PAML Campaign Encourages Men to Seek Routine Testing

PAML, the largest independent medical laboratory in the Pacific Northwest, has entered into a public service campaign with a regional television station that could boost the number of basic tests it performs in the short term.

The campaign, in conjunction with CBS affiliate KREM in Spokane, is known as “Real Men Wear Gowns.” It includes a 30-second television commercial that shows various men in the Spokane area—the city where PAML is based—wearing hospital gowns over their clothes as they go about their workday.

Officials said the intent is to prod men to undergo more routine testing, such as for heart disease and prostate cancer.

According to PAML spokesperson Amy Stoltz, more than half of men do not undergo routine medical checkups, and they are 25 percent less likely to visit a physician than a woman does. “Women are doing better here, but on the men’s front, we’re not seeing that traction,” she said.

The campaign is currently focused on heart disease prevention. Stoltz said the focus of the year-long program would change every quarter.

PAML has been known for its creative direct-to-consumer marketing, notably through Cinch, its direct-to-consumer testing platform that focuses on younger patients.

However, PAML officials said the campaign was not an attempt to boost laboratory test volume. Many routine tests, such as urinalysis, are low margin assays that depend greatly on volume to drive profitability. The lab’s director of marketing, David Love, said “Real Men Wear Gowns” was based on a nationwide public service campaign. Providers in Portland, Ore. and Atlanta are also running similar campaigns, although PAML is the only laboratory that is acting as a sponsor.

Love declined to disclose PAML’s budget for the campaign.

Takeaway: PAML is engaged in a high-profile public service campaign, a rarity for a clinical laboratory.