A diversified approach to marketing helped a big Oklahoma health system grow visits to its digital doctor service in the last year.

In 2015 Integris Health, which operates 16 hospitals and has health providers in 49 Oklahoma towns and cities, rolled out a consumer telehealth service called Integris virtual visit clinic. The health system operates its telehealth program using a platform from Carena Inc.

To advertise the program, the health system took an approach to marketing using a series of personalized TV, radio and social media ads to target specific groups of patients such as working moms, college students, busy professionals and older adults.

That approach helped Integris grow the number of telehealth visits to its virtual clinic by 67% to 2,140 visits in 2016 from 1,283 visits in 2015, system director of eHealth Pam Forducey told attendees told Monday at the Digital, Personal Connected Health symposium at HIMSS 2017 in Orlando.

“The virtual visit clinic is a consumer-grade experience combining the best of modern medicine with e-commerce,” she told attendees.

Forducey didn’t say how much Integris is spending on its marketing plan but the plan includes multiple ways to target consumers including print, TV, radio, social media, print mail campaigns and billboards.

The various marketing messages also targeted populations such as how a telehealth visit can help a busy mom get immediate relief for a sick child with the cold or flu. “We took a consumer strategic approach on how to better engage and maintain patient loyalty,” Forducey says.

The Integris virtual clinic is growing, she told attendees. For example, 15% of patients are repeat patients, she told attendees.

About 48% of all patients are age 25 to 49. Males patients make up 67% of all telehealth visitors compared with 33% female. About one-third of patient visits are for a cough or bronchitis.

A telehealth visit costs $49. Integris is taking a “retail” approach to advertising; and continually reviewing engagement data to optimize media buys,” Forducey told attendees.