MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota — Just in case you needed a reminder of which is the world’s the most recognizable health-care system, God, The Onion – or both – sent a reminder.
Some people would call the audio spoof “God Checks Into Mayo Clinic for Routine Physical” the kind of publicity that’s so good you could never afford to buy it.
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But in the HIPAA-stiff world of health care, if The Onion had gone to Mayo or Johns Hopkins or Cleveland Clinic (it didn’t) and offered to insert their names in that spot for a price, would they have paid?
Would any hospital sign off on a piece that would be displayed alongside “Elk Majestically Trample 3” and “Record Number of Americans Settling for Sex at Home.”
“I’m thankful it wasn’t a choice,” said Lee Aase, Mayo’s social media manager. “It’s one of those things. You didn’t want it to be anyone else. But I’d definitely have some misgivings about their approach.”
That’s essentially the status of social media in health-care, said Christopher Boyer, online marketing specialist for hospitals at HealthGrades. “For Mayo Clinic, it’s perfect,” Boyer said of The Onion piece. “But try to explain that to a major CEO of a hospital system. They’re afraid of that. So you participate the best you can.”
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There are now aggressive social media efforts throughout American health-care systems. Mayo’s work, though, is among the most successful. The clinic maintains its own set of blogs, Twitter accounts a YouTube channel, and all the other basics. But it also promotes the patient-generated media it can’t control — like this video of an old couple playing the piano. The so-called Octogenarian Idols (and, through them, Mayo) later appeared on Good Morning America.
But a line can be crossed while sharing. And apparently, The Onion news anchor Doyle Redland is one step beyond it. The Onion won’ t be making Mayo’s blogs, Aase said.
“If you actually post it to your site, you’re giving it a stamp of approval,” he said.