EHRs Featured in Olympics Ad
I tend to watch the Super Bowl for the ads, so it's no surprise that while tuning in to the 2010 Olympics this weekend, a clever commercial caught my eye.
GE Healthcare ran this ad about electronic health records (EHRs), showing how the technology connects physicians and improves coordination of care. The commercial starts in what appears to be an exam room, with a doctor consulting a patient. The doctor wonders whether the patient has been tested for a certain condition, and then the lights come up, revealing an auditorium full of doctors--all presumably part of the patient's medical history and all willing to share their knowledge and test results.
The vignette is part of an ad campaign for GE's "Healthymagination" initiative, which aims to equip providers with the right technology and tools for better outcomes. Other commercials include this one, which recasts doctors and nurses as football players gearing up for another victory in the operating room. Who wouldn't want a surgeon who back flips?
The ads are entertaining, and they do exactly what GE marketers hoped they would--strike up a conversation. "That's what I write about!" I exclaimed to my roommate as the EHR commercial ended, to which she responded with raised eyebrows and a nod. (Ah, if only my other roommate--a nurse--had been home at the time.)
Of course, I had to follow up with, "But it's not as simple as it looks."
And there's the issue. The ad got us talking about the challenges of health information technology (HIT)--at least until the games resumed--and I may have taught my roommate a few things. But for the majority of viewers, the commercial was just a cursory glimpse into a highly complex field. I wonder how many doctors even sat back and thought, "Hey, I think that's the thing we're getting at the office. Neat."
For those individuals, I bid you good luck. Commercials make products and services seem too good to be true, and in this case, they just might be. But at least they're spreading the word about HIT, and I sure appreciate the noticeable drop in blank stares I get when asked what I write about.
Have you seen the Healthymagination commercials? Do you think they'll raise awareness about HIT, and are the Olympics the best venue?