Yes, You Can Get Personal Without Violating HIPAA

John Ours, CEO, Paragon

While 75 percent of consumers prefer to do business with organizations that create a personal, relevant shopping experience, 60 percent don’t think the communications they receive from healthcare institutions meet the mark.

With more and more patient acquisition processes occurring online — from health research to appointment scheduling — dynamic personalization presents an opportunity to enhance the customer experience. Consumers get value by quickly and efficiently finding relevant information they desire, while health systems can cross-promote services, improve loyalty, and increase patient volume.

Done correctly, personalization is a win-win, but it has not necessarily been embraced by compliance departments. Delivering a truly personalized experience requires storing information about a visitor’s engagements and interests, and healthcare marketers are understandably concerned about protecting patient privacy and abiding by HIPAA laws and the HITECH Act. But it is possible to be HIPAA-compliant and still present relevant and timely web information to visitors without being intrusive.

John Ours, CEO of Paragon, Matt Hummel, chief experience officer at Paragon, and Jeff Cheal, director of product strategy at Episerver, recently shared real-world examples and best practices to optimize hospital websites.

“Customers want to be treated like a person, not a number. We see studies over and over that people don’t mind giving up their personal data, but when they do give it up, they expect you to use it judiciously to personalize their experience and build a human connection. That’s what we do in real life,” says Ours. “It’s the digital version of a cocktail party, where what someone shares about themselves becomes a relevant connection point and part of the conversation.”

Learn more: Best Practices for Creating Personalized Experiences That Customers Value

Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President