The news last week about the COVID-19 vaccination scheduling issues in Massachusetts is alarming, but not surprising. As the CEO of a company that specializes in appointment scheduling, Engageware, I’ve witnessed the impact of appointment scheduling can have. When done right—with purpose-built tools–it creates a seamless experience for both the consumer and the business. When done wrong, it creates tremendous frustration and inefficiencies, as we’ve been witnessing.
Understandably, the focus of state and local officials has been acquiring the vaccine. But once acquired, the overlooked challenge – the one we’re all talking about now – is how to get it distributed to and into the arms of residents.
Since 1999, Engageware has scheduled nearly 1 billion appointments. In the last year alone, we have partnered with Quest Diagnostics to assist in their COVID-19 testing and are approaching nearly 2 million appointments scheduled monthly. We have partnered with Oracle and the City of Los Angeles for their Angeleno Card initiative which has helped distribute almost $58 million to low-income residents impacted by the pandemic. The impact of scheduling done right is tremendous, both for the residents as well as ensuring operational efficiency at the local and state level.
We have reached out to local, state and federal officials for months offering our help and expertise solving the scheduling challenge. But they have been consumed addressing supply and logistics issues. So today we see the many problems with ill-equipped scheduling systems in the media on a daily basis. It doesn’t have to be this way. We want to help – we have the expertise and the resources.
Are you a city, town or municipality needing help with vaccination scheduling or other pandemic-related endeavors? Schedule Time with us to learn how Engageware can help.