Personalized email marketing can be an effective tool for healthcare providers to improve patient outcomes, reduce costs, and grow their businesses, and Paubox Marketing is the perfect HIPAA compliant email marketing solution that lets you take advantage of it. But sometimes, it’s hard to know where to get started.
Therefore we have put together some examples of HIPAA compliant email marketing use cases as a jumping off point. But before that, let’s delve into why you should care about personalized email marketing in the first place.
Table of Contents:
- Personalized email marketing for healthcare
- Communication about COVID-19
- Improve patient outcomes
- Be a leader in your field
- Boost your brand
- Increase your revenue
- Conclusion
Personalized HIPAA compliant email marketing for healthcare
Healthcare is a competitive industry. In order to retain patients, healthcare organizations must prioritize proactive, personalized patient engagement throughout the entire patient journey.
The return on investment (ROI) for email marketing use is currently $42 for every dollar spent, and 59% of consumers say that email marketing influences their decision to make a purchase. Personalized email marketing messages perform up to three times better than generic blast emails. By tailoring your messaging to a specific patient, you can obtain 5 to 8 times more ROI for your marketing spend.
However, due to HIPAA regulations healthcare providers cannot use most of the standard marketing tools. Most of them will not sign a business associate agreement (BAA), and the few that will do not allow covered entities to send emails containing protected health information (PHI). Since even an email or name is PHI when coupled with a health condition (such as a marketing email coming from your practice), it is risky to rely on a marketing tool which is not built with healthcare in mind.
This is in contrast to Paubox Marketing which allows you to send HIPAA compliant email including PHI directly to patients’ inboxes without relying on portals or passwords which are terrible for the recipient. Simply put, it is the best HIPAA compliant email marketing solution on the market today.
But what should you do with it? Below we delineate examples of how Paubox Marketing customers have used the platform to send HIPAA compliant email marketing communications to their patients, colleagues, and community.
HIPAA compliant email marketing during use cases
The pandemic has transformed physicians into national heroes. Amid the coronavirus threat, Americans generally have a high level of trust in medical professionals. Sixty-six percent of people say that they highly trust the information healthcare providers are sharing about COVID-19. Here are examples of the types of information your patients want to hear.
Tell people customized information about your organization
As social distancing restrictions ease, proactive healthcare facilities can use email marketing to quickly ramp up their elective appointments, so they can regain lost revenue as soon as possible when they reopen.
Paubox Marketing can help you resume your practice and make patients feel safe enough to come back.
Recovering from this financial impact requires letting patients know as soon as possible when they will be able to come back to your office, and Paubox Marketing is a great way to spread the word.
Make patients feel safe enough to return
Just because you are ready to open your doors doesn’t mean your patients are ready to come back. Many people are paralyzed by fear of entering a healthcare facility and are therefore willing to delay care.
Patients need to hear how health systems are keeping them safe, and they need to hear it often. They want to hear what precautions are being taken and what protocols are in place, including the details.
Tell people about telehealth options
In March the Paubox team interviewed 14 of our customers about how they were using our products to communicate about COVID-19. A number of the healthcare providers we spoke with began to offer telehealth as an option to maintain a continuity of care while also respecting stay-at-home orders.
In fact there has been a historic expansion of telehealth due to the pandemic. The Federal Government has increased telemedicine reimbursements for Medicaid and Medicare recipients, and some think telehealth will become the new normal post-pandemic.
Make sure your patients know all of the ways they can receive treatment from you during the ongoing health crisis and beyond. For folks who are uncomfortable to come to your facility in person, telemedicine can be a great way to avoid delaying care.
Share official health guidelines
The coronavirus landscape is ever evolving. Organizations such as the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have been updating their websites with the latest news and health recommendations as we learn more about the virus. Use Paubox Marketing to share current best practices and also let people know if they change.
Recommend wearing a face mask
Wearing a mask to prevent disease transmission is just one more tool to slow disease transmission and prevent COVID-19 cases from peaking in communities all at once. Yet the public discourse in the US around using them has been confusing to say the least.
Proactive healthcare providers can take the initiative to be vocal about the issue, debunking any circulating myths and sharing the current official advice about how best people can protect themselves and others.
Inform people where they can get tested for COVID-19
If someone starts feeling under the weather these days, no doubt their immediate concern will be whether or not they’ve contracted COVID-19. The US Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) has published information on testing sites which you can share with your community. And if people can get tested at your facility, let people know about that too.
Remind patients to maintain a healthy lifestyle
Although by now all 50 states are well underway to reopening, that doesn’t mean our lives will immediately go back to normal. Many of us often find ourselves at home, and it’s too easy to slip into a sedentary lifestyle. Remind your contacts about the importance of exercise and eating right for long term health and well-being.
Send words of encouragement and support
This is a strange time we are living through and many of us are suffering financially, emotionally, or both. Studies have shown that the pandemic is directly affecting the well-being of half of adults, and nearly half are experiencing more anxiety right now.
Some Paubox Marketing customers have chosen to use the platform to share words of encouragement and support with their clients. This is especially relevant for therapists or anyone seeing patients with psychological issues of any kind.
Tell people how they can give back
Some people feel better when they help others, but it’s hard to know where to start. You can recommend charitable organizations that you believe in where people can donate. At the same time, you can tell people where they themselves can receive aid if they need it.
Explain the importance of contact tracing
Until there is a vaccine, contact tracing is the best tool we have to avoid another spike in COVID-19 cases, However, many people do not answer the phone when a contract tracer calls.
State leaders have urged people to answer calls, but as a healthcare provider you can amplify the message. Use email marketing to educate your patients on the contact tracing system, how it’s essential to stop disease spread, and how their information will be used.
Improve patient outcomes
There are a multitude of ways you can use Paubox Marketing after the coronavirus health crisis has waned. You can use it to activate your patients, motivating them to play an active role in their healthcare, rather than relying solely on medical directives.
Follow up after a procedure
Too often healthcare providers do not communicate with patients after a procedure because they do not have a way to securely email them. They can call or send a letter, but this is time consuming and expensive. Besides, nine out of 10 internet users in the US rely on email, and many people prefer receiving communication via email.
Sending people an email marketing message after receiving treatment is a fast and secure way to check in with them about how they are doing. This gives them the opportunity to provide feedback on how quickly they are healing, ask any lingering questions, and schedule another appointment as needed.
Ask for feedback
Following up with patients also provides an opportunity for them to let you know how their experience at your facility was.
The Paubox team relies heavily on customer feedback when improving our products and services; it provides invaluable insight into what our customers are looking for and how we can improve. You can do the same.
Provide test results
You can use Paubox Marketing to distribute test results to patients quickly and easily. Some of our customers have chosen to use the platform to bulk-send negative test results in a HIPAA compliant manner while still using the phone to contact patients individually if there is a positive result, for example.
Remind patients to come in for blood work or screenings
People don’t always remember when it’s time for another tetanus shot or blood glucose test. When someone comes due for a screening, you can remind them about it with email marketing.
You can also remind people that when they turn a certain age, they should start receiving additional tests, such as having a colonoscopy every 10 years after age 50, or a mammogram every year after 40.
Remind patients to get their annual flu shot
Flu shots are even more important during the coronavirus pandemic; experts worry an influx of influenza patients and COVID-19 patients could hit hospitals at the same time. Send patients a marketing email when you have the vaccine in stock, reminding them about the importance of obtaining this vital prophylactic.
Share patient stories
When it comes to health-related issues, there can be a lot of different emotions at play that affects people’s decision making about what procedure to get and from which doctor.
An authentic way to address these types of sensitive matters is to use real (anonymized) patient stories. Hearing about similar health experiences lets others know that they are not alone.
Communicate securely with colleagues
Some of our customers use Paubox Marketing to communicate not only with patients, but with colleagues as well. They have shared information about support groups they are hosting (such as therapists coming together to discuss how clients have been effected by stay-at-home orders), federal policy updates (such as FEMA increasing reimbursements for communication around COVID-19), or internal policy changes.
Be a leader in your field
In order to be seen as a leader in your field of medical study, you have to act like one. That includes being a reliable source of knowledge for your patients and colleagues.
Educate people about new healthcare developments
Medicine is always evolving. New treatments are developed, we gain understanding about diseases, and new trends emerge. As a healthcare leader, you probably stay on top of the news that is relevant to your practice. You can use Paubox Marketing to distill this information into relevant insights for your patients and colleagues.
Share your blog posts
If you maintain a medical blog, you want to make sure your patients know when you post new content. A great way to spread the word is with an email newsletter containing a roundup of recent stories or articles you have published.
Advertise your webinars
Just like your blog, if you host webinars, you’re always looking for more engagement. One of the ways that Paubox advertises our own webinars is with Paubox Marketing, and you can do the same.
Boost your brand
Any email marketing communication will boost your brand and help you stay top of mind for your patients. But sometimes you want to send email campaigns to directly support your reputation, especially your online presence.
Ask patients to review your practice on Yelp
Yelp claims that 84% of consumers use review sites to find a new doctor. It can be a powerful platform to grow your business, and how many reviews you have on your profile makes a huge difference to people shopping for a new provider. You can send an email campaign asking your patients to leave you one.
Learn how to use Yelp in a HIPAA compliant manner here.
Share social media handles
If you’ve got a Facebook or LinkedIn company page, or an Instagram or Twitter handle, you’re always looking for more followers. Use email marketing to let people know where they can follow you on social media.
Increase your revenue
Healthcare is a business after all, and revenue is important. There are many ways that you can use Paubox Marketing to make more money.
Share information about changes to your practice
If you’ve purchased a new medical machine, started to offer additional types of treatment, or have expanded your hours, you want to make sure people know about it.
Sending an email campaign with updates to your practice will keep you top of mind when someone is looking for treatment, and it will also let people know everything that you have to offer.
Send appointment reminders and pre-op procedure requirements
Paubox Marketing is an easy way to remind people about pre-operative procedures, such as fasting before a test or not eating certain foods. You can also use the product to send appointment reminders to make sure people remember to come in. Both of these practices will reduce cancellations and therefore increase your revenue.
Share promotional offers
Small businesses estimate that nearly 18% of their total business over the next year will be generated by acquiring new customers via promotions, and 91% of buyers who redeem coupons say they will visit the same shop again.
These statistics are for retailers, but the principle holds true for medical providers. Since Paubox Marketing allows you to personalize your emails, you can send people a personal coupon code for example which will offer a discount for both them and their recipient if the coupon is redeemed. This type of offer works best for elective procedures, or healthcare which is not covered by insurance.
Collect payments
Medical debt is a big problem in the United States. Seventy-nine million Americans have medical bill problems or are paying off debt related to healthcare treatment. Between 26%-62% of bankruptcies include significant medical debt.
This is not only bad for patients, but bad for providers as well since defaulted payments have a huge impact on revenue.
You can use email marketing to communicate with people about their unpaid bills. This can be done in a variety of ways, starting out with simply email reminders and then escalating if a payment is not received. Perhaps you will be able to negotiate a payment plan with your clients or reduce a bill instead of receiving none of it.
Conclusion
Implementing a HIPAA compliant email marketing strategy can improve patient outcomes, set you up as a leader in your field, boost your brand, and grow your business. Our customers have seen between 77 and 91% open rates for their email campaigns (well above the industry average of 20%) and click-through rates of up to 12% (Industry average is about 5%).
If you’re still not convinced, you can start with a Paubox Marketing freemium plan and sent an unlimited number of marketing emails to up to 100 contacts stored on the platform.
Now is the time to join the digital transformation in healthcare with healthcare email marketing.
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