Some viewers in Vermont were likely surprised, or maybe nonplused, to see a 30-second spot for Vermont Information Technology Leaders during last weekend’s Super Bowl.
VITL, a nonprofit, get’s the lion’s share of its money from public grants. In November it launched a much-anticipated electronic medical record sharing platform known as the Vermont Health Information Exchange.
The new system allows clinicians to share patient records between otherwise incompatible computer systems. To get the word out, VITL bought airtime on local TV and cable stations.
The timing of the Super Bowl was convenient, and VITL chose to shorten the length of its ad-buy and the number of prime time spots in order to get their message out during the big game.
The price tag for a national ad during the Super Bowl is famously high — this year, a 30-second spot reportedly rang in at $4.5 million.
The regional ad that VITL ran was a bargain in comparison, costing roughly $13,000 of the total $30,000 ad buy that will keep the spot running through mid-March.
It’s the opening salvo of a larger $195,000 marketing campaign, said Robert Gibson, vice president of Marketing and Business Development. Gibson is one of two full time marketing employees VITL hired in the last year. He would not say what their compensation is.
“We’ve got tools and services we’re putting in the hands of providers and that has a real impact on health care,” he said, and that’s something the public should be aware of.
That sharing of information is expected to improve care through better coordination across providers at different hospitals, doctor’s offices and clinics. It could ultimately save money by reducing redundant tests or procedures and increasing the odds patients get preventive services. But for that to happen, medical professionals need to get on board, and their patients need to sign a consent form. That’s why marketing to the public makes sense, Gibson said.
Since the information exchange went live in November, however, 96 percent of patients are signing the consent form.
So far, the electronic medical record exchange has signed up 400 clinicians and 11,000 patients, Gibson said. That’s still a relatively small sample size, he said, and without marketing their service, the rate of consent signing could fall.
“For those numbers to grow quickly and grow across the state it’s important for consumers to know how this will improve their health care,” Gibson said.
Patients who see the TV ad or other marketing materials may ask their providers if they use the exchange, which could drive clinical participation, he added.
VITL got 98 percent of it’s $6.6 million budget from state and federal grants, split close to evenly between Vermont and the feds. The rest came from sponsorships of its annual conference. This year, VITL will begin receiving payments from OneCare Vermont, the state’s largest accountable care organization, but most of its money will remain public.
Gov. Peter Shumlin proposed placing VITL and the health information exchange under the Green Mountain Care Board’s purview as part of his broader health reform package this year.
Gibson said that could make sense, but it’s too early for VITL to endorse the governor’s proposal as the details have not emerged as legislation yet.
“Directionally it makes sense to us, and it would make sense depending on how the purview of the GMCB is expanded,” he said, “We certainly believe the health information exchange is an important component of health reform.”
