Ad tech companies in healthcare

Ad tech companies can leverage their expertise in digital advertising technology to facilitate various aspects of marketing, patient engagement, and healthcare delivery. Some of the roles of ad tech companies in healthcare include:

• Targeted advertising and marketing: Ad tech companies help healthcare organizations reach their target audiences more effectively through digital advertising channels. 
• Patient acquisition and engagement: Ad tech platforms assist healthcare providers in acquiring new patients and engaging with existing ones. Ad tech tools also enable personalized communication and follow-up with patients, enhancing patient satisfaction and loyalty.
• Healthcare provider referral management: Ad tech solutions help healthcare organizations manage referrals and coordinate care more efficiently.
• Clinical trial recruitment: Ad tech companies aid pharmaceutical companies, research institutions, and healthcare organizations in recruiting participants for clinical trials by employing sophisticated targeting strategies to identify and reach eligible individuals who may be interested in participating in medical research studies.
• Health education and awareness campaigns: Ad tech platforms support health education initiatives by disseminating information and raising awareness about various health topics, diseases, preventive measures, and treatment options.
• Healthcare data analytics and insights: Ad tech companies provide analytics solutions that enable healthcare organizations to measure the effectiveness of their advertising campaigns, track patient engagement metrics, and gain actionable insights from data. 

Related:

• HIPAA compliant email marketing: What you need to know
• Leveraging social media platforms for HIPAA compliant patient outreach
  
  

Benefits of using an ad tech company for healthcare marketing

• Targeted advertising: Ad tech companies employ advanced targeting techniques to reach specific demographics, geographic regions, or individuals with particular health interests or conditions to ensure relevancy. 
• Cost-effectiveness: Ad tech platforms enable healthcare organizations to optimize advertising spending by targeting only the most relevant audiences. 
• Personalization: Ad tech solutions allow for personalized communication with patients and healthcare consumers. 
• Measurable results: Ad tech companies provide robust analytics and reporting tools that allow healthcare organizations to track the performance of their marketing campaigns in real time. 
• Enhanced patient engagement: Ad tech platforms enable healthcare organizations to engage with patients across multiple digital channels, including websites, social media, mobile apps, and email. 
• Compliance and privacy: Reputable ad tech companies prioritize compliance with healthcare regulations, such as HIPAA, GDPR, and CCPA, ensuring that patient data is handled securely and following the applicable privacy laws. 
• Access to expertise: Ad tech companies specialize in digital advertising technology and have deep expertise in optimizing marketing campaigns for healthcare organizations. 
  
  

HIPAA compliant Ad Tech companies

Marketing within the healthcare industry is not as simple as other industries due to its emphasis on adhering to HIPAA compliance measures. Here is a list of HIPAA compliant Ad Tech companies:

• Paubox
• Freshpaint
• SmartBot360
• NexHealth
• Google BigQuery
• Liine
• Podium
• Salesforce
• Keragon
• Yext
  
  

What PHI do ad tech companies handle?

• Demographic information: This includes data such as a person's name, address, date of birth, gender, and contact information, collected as part of targeted advertising campaigns or patient engagement initiatives.
• Health status information: Ad tech companies may receive information about individuals' health conditions, diagnoses, treatments, medications, medical history, and laboratory test results, either directly or indirectly, through data partnerships or third-party sources.
• Healthcare services information: This category encompasses data related to the provision of healthcare services, such as appointment schedules, visit dates, healthcare provider names, insurance information, and billing details.
• Behavioral and usage data: Ad tech companies often collect behavioral data from digital interactions, such as website visits, search queries, app usage, and engagement with online content. While this data may not always directly reveal health information, it can be used to infer preferences, interests, and potential health-related behaviors.
• Geolocation information: Some ad tech platforms utilize geolocation data to target advertising based on a user's physical location, which could be relevant in healthcare marketing campaigns targeting specific geographic regions or local healthcare facilities.

Go deeper: What is protected health information (PHI)?

How to handle PHI

Ad tech companies that handle PHI must take stringent measures to ensure compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Here are some steps ad tech companies should take to handle PHI responsibly:

• Implement security measures: Ad tech companies should implement robust security measures to protect PHI from unauthorized access or disclosure through the encryption of data both in transit and at rest, access controls, strong authentication mechanisms, regular security assessments, and vulnerability management.
• Train employees: All employees who may come into contact with PHI should receive comprehensive training on HIPAA requirements, data security best practices, and their responsibilities for handling PHI.
• Execute business associate agreements (BAAs): Ad tech companies that handle PHI on behalf of a covered entity or their business associate are considered business associates themselves under HIPAA. As such, they must enter into BAAs with covered entities outlining each party's responsibilities for protecting PHI.
• Limit data access and use: Ad tech companies should restrict access to PHI to only those employees who require it to perform their job duties. 
• Monitor and audit access: Regular monitoring and auditing of PHI access and usage are essential to detect and respond to any unauthorized or inappropriate activities. 
• Secure data transmission: Ad tech companies should use secure channels and encryption protocols when transmitting PHI over networks or between systems to prevent interception or unauthorized access. 
• Adhere to data retention policies: Ad tech companies should establish and enforce data retention policies that specify the length of time PHI will be retained and the methods for securely disposing of it when no longer needed. 
• Conduct risk assessments: Regular risk assessments should be conducted to identify potential security vulnerabilities, threats, and risks to PHI.
• Stay informed and updated: Stay informed about changes to HIPAA regulations, industry best practices, and emerging threats related to PHI security. 

Related: FAQs: Protected health information (PHI)

Watch: Business associate agreements are important

FAQs

How do I know if I am a business associate?

Assess if you handle protected health information for or on behalf of covered entities and if you have contracts or agreements involving PHI. If you provide services to healthcare entities that involve handling or accessing PHI, you likely fall under the category of a business associate and must comply with HIPAA regulations.

Go deeper: How to know if you’re a business associate

What is the purpose of a BAA?

A business associate agreement establishes a legally binding relationship between HIPAA-covered entities and business associates to ensure complete protection of PHI.

Go deeper: What is the purpose of a business associate agreement?

What requirements does HIPAA have for marketing?

HIPAA sets requirements for marketing activities involving PHI. Covered entities generally need patient authorization before using PHI for marketing purposes, with some exceptions for communications about healthcare-related products or services within specific regulatory guidelines. Additionally, marketing communications must include clear opt-out mechanisms for patients who do not wish to receive further marketing messages.