The first time their doctor appears on the big screen in front of them, live and in real time, people are floored. “For somebody who has never seen this before, it can be pretty exciting,” says Courtney Barnette, president of EventXPERTS, an experiential mobile marketing company. Barnette is using a suite of Samsung technologies to share the excitement around Nemours Children’s Health System and its innovative CareConnect virtual healthcare app, which delivers live doctors’ visits to patients via mobile devices.
While CareConnect has drawn thousands of users since its launch last fall, the premise of a virtual doctor’s visit isn’t easily conveyed. “Our biggest challenge is really in being able to show people what this is for. It can be very difficult to do that on a small phone, especially when you have a large audience,” says Carey Officer, director of service delivery innovation at Nemours. “The visual display from EventXPERTS is just a phenomenal way to do that.”
Challenges to Live Demonstrations
While live demonstrations were the best way to spread the word about the CareConnect app, EventXPERTS faced a number of challenges when helping to promote the virtual healthcare service at large public events.
First, they had to address the confusion and lack of awareness surrounding telehealth services in general. While 25 percent of healthcare providers reportedly have implemented telehealth and telemedicine programs, these programs aren’t well understood. One survey found that even among tech-savvy consumers, 39 percent still haven’t heard of telemedicine.
While a captivating live telehealth demonstration can help break down those barriers, there are still technical hurdles to overcome when displaying the service in front of a large crowd. “Not everybody can gather around a device. When you have 20 or 30 people, they can’t all see one phone, so we looked at how we could make it larger,” Barnette says.
His solution — using a compilation of Samsung technologies to create a compelling visual display — has allowed Nemours to exhibit its app to large crowds all at once.
Using Cutting-Edge Technology to Tell Stories
The centerpiece of the display is a 60-inch Samsung Smart TV that broadcasts the doctor live in a mock consultation. The screen also loops videos and commercials of the hospital during downtime. A Galaxy tablet, using a front-facing camera, is broadcast with AllShare, while Samsung Galaxy smartphones are used to demonstrate the app. An additional 48-inch Samsung digital signage display shows pricing and other key messaging.
“It is all about putting up digital content that helps to tell the story,” Barnette says. “This is a great way for us to show off the technology because it allows people to actually see how it works.”
The hospital has used Barnette’s storytelling technology to put its app directly in front of likely users, taking the demonstration to a range of events related to its core mission of juvenile health. Highlights have included:
- JDRF One Walk for Juvenile Diabetes
- Cystic Fibrosis Great Strides Walk
- March of Dimes – March for Babies Walk
- Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation – Take Steps Walk
- FARE National Food Allergy Conference
- Nathaniel’s Hope – Make ‘m Smile Walk
- Family Cafe Conference
More than just a chance to display the app, these events have turned into active recruitment opportunities for CareConnect. “A lot of people actually stick around to download the app. At one show we did 60 sign-ups in one day,” Barnette notes.
“When they see how easy it is for us to connect, watching it on the big screen, they start to think maybe this would be something better for them to do next time a child is sick. They will tell us, ‘If I had known about this, I would have paid the $49 ten times over before I ever went to the emergency room,'” he says.
Hospital officials say the high-tech display has helped put their product in front of the public in a meaningful new way. “We have tried the brochures and the pamphlets, but it really didn’t connect. This gives parents some direct exposure to what the product can do for them,” says Officer.
As Barnette considers the power of Samsung’s display technologies, he’s looking next to virtual reality and the possibility of adding a 360-degree interactive experience to future demonstrations.
Virtual doctors’ visits can also have a huge impact in the mental health field. Find out here how a Wisconsin behavioral health provider is using telehealth to reach patients hundreds of miles away.
