Decoding Healthcare Marketing: A Glossary of Key Terms You Need to Know
Healthcare marketing is a unique space that combines the complexities of data-driven strategies with the need for strict privacy compliance. For marketers working with healthcare brands, agencies, or providers, understanding the language of the industry is crucial to crafting effective and compliant campaigns. However, the abundance of jargon and acronyms—from NPI to PLD to HIPAA—can make it challenging to keep up.
That’s why we’ve put together this glossary of essential healthcare marketing terms. Whether you’re new to the space or looking to sharpen your expertise, this guide will help you decode the language of healthcare marketing and understand how these terms tie into successful strategies.
Glossary of Key Healthcare Marketing Terms
NPI (National Provider Identifier) A unique identification number required of all healthcare providers, including individuals and organizations, in the U.S. under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
Why it matters: NPIs are critical for targeting campaigns aimed at providers, ensuring that marketing efforts are precise and relevant.
PLD (Physician-Level Data) Data related to individual healthcare providers, including their specialties, locations, prescribing behaviors, and affiliations.Why it matters: PLD allows marketers to personalize campaigns for healthcare professionals, ensuring they reach the right audience with tailored messaging.
PII (Personally Identifiable Information) Information that can be used to identify an individual, such as names, addresses, or Social Security numbers.
Why it matters: Strict privacy laws, such as HIPAA and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Regulations, regulate the use of PII in healthcare marketing, requiring compliance with data protection standards.
HIPAA U.S. law enacted to protect identifiable patient health information, including past, present, and future medical conditions or diagnoses, treatments, and payments, from unauthorized disclosure.
Why it matters: HIPAA compliance is non-negotiable in healthcare marketing. It ensures that patient privacy is prioritized and safeguarded.
Anonymized Data that has been stripped of personal identifiers, making it impossible to trace back to an individual.
Why it matters: Anonymized data is a cornerstone of privacy-compliant healthcare marketing. It allows marketers to extract meaningful insights while protecting consumer privacy.
Identity Graph A database that connects various identifiers—such as email addresses, device IDs, and cookies—to build a unified view of an individual across devices and channels.
Why it matters: In healthcare marketing, identity graphs enable cohesive audience targeting and attribution without compromising privacy.
HCP (Healthcare Professional) A term used to refer to licensed medical professionals, including physicians, nurses, and specialists.
Why it matters: HCP targeting is a major focus in healthcare marketing, particularly for campaigns promoting medical devices, pharmaceuticals, or continuing education programs.
Patient Journey Mapping The process of visualizing a patient’s interaction with a healthcare brand or system, from initial awareness to diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up care.
Why it matters: Patient journey mapping helps marketers understand how to engage patients at every stage effectively.
Cookieless Advertising Marketing strategies that do not rely on third-party cookies for audience targeting.
Why it matters: As third-party cookies are phased out, healthcare marketers need alternative solutions, such as identity resolution, to maintain reach and relevance.
Conversion API A server-side tool that enables marketers to track and measure customer actions, such as scheduling appointments or making purchases, without relying on client-side tracking methods.
Why it matters: Conversion APIs help healthcare marketers connect digital marketing efforts to offline outcomes, such as doctor visits or prescription fills.
Omni-Channel Marketing A strategy that integrates multiple marketing channels to create a seamless and consistent experience for the audience.
Why it matters: Healthcare audiences interact across various touchpoints, and omni-channel marketing ensures cohesive messaging.
Tokenization The process of replacing sensitive data with a unique identifier, or token, to enhance data security.
Why it matters: Tokenization enables healthcare marketers to activate data for targeting and measurement without exposing PII.
Addressable TV (ATV) A form of television advertising that allows marketers to target specific households or audience segments using data.
Why it matters: ATV ensures that healthcare marketing messages reach the most relevant viewers, improving ROI.
Attribution The process of determining which marketing efforts or channels contributed to a specific action, such as a patient scheduling an appointment.
Why it matters: Attribution helps healthcare marketers measure the effectiveness of their campaigns and optimize strategies.
Connected TV (CTV) Television content streamed via the internet on devices such as smart TVs or streaming platforms.
Why it matters: CTV offers healthcare marketers a growing channel to reach audiences with personalized and data-driven ads.
Hashing A cryptographic process that converts data, like email addresses, into unique strings of characters.
Why it matters: Hashing allows healthcare marketers to use data securely for targeting while ensuring privacy.
Salting is a concept that typically pertains to password hashing. Essentially, it’s a unique value that can be added to the end of the password to create a different hash value.
Why it matters: This adds a layer of security to the hashing process, specifically against brute force attacks. The idea is that by adding a salt to the end of a password and then hashing it, you’ve essentially complicated the password cracking process. By salting your password you’re essentially hiding its real hash value by adding an additional bit of data and altering it.
HEM (Hashed Email) An email address that has been hashed to protect user privacy while allowing for secure data matching.
Why it matters: HEM enables privacy-compliant targeting and audience segmentation.
Log/Exposure Files Files generated by platforms or destinations that log user interactions with ads or other content.
Why it matters: These files provide critical data for measuring campaign performance and audience engagement.
Mobile Advertising ID (MAID) A unique identifier assigned to mobile devices for tracking and targeting advertising.
Why it matters: MAIDs help healthcare marketers deliver personalized ads to mobile users while respecting privacy.
MVPD (Multichannel Video Programming Distributor) A service provider that delivers video content through cable, satellite, or internet streaming.
Why it matters: MVPDs offer additional channels for healthcare marketers to reach specific audiences.
Pixel A small piece of code embedded in a website or email to track user behavior.
Why it matters: Pixels allow healthcare marketers to measure engagement and track conversions, ensuring better campaign performance.
Web Tag A piece of code added to a website to collect data about user interactions and send it to a marketing platform.
Why it matters: Web tags enable healthcare marketers to gather insights into website traffic and optimize user experiences.
Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) Factors such as income, education, and environment that impact a person’s health outcomes.
Why it matters: Understanding SDOH helps healthcare marketers develop more targeted and effective campaigns to address disparities in healthcare access and outcomes.
Why Understanding These Terms Matters
Healthcare marketing is a highly regulated and rapidly evolving field. Knowing the language of the industry not only helps marketers stay compliant but also allows them to create more effective strategies. Whether you’re leveraging physician-level data for a targeted campaign or ensuring compliance with HIPAA, a solid understanding of these terms is the foundation for success.
By mastering these concepts, healthcare marketers can build trust with their audience, enhance campaign performance, and navigate the complexities of privacy-first advertising with confidence.
Understanding the terminology of healthcare marketing is essential for staying competitive and compliant in today’s data-driven landscape. Bookmark this glossary as your go-to reference for decoding healthcare marketing jargon and aligning your strategies with industry best practices.
You can explore our comprehensive glossary of terms and acronyms for the healthcare and programmatic space here: https://www.throtle.io/glossary-of-terms.