HIPAA restricts using patient health information (PHI) for marketing without explicit authorization. This means you cannot send marketing emails to patients based on their diagnosis or treatment without consent, you cannot share patient data with marketing partners without a Business Associate Agreement, and you cannot use Google Ads remarketing audiences built from patient data without careful compliance review.
Protected Health Information includes anything that could identify a patient and connect them to a health condition or treatment. Email lists built from your patient management system, audiences created from patient visit data, and any communications that reference a patient's specific condition or treatment are subject to HIPAA. Using these for marketing requires explicit patient authorization.
Standard Google Analytics and Google Ads tracking do not inherently violate HIPAA if implemented correctly. The risk comes from tracking pages that contain diagnosis information or treatment details in the URL, or using patient lists to build remarketing audiences without appropriate agreements. Working with a healthcare marketing specialist who understands HIPAA compliance for digital tracking is the safest approach.
Publishing patient before-and-after photos requires written consent that specifically authorizes use in marketing materials, not just general treatment consent. The consent should specify where the images can be used — website, social media, print. Using before-and-after images without specific written authorization is both a HIPAA risk and a patient trust issue.
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