The Healthcare Industry quite often has to find ways to break down complex issues, products, or ideas that require the use of technical terminology or complex ideas. The average visitor or viewer may not know what it means to require extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy to remove a kidney stone, but if we take that concept and animate a video, it becomes much easier to understand. Even an ordinary person will be able to at least grasp that ESL is sending shockwaves through the body to break up the stone, when it is explained via animation.

In Education and Training

There are many medical schools today that are using explainer videos to train on the use and care of their technology, and even to explain complex surgeries as a sort of pretraining.  Obviously, in these cases their videos end up being longer than the suggested two minute limit for explainer videos – but the same theory as in explainer advertising is valid for hospitals and clinics also. These videos assist with breaking down an idea visually, and holding thought long enough for a visitor to absorb all of the information.

In Waiting Rooms

Research has shown that this technique works well in all areas of health care. Even waiting rooms with explainer videos playing on televisions were shown to increase the patient’s understanding of certain conditions or hospital procedures. The  average patient visiting a hospital waiting room has only the television with which to entertain themselves, as magazines and other items that can pass on flu germs have been largely removed.  Because the television is the only item in the waiting room, they are more likely to focus on it. This is an excellent time to show animated health information. This is particularly useful when you engage the patient in a familiar scenario – such as educating them about getting a flu shot.

Why It Works

There’s a reason people enjoy visiting the movies – video just simply holds our attention. Scientists have theorized that this has something to do with the way humans process information instinctually – we tend to be attracted by movement and bright colors. Animated videos almost always involve both of these, often paired with humor and intriguing characters. In healthcare, this can be a lifesaver, quite literally, because trainees tend to remember small details that may be overlooked if just reading a textbook.