Athenahealth calls for increased focus on patient care in 'Let Doctors Be Doctors' campaign
Healthcare technology firm Athenahealth has rolled out a campaign called ‘Let Doctors Be Doctors’ that aims to drive home the message that because doctors spend so much time grappling with paperwork, they are distracted from taking care of their patients.
Created by Florida-based agency Ari Merkin, the three short films humorously highlight the challenges related to many electronic health record systems (EHRs) and position Athenahealth as a company that understands how frustrating record-keeping can be.
In ‘When I Grow Up’ (above), a little boy clad in pajamas is seen typing away on his computer in his parent’s living room. His mom comes in and excitedly whispers to her husband, “Honey, look! He’s playing doctor.”
Another shows two single girls at a nearly-empty bar who are unimpressed with the few guys around them. When one strikes up a conversation with the dorky-looking guy next to them, they are suddenly giddy when they find out that he “stares at a computer all day” for a living.
“Oh, so you’re a doctor,” the other girl says, suddenly interested.
A third video shows a surgeon making an incision as medical students watch. “No amount of medical school is going to prepare you for this,” he says before pulling out oodles of red tape from the body he is operating on.
Cindy Klein Roche, vice president of marketing at Athenahealth, told The Drum that the goal of the campaign is to emotionally connect with doctors and to show them Athenahealth understands just what a trial things have become when it comes to physician technology.
“This is going to sound ironic because we are a health tech company, but we feel like the experience that doctors have with technology is frustrating and frankly comes up short,” she said.
While she noted that ultimately the brand hopes that people will have a greater affinity for Athenahealth after seeing the videos, she said that the company did not set out to sell it services.
“This is kind of an anti-advertising advertising campaign. This is a rallying cry,” she said.
The effort also includes print, radio, and social media elements as well as its own microsite.