In the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic, there has been a great deal of change in the way we go about our day-to-day lives. New public health regulations, mask mandates, and social distancing policies in response to Covid-19 mean that we’ve all had to adjust to this “new normal”.
The pandemic has impacted how we communicate and connect with the people in our lives. Schools and businesses have closed or limited the capacity of their facilities. As such, an increasing number of students and professionals are learning and working from home than ever before.
Social distancing and stay-at-home orders have also affected our personal lives with regards to how we socialize and stay connected with family and friends.
Increased Use of Video Communications For Business
In response to the shutdown, businesses have implemented webinars as a means of adapting to the situation and staying connected. This transition towards remote communication has proved to us not only how valuable video conferencing and webinars can be when it comes to keeping in contact with the people in our networks, but also collaborating over vast geographical distances. It has also proven effective in improving productivity across various industries.
There is a growing trend in the use of video communication softwares on smart devices as a means to stay connected and keep in contact with colleagues, employers, and friends through the use of video conferencing apps and webinar software.
Webinars were already fairly common before last year’s major shutdowns, but they have come to be indispensable resources during the lockdown. Entrepreneurs and marketing managers have implemented the use of video conferencing and webinar platforms for their internal meetings, and to connect with clients and customers.
With the ability to connect remotely, professionals, marketers, influencers, entrepreneurs and even healthcare providers can be separated by vast distances and still come together to collaborate in a virtual space. Not only does this reduce the need to travel. It also minimizes cost in terms of time and expenses associated with travel. Eliminating the need to travel for meetings means fewer cars on the road, which lends to a reduction in carbon emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels.
Use of Video in Education
As a means of slowing the spread of Coronavirus, schools have also closed campuses or limited the number of students in attendance. Webinar and conference softwares have enabled educators to teach and students to learn while staying social distancing measures are in place.
Webinar and conferencing softwares allow educators to give remote lectures and presentations to their whole classes. These softwares also for one on one communication between students, providing a means for students to study, collaborate on projects and assignments, and socialize safely with peers while mitigating the risk of exposure to the virus.
Applications in Healthcare
The coronavirus pandemic has also affected much in our personal lives, especially in terms of healthcare and access to doctors. Across the country, medical resources are spread thin, and in especially hard hit areas, hospitals are urging those who are not in need of urgent medical care to refrain from going to hospitals unless absolutely necessary as a means of freeing up doctors and nursing staff to care for patients affected by the virus.
The use of video conferencing and webinars for healthcare creates the potential to expand access to healthcare service and information to millions of new patients, both in remote areas and densely populated urban centers. With video conferencing, patients can quickly and easily connect with doctors remotely from the safety of home.
These video tools also facilitate communications between physicians, colleagues, health facilities and experts from all across the globe. Allowing for an unprecedented level of collaboration and knowledge-sharing, which is an invaluable resource during this health crisis.
Health professionals who teach students in their field can also implement the use of webinar software as a means to broaden their educational reach. Doctors can connect and communicate with colleagues, patients, and patient advocacy groups via video to share information that would otherwise be out of reach for some.
Some fields of healthcare are especially well suited to the use of video conferencing. Healthcare fields with a need for direct doctor-patient interaction, such as behavioral and psychiatric health services can benefit greatly from the use of video softwares, which further helps to broaden the reach of doctors, and helps save patients travel time and expense.
The use of video software can also help streamline the specialist referral process. Using videoconferencing, primary care physicians can consult with patients and specialists alike, which facilitates quicker diagnosis, and allows doctors to recommend a referral more quickly.
Conclusion
The impact of this virus has been felt across all aspects of our life, and we will continue to contend with this issue for the foreseeable future. The use of webinar and video conferencing is likely to continue to grow well into the future, even after the pandemic has ended.
