The Birds and the Bees Can't Always "Make it Happen"

Finally! A healthcare advertising message that is funny! This campaign is brilliant. Instead of taking itself too seriously, EMD Sorono, the manufacturer of fertility drug Gonal-f, has launched a viral campaign that takes a serious medical condition and takes the taboo out of it a bit. The videos, currently only on the web, are hilarious and are relatable, even for those of us who haven not experienced infertility. What couple hasn't given two very different versions of the same reality they've both shared, as these two have in the video called, "A year and a half"?

The videos send the viewer to the website www.increaseyourchances.org, where they can click through and learn more about why 1 out of 8 couples have trouble conceiving. No sterile images of a hospital where all your fertility procedures make your baby-making dreams come true. No images of the previously-troubled couple at last walking off into the sunset, mom-to-be gently rubbing her baby bump.

These videos are at once effective and funny. And brilliant. My only suggestion is to get these onto TV pronto. These are too good not to share with the masses.

Facebook Accidentally Lifts & Supports Cancer Group Memberships

I don’t know how I missed it, but I was apparently in the minority. A few months ago someone on Facebook started a movement with one simple message, asking women to post their bra color on their status. The request took hold and as it spread across the globe, the wording changed slightly and as it began to gain full momentum, changed enough to give false credit to several cancer groups. (See more on this in the blog post by Demi Cooper’s President, Charles Falls: http://demicooper.com/blog/2010/01/11/sharing-your-bra-color-on-facebook-was-a-scam-but-with-a-beautiful-outcome/)

Does social media work? The end result of this little game for the Susan G. Komen Facebook group was an increase in followers by more than 950% in less than a week!! Although this particular movement blossomed from what began as a simple, “let’s see if we can get people to do this,” then morphed into what some deem a scam, the outcome was a needed boost for one of the highest-profile charitable organizations in the country.

The lesson: YES. Social media works. YES. Social media can be used to benefit the healthcare industry. And YES. There are some beautiful bra colors out there.

Healthcare Records Unite!

It’s exciting as a patient to see healthcare technology keeping up with the times. Not just from a standpoint of advanced medical procedures and the like; but also from an administrative standpoint. FastCompany released last week their Top 10 Most Innovative Companies, giving GE top honors in the Health Care category because of their Healthymagination program. According to fastcompany.com, GE is investing $6 billion over the course of the next several years in a variety of innovative health care technology. GE’s Centricity Electronic Medical Record system will allow doctors to manage a patient’s complete medical history, helping to reduce errors.

As a patient, visiting a medical facility that uses this type of technology is a God-send. If I have a choice, I want to go with the doctor who has all my medical information in one place – it’s more convenient (I don’t have to repeat all my medical information every time I visit someone new); it’s more accurate (I don’t have to worry about one doctor having to decipher another doctor’s handwriting); and it’s more complete (I don’t have to rely on my memory to recite all the ailments I’ve had throughout my 40 years).

This technology is demonstrated beautifully in GE’s “Doctors” commercial (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKav4vFPTFM&feature=channel). Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have all of your past and present medical professionals assembled in one room to give their undivided attention to you and your medical history? That is the point of EMR and it’s brilliant.

Another nugget: the digital database. FastCompany says that GE, together with Intermountain Healthcare, the Mayo Clinic, and other institutions have created the database, which connects to electronic medical records, allowing comparisons of patients’ medical histories. Imagine having at your fingertips a vast number of patients from which to compare symptoms and diagnoses.

As a patient, this type of technology not only gives me comfort, but makes me thankful to be living in the 21^st century.

Sources:

http://www.fastcompany.com/mic/2010/industry/most-innovative-healthcare-companies