Recent news and headlines have been saturated with stories about data security and consumer privacy. In the healthcare industry especially, the heightened privacy focus, new policies from self-regulatory groups like the Network Advertising Initiative (NAI) and legislation like the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) have raised concerns on how this will impact digital marketing.
To effectively plan, activate and measure marketing campaigns, brands need actionable data and insights. Today, many healthcare brands bolster marketing efforts by connecting media investments to health data such as electronic medical records and prescription sales. However, while recent advances in technology have enabled more precise, data-driven targeting and measurement capabilities, it has also increased the risk that protected health information could be tied back to individual patients.
Data has tremendous potential to increase the accountability of media investments, but to leverage the power of big data in an ethical and responsible manner, brands need to make patient privacy a priority and always consider:
Are my data partners and agencies using a privacy-safe approach?
Do I have the tools in place to succeed in the changing advertising ecosystem?
To keep up with the industry headwinds and protect patients amidst the rapidly changing digital marketing landscape, marketers must make consumer privacy the standard.
In short? Privacy first.
Privacy embedded in technology
All the noise and changes in the marketplace have prompted many companies to react, touting new capabilities to meet the increasing appetite for data and insights. However, retrofitted data-driven solutions have difficulty preserving robust consumer privacy while keeping up with the proliferation of valuable opportunities for data usage.
By going beyond existing regulatory frameworks and preserving consumer privacy by default, you can maintain trust and accountability with consumers. At Crossix, our technology is proactively built to protect patients by design, not in reaction to recent trends or concerns.
Crossix has a unique and proprietary technology called Crossix SafeMine™ that uses a distributed (or federated) approach to extract insights from massive amounts of information, all while maintaining the highest levels of privacy and security. Matching and analytics take place on a distributed basis, behind privacy firewalls where the original data resides, providing insights based on de-identified health data. This, for example, enables brands to benefit from understanding the path from media exposure to health outcomes at scale, with high velocity and accuracy – while eliminating re-identification and data security risks inherent with other approaches.
The value of de-identified data
The sheer volume of data necessary to draw these insights can be staggering, and recent privacy breakdowns have led some to desire a total restriction of personal information. However, it is vital to remember how much of a role health data plays in advancing healthcare… as long as that data is sourced responsibly.
De-identified health data has improved health systems, guided public policy decisions and improved standards of care. Enormous value can be created in healthcare when you can connect data to complete the picture of the patient as an individual.
Ultimately, more effective healthcare communications drive more knowledge, better decisions and improved outcomes. For marketers, using de-identified health data not only changes the way brands can plan and evaluate advertising campaigns, it can improve marketing effectiveness and bring a whole new level of accountability and efficiency to media investments. But to benefit from the value of this data, it is our shared responsibility to protect the privacy of the patients we seek to help.
Transparency is key
From segmentation to targeting to measurement, safeguarding consumer privacy is crucial when helping health marketers use data and analytics to improve the effectiveness of their marketing campaigns. In order to continue to earn the trust of consumers, we must maintain transparency around the use of this data.
In our next feature, we will go more in depth about the right ways to enhance the effectiveness of audience targeting across media channels.
Contact us to learn more.