Challenges are inevitable when you’re running any type of business. However, the mark of a brand that can grow and succeed is its ability to navigate roadblocks. For healthcare brands, one such challenge is compliance.
Following policies and guidelines is essential in every industry. When it comes to healthcare, compliance is about keeping the safety and well-being of your patients a priority, even when you’re creating digital marketing efforts. Healthcare compliance refers to laws and ethical standards that are meant to reduce the risk of issues and uphold your integrity as a provider.
Compliance in healthcare marketing is important for maintaining your credibility, prioritizing the security of your patients and protecting a positive reputation. Read on to learn about a few common healthcare compliance challenges you may come across through digital marketing. We’ll also discuss the best ways to overcome those challenges.
3 healthcare compliance challenges you face with digital marketing
Compliance challenges can seem intimidating at first glance. Noncompliance can lead to fines, reputation damage and even legal action. Learning about the following three healthcare compliance challenges can give you a more comprehensive understanding of what’s expected of your marketing efforts:
- Understanding regulations
Education is at the heart of healthcare, and the concept is the same for digital marketing. But the regulations aren’t always the easiest to understand at first (or second) glance. The number of regulations can be overwhelming, and with so much room for error, you may feel like you’re not adequately absorbing the information.
- Data privacy and security
It should go without saying that protecting the privacy and security of your patients’ personal data is crucial. However, you may not understand the potential ways that that privacy and security can be violated when a digital marketing campaign is created. For instance, you can be in violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) if there isn’t explicit patient authorization for using their testimonial in a social media post.
- Vendor compliance management
Your practice needs to follow compliance guidelines — and so do your marketing partners. It’s not always clear right off the bat if your marketing vendors follow compliance guidelines, and it may be too late once a violation is made. Without clear-cut procedures established at the beginning of the partnership (and included in the contract), you’re leaving yourself open to liability.
Navigating compliance challenges in digital marketing
Now that we’ve talked about some compliance challenges for healthcare marketing, we can dive into the solutions. With the proper steps and training, you can avoid compliance violations while still creating effective marketing efforts.
Here are a few strategies for healthcare compliance:
- Require training
The first step to abiding by the regulations of healthcare compliance is to make sure every member involved in marketing learns about them. Provide required training and educational materials about healthcare compliance to your team. The training should occur on a regular basis, perhaps annually. It should cover current regulations and the practices for following them. This may also include each participant becoming Certified in Healthcare Compliance.
- Designate a compliance officer
You can assign compliance overview as a task for a marketing team member. If your budget allows, hire a compliance officer to join the existing team. The key to abiding by compliance is by being thorough and not taking any chances. There should be someone who is responsible for checking the compliance of all marketing materials before they are published. It’s a plus if they’re certified.
- Take advantage of technology
There’s no shortage of technological solutions that can assist with healthcare compliance; they are a worthy investment to consider. Electronic health record systems and software can help you with the following:
- Data encryption
- Safeguarding networks for security
- Access controls to limit who can see protected health information
BURG+CO. can help you navigate healthcare compliance
Healthcare compliance is of the utmost importance in all health-related marketing efforts, from sharing reviews in content to email marketing. At BURG+CO., we pride ourselves on understanding the ins and outs of compliance. We’ll help you keep your patients’ information safe while still improving your marketing.
Our team has years of experience in helping healthcare brands improve their digital presence to attract new patients and retain existing ones. If you’re looking to perform better in search engine results and attract more potential patients to your site, we’re ready to talk to you to see how we can help.
Contact our team today for more information about digital marketing or to schedule a complimentary consultation.
