While the pandemic is not something any of us would have wished for, it has forced us to innovate and collaborate in unpredictable ways. Many companies have reimagined how to thrive (not just survive) during this challenging time and things are no different at Solutionreach. For us, innovation has come in two different forms: changing the way we work and adapting to the shifting needs of our healthcare customers.

Solutionreach is a technology company dedicated to transforming healthcare through communication. All of our client-facing teams have been overwhelmed helping healthcare organizations across the country navigate the pandemic. We actually hired some of our own customers who had been furloughed while their practices were closed to work temporarily as technical support specialists. When they were able to return to their practices, they expressed how grateful they were for the opportunity to work with our team.

As a company focused on communication, we know how important it is that our team members feel valued and connected while working virtually (we went fully virtual at the beginning of the pandemic). We immediately instituted a weekly all-hands virtual meeting, which persists to this day. At this meeting, we are always open and honest about the state of the company, the impacts of COVID-19, and our game plan moving forward. 

We changed our approach to our customers. Our software enables healthcare practices of every size and specialty (from the largest hospital systems to the solo physician practice) to communicate with their patients. When things started to shut down, the needs of our customers took a drastic turn. Suddenly, communication had never been more important. Our customers needed to educate their patients about the virus. 

In addition, many healthcare organizations were temporarily shut down but patients still needed to access care. I am proud of how our team worked around the clock to create newsletter templates, text messages, and other critical communications that our customers could send to their patients. In the first week of the shutdowns, we delivered 50 million patient messages. We also developed a comprehensive comeback plan, paving the way for healthcare providers to reboot their operations once they could safely do so.

Since it was apparent that virtual screenings were going to become the norm, our engineering team delivered the fastest product release in our history with the addition of SR Telehealth to our platform. We also temporarily released the product for free, helping providers to deliver care to those in need ASAP. 

Despite the enormous toll the pandemic has levied on the world, I am inspired by how it has forced us to adapt and innovate. I am especially motivated by how our team members have stepped up to do something uncommon and special this year, overcoming new obstacles every day.