Problem Overview:
Vysnova supports a government-funded COVID-19 research study and to achieve project objectives, Vysnova partnered with six Universities and Health Systems across the United States. The study design included a cohort of approximately 43,000 participants with Vysnova, Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, and Oracle to conduct a major study of COVID-19 and its impact on communities. The group quickly realized that they needed much more data about the virus, both in terms of the spread of the disease and the actions people were taking to against it. Participants were falling through the cracks due to a lack of consistent communication and follow up and call centers were experiencing an immense surge of calls from participants with questions that could have been clarified in communications.
Program Work
Vysnova Partners had an established relationship with Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist and turned to researchers at the institution to develop a proposal aimed at collecting real-time data on the virus and its spread across the mid-Atlantic, Southern, and Southeastern United States. To make this study possible, at-home testing kits weren’t the only crucial piece of technology. For this project, and the 43,000 people who eventually took part in the study, a platform to launch large-scale email communication would become a make-or-break capability for gathering this vital data. Vysnova contacted Oracle and made that possible. Oracle developers had created a tool called the COVID-19 Patient Monitoring System (PMS). It allowed researchers to email or text participants links to questionnaires, which asked about daily COVID-19 exposures, risk-reduction behaviors, and the presence of any symptoms. Derek Kuprianov, Vysnova’s recruitment, and retention manager, was brought on board because of his experience with marketing and mass communications automation in an additional platform to the PMS named Oracle Eloqua which allowed for an artificial intelligence approach to participants.
Program Outcome
By rapidly identifying the problem, Vysnova took direct action including:
A marketing expert was hired to assist with recruitment and retention. This Retention manager migrated all communications into Eloqua, optimized message subject lines, and began a study-long weekly analysis of email metrics, to learn and improve upon results constantly
- Supply Chain and Logistics Manager and retention manager developed a cadence for transferring lists of participants scheduled to receive test kits and lists of participants with unreturned kits at specified intervals after receipt.
- eNewsletters were developed periodically, featuring interviews with principal investigators, participant testimonials, participant FAQs with answers, and study updates with key dates and milestones.
Automation of messages ensured timely outreach of situation-specific and targeted communications such as reminders to return test kits or messages regarding technical issues. This collaboration between Vysnova and their COVID-19 study partners was associated with a greater than expected study adherence, meaning that loss to follow-up was reduced and retention was increased from the time Oracle Eloqua was implemented from August until the end of retention in October 2021.
Greater retention yields better quality data and the ability to better ascertain study outcomes.
