A doctor, who is one of our clients, asked her co-worker to shoot video of her performing a procedure on a patient and explaining a medical device. The doctor asked us to post the video on her social media channels. However, the process of deciding how to move forward wasn’t so simple. Here are questions we considered:
- Did the patient sign all necessary waivers to allow the doctor to post the video publicly? The video did not reveal the patient’s name or show her face. However, we could hear the patient’s voice. Had the patient considered her voice alone might reveal her identity? In different situations, tattoos or particular pieces of jewelry can sometimes disclose a person’s identity. The doctor asked us about editing out the video’s audio. But the doctor’s narration and her bedside manner, the empathy she showed the patient in the video, were valuable for viewers to hear.
- Will the video posted on social media include a simple, written explanation about what viewers are watching? The doctor described the medical procedure in the video, but what if people are distracted and don’t listen closely? What if their computer or device’s volume is down? What if someone is hearing impaired? What information should you include? What is the procedure? Where did you perform the procedure? When did you perform the procedure? Why did you perform the procedure? How long did the procedure take? How can you articulate the value of sharing this video?
- What if someone wants additional information? More often, videos are similar to headlines, not all-encompassing, in-depth magazine articles. Will the video include a link to a website with additional information?
- Should the social media post include a warning that some people might find the video graphic? The video showed the doctor removing a medical device from a woman’s breast and the footage included blood. Would her audience object to seeing this? We live in Arizona, but this doctor works in another state. Her community’s perception of such a video might differ from people we interact with locally. It’s interesting that the doctor’s health care colleagues raised concerns about the video. However, friends outside health care gave her the green light.
- Will you get cold feet? About an hour before we posted the video on social media, the doctor texted us, indicating she was getting cold feet about the post. A friend had watched the video and literally became sick.
After considering the above questions, we posted the video. It received positive feedback and numerous people shared it with others. The video remains one of her Facebook page’s most popular posts. This experience reinforces our belief of people’s interest in seeing behind-the-scene videos, processes they normally don’t get the opportunity to watch. Sometimes, as with a previous medical video we shot, the answer is as simple as showing a wide instead of a tight view of something viewers might find too graphic. However, this most recent situation is a reminder that even a short medical video requires lengthy planning and conversation.