The Opposite of “Serious Emergency Care” [Cartoon]

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Hospital billboards and health system advertising can be a curious thing. One ad that I see driving between San Antonio and Austin is one that promises:

“Serious E.R. Care”

Or something like that. I don't have a picture of it because taking photos while driving might lead to an visit to the emergency department (safety first!).

The ad slogan, like many from hospitals, is pretty meaningless. What is “serious” care? Nobody smiles? Doesn't every hospital have a pretty serious E.R.? Does “serious” lead to better outcomes? Lower mortality? Higher patient satisfaction?

Does the ad slogan attract more patients?

That got me thinking… what would the opposite of “serious care” look like? This led to my latest cartoon collaboration with Carrie Schurman (see all of them). We apparently have two competing health systems with different philosophies in this town… Serious Health System that provides “SERIOUS' care and a Silly Health System that… well…

 

Do you have a better caption? Leave a comment below.

What other hospital ad slogans do you see that are silly, unproven, or meaningless?


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Mark Graban
Mark Graban is an internationally-recognized consultant, author, and professional speaker, and podcaster with experience in healthcare, manufacturing, and startups. Mark's new book is The Mistakes That Make Us: Cultivating a Culture of Learning and Innovation. He is also the author of Measures of Success: React Less, Lead Better, Improve More, the Shingo Award-winning books Lean Hospitals and Healthcare Kaizen, and the anthology Practicing Lean. Mark is also a Senior Advisor to the technology company KaiNexus.

7 COMMENTS

    • Those billboards are a great example of “data without context.” They are usually averages, not real time. And, they don’t say what that wait means. Wait to be triaged? Wait to see a doctor? What about total ER length of stay??

  1. This is too funny. It makes me think of Patch Adams & the old adage that laughter is the best medicine. It seems that this ER disagrees with that sentiment. Then again, if the sign had read “Hilarious E.R. Care” I definitely wouldn’t want to go there…at least not as a patient. :)

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