As people work remotely, the demand for a new kind of occupational healthcare will rise

Approximate reading time: 2.5 minutes

Isolation. Communication problems. Eyestrain. Headaches. Back pain. Anxiety. Substance abuse. Stress.

Who knew that working from home would actually increase the burnout rate among students and professionals?

But here we are, facing a new set of vocational and educational challenges, which means a new set of opportunities for enterprising healthcare marketers, health systems, and health insurers.

4 golden opportunities related to occupational home healthcare

Content-Product partnerships. Whether it’s the home office or the home classroom, health systems and health insurers can work with equipment providers to feature stand up desks, blue light glasses, ergonomic chairs, and full-spectrum light as response tools.[Parenthetical factoid: The global standing desk market is on track to reach $2.8 billion by 2025, averaging double digit growth.]
Action for healthcare marketers: Create a pilot program around Home Office Health and identify the top 5 products that support it, along with a sample self-care regimen including stretching, meditation, and other techniques.
Leading the Wellness At Home movement. Imagine a health plan or a health provider network actively engaged in Zoom gatherings focused on guided meditation, yoga, stretching, or running. Actually, no need to imagine. It’s already happening.Action for healthcare marketers: Do some research among insured employees (we can help), asking what wellness-at-home tools they would find most valuable. Use the findings to develop Zoom-based wellness sessions.
Finally, at long last, erasing the line between physical and mental healthcare. The role of stress in primary care visits is well-documented and people who work from home are experiencing plenty of it. Smart healthcare systems can actively address it – with consumer content that acknowledges the link between physical and mental well-being, and offers solutions. The cost-effectiveness of “Telemental health care” makes the case for this initiative convincingly.
Action for healthcare marketers: Design and write content that addresses the best practices in physical-mental health. Distribute it through intranet, email, and social channels.
Recruiting the next generation of healthcare consumers. As we have asserted, on-campus health issues are giving healthcare brands entrée to a new base of consumers. At-home occupational health can do the same.