HCIC 2025 sent a clear message to healthcare marketers: stop piloting AI in isolation, strengthen privacy beyond HIPAA, and double down on access-driving fundamentals like find-a-doctor, scheduling, and CRM. The conference ran November 9–12 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas and brought together senior marketing, digital, and patient experience leaders from across the country.
AI is everywhere, ROI is not
Teams are deploying AI across content operations, service line pages, analytics, and media optimization. What is missing too often is a business case tied to an access or revenue KPI.
Why progress stalls
- Problem definitions are fuzzy and pilots launch without success math.
- Data plumbing is brittle. Directory data, wait times, and referral information remain scattered.
- Governance anxiety slows adoption when prompts and outputs lack auditability.
- Change management lags. Technology pilots happen without redesigning workflows or training.
Moves to make now
- Pick one revenue-adjacent workflow. Examples: triage content that improves call center deflection or AI-assisted service line FAQs that lift online scheduling completion. Instrument it against a single access KPI.
- Stand up human-in-the-loop guardrails. Define prompt hygiene, output review, and rollback plans.
- Put model impact in the same dashboard as CPA, CLV, time-to-appointment, and show rate.
- Tie content velocity to quality. If AI speeds publishing, it should also reduce profile errors and increase conversion in find-care flows.
Where this is headed: Expect fewer tool demos and more service line pilots tied to appointment lift and leakage reduction in 2026.
More independents and critical access hospitals were in the room
Independent and critical access hospitals showed up in greater numbers, asking for right-sized digital roadmaps rather than enterprise bloat. These organizations run lean and serve wide geographies, so they prioritize:
- Modular site upgrades that fix information architecture and physician directory UX first
- Local SEO and reputation management mapped to referral patterns
- Privacy-safe performance media optimized to phone scheduling and walk-in capacity
- CRM-lite journeys that nudge completion of care steps and reduce leakage
What to measure: Time to next available appointment, show rates, referral retention, and first-choice market share in the local catchment.
Seeing beyond the consumer to the patient to the human
The most resonant conversations moved beyond demographic segments to human moments. Think symptom search late at night, a caregiver juggling logistics, or a patient comparing out-of-pocket costs before clicking schedule.
Practical changes
- Build journey maps by condition and by community context. Audit copy for empathy and clarity, not just keywords.
- Redesign service line pages around next best action. Add “what to expect,” prep checklists, and plain-language risk explanations next to the scheduling button.
- Elevate physician explainers and short video that demystify care pathways.
- Track completion of care steps and time-to-care, not just clicks.
Privacy moves beyond HIPAA
State privacy laws and consumer health data acts are changing the rules, even when PHI is not involved. Washington’s My Health My Data Act and stepped-up state attention, combined with HHS tracking-technology guidance, mean pixels and retargeting require deeper compliance and consent practices.
Policymakers and courts are actively shaping the landscape, and several states are advancing protections for health data, including restrictions on geofencing near health facilities. Your posture should assume continued state-level enforcement.
What to do now
- Run a tag and pixel audit across every domain and landing page. Validate data flows against consent state.
- Implement a consent management platform with state-specific experiences and durable audit logs.
- Update data maps and de-identification standards.
- Shift to modeled conversions and contextual targeting when consent is not available.
- Document your position on HHS tracking guidance so legal, privacy, and marketing stay aligned.
Fundamentals still pay the bills
Despite all the AI talk, the busiest conversations were about the basics that drive access and revenue.
Websites and information architecture
- Clean up navigation for symptoms, conditions, and services.
- Make find-a-doctor simple: fewer steps, common-language conditions, accurate availability.
- Improve page speed and accessibility. These correlate with conversion and SEO.
CRM and patient communications
- Build journeys around care completion, not just email frequency.
- Tie outreach to operational reality. If imaging has capacity next Tuesday, promote those slots.
Performance media
- Use first-party signals and short-form video to drive action.
- Optimize to access metrics such as calls connected, schedules completed, and show rate.
Four moves to make before Q1
Here’s four quick ways to put the lessons learned at HCIC 2025 into action.
- Privacy and consent audit of all properties and media landing pages, with a remediation plan.
- Select a single AI use case that can influence a measurable access or revenue KPI in 90 days and fund it properly.
- Refresh service line content around conditions, cost, and next steps, with strong calls to schedule.
- Publish a simple outcomes dashboard that pairs marketing KPIs with operational KPIs.
Talk to us
If you want a practical read on where you stand, pick one of these and we will deliver clear findings and a punch list you can act on.
Media performance assessment
We review channel mix, spend efficiency, and how well your campaigns optimize to access metrics like calls connected, schedules completed, and show rate. You receive a short readout, wasted-spend flags, and 3 to 5 high-impact optimizations.
Website AI readiness snapshot
We evaluate content operations, physician directory data quality, and governance. You receive recommended AI use cases tied to access or revenue KPIs, a lightweight review workflow, and a 90-day pilot plan.
Privacy and consent compliance scan
We inventory tags and pixels, validate CMP setup, and map data flows against current state privacy requirements. You receive a risk summary, a remediation checklist, and template language for vendor DPAs. Guidance reflects current HHS tracking-tech direction and state law momentum.
Looking ahead to HCIC 2026
HCIC returns October 25–28, 2026 at the Omni Orlando ChampionsGate Resort in Orlando, Florida. Expect the conversation to shift from AI pilots to proof of appointment lift, from generic privacy statements to enforceable consent patterns, and from vanity reach to access metrics that CFOs recognize.
