Can You Still Measure What Matters? Rethinking Performance Marketing When Data Is Restricted

February 18, 2026
Horst-Elise-Fathom

Elise Horst, associate director of AI Solutions, Fathom, an IQVIA business

Performance marketing and the ability to prove digital marketing impact has never been more important. And it’s never been as challenging to get the facts needed to prove it. A few years ago, when it was discovered that widely used analytics tools like GA4 exposed health systems to potential HIPAA violations, healthcare leaders faced a dilemma: lose visibility into what’s working, or risk being sued.

While some large systems have internal resources and enterprise solutions to manage these issues, many other organizations rely on their agency partners to help them navigate and find ways to restore the ability to measure results.

For this article, we sat down with Elise Horst, associate director of AI Solutions at Fathom, to learn how agencies work with clients to help them identify problems they try to solve, where the organization lands on issues related to privacy and analytics, and how best to move forward with creative and technical solutions.

Read our Q&A with Horst, who discusses the varied needs of client organizations, and how an agency can help them shape the right strategic approach: How Can Ad Agencies Help Health Systems Get the Analytics They Need to Measure Marketing Performance?

Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President