Healthcare marketers need to educate Australians on digital health solutions available during the pandemic.
The federal government last week announced the launch of the nation’s first telehealth and telecare initiatives which allow access healthcare professional appointments remotely due to the need for social distancing.
Health minister Greg Hunt says telehealth is a “key weapon” in the fight against COVID-19.
However, research commissioned by Red Havas Australia has found that this will be the first foray into digital health for many Australians.
Only 8% of Australians say they've used virtual care before, while 46% say they would rather see a healthcare professional in person.
While health technologies will be necessary to support those needing remote access to healthcare services, 84% of Australians surveyed didn’t feel confident using health technology.
Sue Cook, Red Havas head of healthcare, told AdNews health technology marketers need to help Australians feel at ease when using these new technologies.
“That means communicating with people about these services in a way that is simple, clear and actionable, sending the right messages through the right channels, and ensuring that it is tailored for people of varying levels of experience, knowledge and skill level,” Cook says.
“Marketers should ensure they have customer support services in place so first time users can have the support they need – not just for patients using telehealth for the first time but for healthcare professionals who may also be new to using telehealth.”
It’s not only older generations that struggle with health tech, with the research showing that regardless of age Australians still lack confidence in the use of health technology.
Generation X and Millennials were marginally more likely to be confident health tech users with 18% responding that they felt confident in using it.
Meanwhile, only 10% of Generation Z, also known as digital natives, feel confident compared to 15% of baby boomers.
Cook says this could be down to what the age group prioritises though.
“For digital natives perhaps their health is not something that is top of their mind day to day,” she says.
“Their use of tech is more for entertainment and social connection.”
Seven in ten Australians also hesitated to use a form of digital healthcare due to concerns about data security and protection.
The most common concerns outlined were data hacking, 43%, and identity theft, 42%.
Less than one in five felt confident understanding how their health data could benefit their healthcare and how to use health tech and data to manage their health.
Cook says marketers can help through the messaging they put out to gain the trust of Australians as concerns over health supersede concerns of data privacy during the pandemic.
“Content should be tailored to their audiences and delivered to them via the right channels,” she says.
“If messaging and communications around the use of telehealth is delivered by trusted influencers in the health setting this will go a long way towards reassuring Australians.
“For example the ABC’s Dr Norman Swan is being seen as that go to source for information on COVID-19, with his regular commentary in the media and daily podcasts.
“It’s up to marketers and communications professionals alike to ensure they are creating engaging and easy to understand content for these technologies that demonstrates the human connection as well as the practical benefits.”
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