can use Dignity Health’s chatbot to determine if they should seek medical care. This enables patients to get answers to their coronavirus questions from a trusted healthcare system without leaving the safety of their home.

For example, once you prompt the chatbot to begin a COVID-19 screener, the chatbot will ask several yes/no questions, such as “Are you experiencing symptoms that feel like a life-threatening medical emergency?” and “Do you have moderate to severe difficulty breathing (unable to speak full sentences)?” If you answer yes, the chatbot directs you to immediately go to the emergency room, and take precautions to avoid spreading the virus to others.

Applause’s curated testing team provided manual functional testing of the chatbot to confirm it was working properly on a variety of browsers and mobile devices, as well as testing the chatbot’s UI.

“Applause’s testing team ensured that our chatbot worked to its full potential,” said Meredith McNeill, QA Manager, Digital and Innovation at Dignity Health. “We were able to scale up our testing quickly and efficiently with their help. This was a high-priority project for us given the questions our patients have about COVID-19 that they want answered quickly without leaving their home, and we were able to execute it with Applause’s help.”

To learn more about how Applause could support your COVID-19 digital testing, contact us.