DrFirst and Bospar Win Honorable Mentions for Ragan’s PR Daily Awards
Successful Media and PR Campaign About ‘Remote Healthcare and COVID-19’ Generated Billions of Impressions
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., and ROCKVILLE, Md. — Healthcare technology pioneer DrFirst and Bospar PR earned honorable mentions from Ragan’s PR Daily Awards in the categories of “Best PR Campaign for Healthcare PR” and “Marketing and Best Media Relations Campaign.” The honorable mentions recognize the joint campaign by DrFirst and Bospar, “Remote Healthcare and COVID-19,” designed to raise awareness of telehealth’s vital role in patient care during and beyond the global pandemic.
Campaign spokesperson Colin Banas, M.D., M.H.A., chief medical officer for DrFirst, was quoted by health and technology reporters in numerous articles and appeared on local, regional, and national TV to discuss how telehealth was helping clinicians care for their patients while maintaining social distancing practices. Dr. Banas also shared DrFirst’s data about the increase in prescriptions to treat anxiety and depression since the start of the pandemic. Over 14 months, the campaign achieved more than 140 online and broadcast placements, representing more than four billion impressions.
“Telehealth has played a critical role during the pandemic, and we are honored to earn this recognition for our work with Bospar to share new perspectives about using this technology in unexpected ways,” said Ellen Wilcox, vice president of communications for DrFirst. “Most people think of telehealth as simply a video healthcare visit, but we approach it differently. For example, as part of our Backline care collaboration platform, healthcare providers using our telehealth service can also share documents and texts with other clinicians to collaborate on their patients’ care plans. The service is also used by Emergency Medical Services to consult with emergency physicians, and by hospitals and pharmacies to share important vaccination updates.”
DrFirst and Bospar have each earned numerous awards in 2021. DrFirst’s iPrescribe is a winner in the 2021 Digital Health Awards, and its MedHx with SmartSuite solution won the “Artificial Intelligence Innovation Award” in the 2021 MedTech Breakthrough Awards. DrFirst’s SmartSuite is currently nominated for an Edison Award and earned Honorable Mentions in Fast Company’s 2021 World Changing Ideas Awards. Bospar earned Ragan’s Media Relations Award in September, multiple PRovoke North American SABRE awards, and recognition from Inc. Magazine as one of the 5000 fastest-growing private companies in the United States.
“To think out of the box, you first have to understand the box,” said Alessandra Nagy, the Bospar vice president who oversees its work with DrFirst. “We learned everything we could about DrFirst and the media environment to devise the best strategy to introduce the company to mainstream media outlets and educate the public about its unique approach to telehealth. You must be willing to do more research and more homework to generate fresh ideas. We’re grateful to DrFirst for trusting us and being such outstanding partners in the campaign and to Ragan for considering our joint campaign for these two awards.”
The 50-year-old Ragan organization is among the most widely respected publications producing news and information about public relations.
According to Ragan Communications, award finalists represent the organizations, communications teams, and agencies that created engaging and beneficial campaigns, projects, initiatives, and content that led to success for their organizations or clients this past year.
About DrFirst
Since 2000, DrFirst has pioneered healthcare technology solutions and consulting services that securely connect people at touchpoints of care to improve patient outcomes. We create unconventional solutions that solve care collaboration, medication management, price transparency, and adherence challenges faced in healthcare. We unite the Healthiverse—the interconnected healthcare universe—by providing our clients with real-time access to the information they need, exactly when and how they need it, so patients get the best care possible. DrFirst solutions are used by nearly 325,000 healthcare professionals, including more than 120,000 prescribers, 70,000 pharmacies, 280 HIS/EHRs, and 1,500 hospitals in the U.S. and Canada. To learn more, visit www.DrFirst.com and follow @DrFirst.
Media Contact
Alessandra Nagy
alessandra@bospar.com