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HIPAA and Healthcare Marketing: 5 Steps to Healthy Growth

Lesley Van De Mortel • Apr 24, 2024

HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) is a federal law enacted in 1996 that was designed to improve patient privacy guardrails. Protected health information (PHI) is a critical component of HIPAA, with all HIPAA rules and regulations designed to maintain the confidentiality of individually identifiable health information.


The HIPAA Privacy Rule sets strict standards for the use and disclosure of PHI by covered entities. All business associates of covered entities must also ensure that they are HIPAA-compliant, creating a chain of trust that maintains and protects sensitive healthcare information.


These rules and regulations apply to all relevant business activities, including healthcare marketing. It is, therefore, imperative that healthcare companies do their due diligence and ensure that business associates are fully compliant with HIPAA regulations to avoid possible breaches. These breaches can result in costly fines and irreparable damage to the reputation of the company.


So, what does it mean to be HIPAA-compliant in the context of healthcare marketing? And how can healthcare companies establish an effective online presence without running the risk of breaching critical regulations?


This article aims to help healthcare companies create online acquisition channels while maintaining high levels of trust between themselves and their patients. In an increasingly digitized world, this helps healthcare companies build an effective framework for navigating the current marketing landscape without any compromises.

Healthcare marketing graphic.

1. Understand what it means to be HIPAA-compliant

HIPAA compliance is an essential consideration for any healthcare provider. While the rules and regulations may be easy to understand from an ethical point of view, businesses also need to know how they can operate effectively while maintaining full compliance.


According to HIPAA regulations, Protected Health Information (PHI) is defined as information about an individual’s health status that meets any of the following two criteria:


  1. Individually Identifiable: PHI includes any information that can be used to identify an individual in the context of past, present, or future health conditions, the provision of healthcare services, or payment for healthcare services.
  2. Created or received by a Covered Entity: Information such as medical records, diagnostic test results, and treatment information are considered to be Protected Health Information (PHI).


It is integral that healthcare providers establish the necessary guardrails to maintain patient privacy with regard to PHI. Additionally, covered entities must also ensure that patient privacy remains protected when they establish business partnerships with third parties, who become known as business associates in the context of HIPAA.


This is where it becomes essential for healthcare companies to only partner with HIPAA-compliant marketing vendors if they’re looking to grow their patient acquisition systems. Healthcare marketing will undoubtedly involve sharing of sensitive information that can be traced back to an individual seeking healthcare services, these impermissible disclosures could lead to hefty fines and costly lawsuits. It's imperative for third parties to take the necessary precautions in their marketing systems, and ensure their employees and those managing the marketing are properly trained.


Ultimately, all third parties must be HIPAA-certified to maintain the chain of trust (CoT).

2. Maintain patient confidentiality across all marketing communications

The HIPAA Privacy Rule establishes national standards for the protection of health information, and the regulation sets certain guidelines for marketing in particular. Under HIPAA, marketing is defined as "a communication about a product or service that encourages recipients of the communication to purchase or use the product or service." This includes all communications that relate to healthcare products, services, or treatment options.


In terms of information-sharing or the promotion of specific products or services, there is usually no need to share patient data. However, patient satisfaction surveys, sharing of patient testimonials without HIPAA-valid authorizations, and other such marketing materials may include information that can be considered PHI, and there are a variety of circumstances where carelessness can result in breaches, such as publishing an image of a patient that contains the patient’s name in the file’s metadata.


It’s important that covered entities, being first-party healthcare providers, get HIPAA-valid, written authorization from patients when using information such as testimonials — especially if the testimonial includes any information about specific treatments and the patient’s name is used alongside it. The authorization must be written in plain language, and the patient has the right to revoke permission at any time.


At this point, it’s important to note the significance of HIPAA’s rule of minimum necessary disclosure. PHI should only be shared with business associates if it is necessary to accomplish the service, and in most marketing scenarios, this would mean no information being shared by the covered entity.


Permissible marketing communications include information about treatments or treatment alternatives, because this kind of information is not individually identifiable. Similarly, information about how to coordinate patient care will not breach HIPAA regulations as long as it is generic by nature.


Various tools relating to healthcare services.

3. Ensure business partners are HIPAA-compliant

The Chain of Trust (CoT) is a critical concept in HIPAA compliance. The CoT is a series of entities that have access to, or interact with, PHI during various processes including marketing campaigns. In the context of healthcare marketing, the Chain of Trust typically looks something like:


  1. Healthcare organization: The covered entity (e.g. hospital, clinic, or healthcare provider) that collects and owns the patient’s PHI marks the start of the CoT.
  2. Marketing team: The internal marketing team (within the healthcare organization) responsible for executing marketing campaigns may have access to PHI for personalized messaging.
  3. Third-party vendors or contractors: Any external party, such as marketing agencies, email platforms, or social media management tools, becomes part of the Chain of Trust if it handles or processes PHI.


These third parties are known as business associates, and covered entities are responsible for ensuring that all business associates are HIPAA-certified before the partnership begins. During the process of procurement for any relevant services, the covered entity and business associate must enter into a Business Associate Agreement (BAA).

The Business Associate Agreement (BAA)

The Chain of Trust is integral to safeguarding PHI, allowing healthcare companies to operate effectively as businesses while mitigating against sensitive exposure. The rule requires that all business associates have the minimum necessary access to PHI, and the express use of PHI should be disclosed clearly in the BAA to avoid any long-term friction.

Maintaining the Chain of Trust (CoT)

Covered entities should take extra precautions to ensure that the CoT is kept secure. In addition to implementing robust access controls for internal databases and keeping all data fully encrypted, covered entities are the first port of call when it comes to verifying whether business partners are HIPAA-certified. Similarly, the Chain of Trust should regularly be audited to identify any possible data breaches or unauthorized access to PHI.


An integral aspect of maintaining the CoT is staff training and awareness. The covered entity’s staff should undergo comprehensive HIPAA training and awareness programs, and so should the staff of business associates. This helps to ensure that all relevant parties understand the importance of HIPAA in protecting patient privacy.

4. Understand the potential consequences of a HIPAA violation

The potential consequences of a HIPAA breach can be fairly disastrous. On top of costly fines, covered entities will suffer major reputational damage that can often be hard to recover from. Additionally, there would be significant legal costs involved that could extend beyond the official penalty if patients decide to sue the organization in question.


Non-compliance with HIPAA is a civil offense enforced by the Office of Civil Rights within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Penalties can range from $100 to $50,000 per violation, with caps of $25,000 to $1.5 million for all identical violations in a calendar year.


Additionally, unauthorized disclosure or misuse of PHI under false pretenses is a criminal offense. The penalty for this kind of breach can be up to $250,000 in fines and 10 years in prison, with criminal penalties being enforced by the Department of Justice.


An online healthcare provider was fined a total of $7.8 million after digital information about patient activity was

shared with third parties.


While the official penalties can certainly be severe, the cost of a breach in real terms extends beyond fines and prison time. Healthcare organizations rely on an unspoken trust agreement between themselves and their patients — an agreement that will be broken in the event of a major breach. A private brand could, therefore, experience a mass exodus from existing patients and permanently damage its ability to attract new business.


In addition to capping earning potential, a severe HIPAA breach could result in many expensive lawsuits from patients who did not give their express consent for sensitive information to be shared with a third party. To summarize, severe HIPAA breaches can turn out to be fatal for a healthcare organization.

A judge in a courtroom issuing a sentence.

5. Create a HIPAA-Compliant Marketing Strategy

Thankfully, most marketing activities do not require protected health information to be disclosed. However, healthcare marketing in the digital age requires extra caution — providers and associates must avoid IP address storage when using digital marketing tools, and marketing communications must be carefully curated so that no references are made to an individual patient without prior written permission.


HIPAA-compliant marketing agencies such as Lez Van De Mortel have developed specialized systems to navigate these complexities while maintaining an excellent track record for growth. Patient privacy must always be accounted for; below, we've listed some ways that healthcare providers can achieve effective growth without risking any breaches.

Advertising healthcare products and services to a targeted audience

Digital marketing tools such as website cookies allow people to opt-in to having their internet usage known. If a person has been researching symptoms of an illness they are experiencing, healthcare organizations can use this information to provide relevant and helpful advertisements for specific products or services.


This does not constitute a HIPAA breach as long as the advertisement avoids disclosures of protected health information such as a user’s IP address, where proper precautions need to be taken to avoid automatic collection. Likewise, references to a patient’s medical history in any relevant communications would constitute a HIPAA breach — thankfully, the minimum necessary disclosure rule helps to ensure that identifiable health information is completely unknown to third parties in the vast majority of instances.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Healthcare organizations are permitted to boost their organic website traffic using traditional SEO methods. As above, marketers should be made fully aware of the kinds of information that can be shared for marketing purposes, avoiding all references to a patient’s medical history and instead keeping educational or commercial content more general in nature.


Optimizing websites to appear at the top of organic search is effective for attracting patients who are querying relevant information. This is especially useful in the context of a healthcare provider’s core services, enabling a flow of information that can demonstrate the best next steps for treating health conditions.

Social Media Marketing (SMM)

Sharing organic content across social media channels can be an effective way to build relationships with a target audience. Social media marketing can be especially effective when organizations reveal the people behind the business, as these digital relationships can help to build trust between prospective patients and a healthcare provider.


Social media marketing almost blurs the line between personal communication and official communication, so it’s important to know where that line sits and navigate it accordingly. Within this context, it is imperative to avoid any reference to Protected Health Information (PHI) as this would, of course, constitute a HIPAA breach.



A man on his mobile phone seeing digital marketing campaigns.

A final word

To recap, covered entities must ensure all business associates are HIPAA compliant to maintain the Chain of Trust. Similarly, every party involved in marketing efforts should undergo comprehensive HIPAA awareness training to understand the pitfalls of online marketing and potentially sharing sensitive information—ensuring that ePHI is protected and patient privacy is respected.


Healthcare organizations seeking solutions for HIPAA-compliant marketing can consult with a professional today by reaching out to LEZ VAN DE MORTEL. We can help to establish effective patient acquisition systems in a fully compliant way, understanding the significant role that trust plays in the relationship between patients and providers.


If you're interested in working with us, apply today, and we'll get on a call where we can go over your marketing goals and form a comprehensive strategy that is HIPAA-complaint and achieves your goals.

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About the Author

LESLEY VAN DE MORTEL

HIPAA Marketing Consultant

Lesley is a CDMP-certified digital marketing consultant and a CHPSE® Certified HIPAA Privacy Security Expert. With over seven years of in-depth experience building profitable HIPAA-compliant patient acquisition systems for private healthcare organizations across the United States, Lesley has worked, and still works, with some of the leading behavioral health organizations in the world and has helped several of them expand their organization across multiple cities and states by leveraging high-performance, HIPAA-compliant patient acquisition systems.

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