• by Aaron Baar , June 23, 2008

Losing access to one's medical records is one of those things many people don't worry about until they have to--say, after a natural disaster that destroys their doctor's office--where most records are kept. MedeFile Inc., a company specializing in the electronic storage of health records, is hoping to bring the issue to the forefront of the consumer's mind via a four-week, national television campaign.

"Millions of people lost their medical records during [Hurricane Katrina]," MedeFile representative John Morrison tells Marketing Daily, noting that the recent Midwestern flooding is another example of how easily records can be lost. "We're telling consumers, 'You need to start taking a proactive approach to your medical care."

The television commercial uses the backdrop of the recent Midwest flooding, tornados and other natural disasters to depict how easily medical records can be lost. In addition to showcasing how the company uploads and tracks a subscriber's medical records, the commercial also touts that a patient can access their own records via a USB drive provided by the company.

"We [also] want to enlighten people to the fact that they are entitled to their medical records," Morrison says. The commercial will run for the next four weeks on cable news channels such as CNBC, CNN, MSNBC, Bloomberg News and Fox News.

While consumers can keep track of their medical records on their own through Web services such as Google Health, MedeFile uploads all the medical information, and thus is not subject to patient recall or self-administration. "It is our belief that only MedeFile can succeed in helping to standardize electronic medical records management in this country, because it is the most comprehensive, robust, patient-centric platform in existence," said company CEO Milton Hauser, in a statement. "Through national awareness initiatives, such as this national ad campaign, we intend to bring MedeFile to the forefront of the industry."

The commercial will run roughly 300 times within that four-week period. Afterward, the company will evaluate its effectiveness before running another round of advertisements, perhaps with a different creative strategy, Morrison says.