How AI is Changing the Way Healthcare Brands Communicate Value

For those unfamiliar, Diving Chess is – as the name suggests – played underwater. You take a breath, dive, make a move on a submerged, magnetised chessboard, surface for air, and then watch as your opponent does the same. Ad infinitum until one of you succumbs to a checkmate, or worse and gives up due to lack of breath. Every move is the perfect balancing act between strategic thinking and physical endurance.

I believe that the dynamics of Diving Chess present an intriguing parallel to the world of AI in healthcare marketing. Just as Diving Chess demands precision, quick decision-making, and the ability to adapt under pressure, marketing AI in healthcare involves the same intricate balancing act. Communicating the benefits of AI requires a careful mix of clarity, speed, and trust-building.

In this post, I’ll dive deeper (pun intended!) into how marketers can overcome the pressure to deliver the value of AI effectively, while also building trust and understanding among patients and providers.

The Rise of AI in Healthcare

As should now be obvious, AI is rapidly transforming many sectors, with healthcare being one of the most profoundly impacted. The starkness of this impact is reflected in the fact that in 2022 the global AI healthcare market was valued at $15.1bn. This valuation is expected to grow to $190bn by 2030. An increase of £175bn in just eight years.

What’s fascinating about this growth is that it signifies tangible improvements for patients, from faster, more accurate diagnoses to more personalised treatment plans. Each year the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) hosts their annual conference in Chicago. Rationale, with healthcare and healthtech being one of our specialist sectors, has been attending the event for the past three years and I’m constantly blown away by the technological advances being made – specifically in the world of AI.

Patients stand to benefit hugely with enhanced quality of care and, hopefully, longer, healthier, and more fulfilled lives.

The Challenge: Communicating the Value of AI to Patients

With such transformative potential predicted, it’s more important than ever that healthcare companies effectively communicate the benefits of their technologies and services to patients. Just as newcomers to Diving Chess – yes, I’m still making the link – might struggle to grasp its mysterious nuances, healthcare patients need help understanding how AI fits into their care journey. This presents a golden opportunity for healthcare marketers to step in and demystify AI for the general public, and communicate its enormous benefits.

It’s important to do this now, more than ever, as AI is often met with skepticism. Here in the UK, a majority of patients (53%) report a distinct worry that AI will make them feel more distant from healthcare staff, while on the flip side, nearly two-thirds of the NHS staff surveyed (65%) think AI will make them feel more distant from patients. Furthermore, nearly a third (30%) of the public think that healthcare staff might not question the outputs of their AI systems, and in doing so may miss errors. This fear that AI could depersonalise a patient’s care, or worse, introduce a reliance on machines over human expertise is valid and something that brands absolutely should be considering in their storytelling.

As with Diving Chess – and yes, I’m sticking with analogy, work with me on this –  where each move must balance the bursting need for oxygen with the long-term strategy of winning the game, healthcare marketers must walk a fine line between delivering clear, compelling and digestible messages while maintaining the integrity of complex, AI-driven innovations. It’s about presenting AI not as a cold, impersonal technology but as a tool that enhances human care.

With this in mind, here are three key strategies that healthcare marketers can consider…

Key Strategies for Marketing AI in Healthcare

1. Humanising AI: Focusing on Patient Outcomes

With the end goal of AI in healthcare being better patient outcomes, one approach to effectively marketing AI is focusing on these positive stories – rather than overwhelming people with jargon-filled technical details.

Telling stories about real patients who have benefited from early diagnosis thanks to AI tools is a good example. Case studies featuring real people can bring abstract technologies to life, making AI relatable and relevant to patients. By framing AI as an assistant that helps healthcare stakeholders make quicker, more accurate decisions, the technology becomes a natural extension of human care rather than something to fear.

This is the approach we took with Cortechs.ai, a San Diego-based AI medical imaging organisation. We rearticulated their purpose and positioning around being a client-focused company, including the development and delivery of a new visual identity that blended precision and human-centric elements, including case studies.

2. Building Trust Through Transparency (and Regulatory Compliance)

As discussed above, trust in the transparency of AI technologies is crucial. People worry about the accuracy of AI or fear that machines will replace healthcare staff, for example. Healthcare brands need to emphasise transparency in how AI works and make clear that human oversight is valued and always present.

However, in the same way that players in a Diving Chess match – yes, I’m still on theme – must follow strict rules, healthcare brands can build trust by emphasising their compliance with regulatory frameworks from the FDA and HIPAA in the US, MHRA and NICE in the UK, and EMA and GDPR in Europe.

A great example of an AI healthcare brand that has effectively used regulatory compliance as a marketing tool is US company Healthvisor. Their IDx-DR product, a solution for the autonomous detection of diabetic retinopathy, was the first AI-based diagnostic system approved by the FDA in 2018. Healthvisor has leveraged its FDA approval as a key differentiator in its marketing, emphasising the rigorous review process to build trust with its audience. By doing so, they are able to reassure users that their AI system is reliable.

3. Partnering with Healthcare Professionals to Amplify Credibility

Another crucial strategy for effectively marketing AI in healthcare is the growing use of influencers, but not in the traditional, social media sense. Instead, healthcare marketers should focus on leveraging trusted professionals and key opinion leaders within the healthcare sector. By targeting the right audience and enlisting respected stakeholders (doctors, radiologists etc.) healthcare brands can resonate more authentically with their peers and end-users, making their AI products more credible and relatable.

A great example of the use of an ‘influencer’ in AI healthcare marketing is GE Healthcare’s “Healthcare Reimagined” campaign and Dr. Eric Topol, the world-renowned cardiologist and digital health expert. Dr Tool’s involvement has brought significant credibility to the GE campaign, with his endorsement proving that the GE solution had the backing of a respected professional.

Checkmate – Balancing Speed and Strategy

AI is undoubtedly reshaping the healthcare landscape. However, just as with Diving Chess – the last mention, I promise – where there exists a temptation to move quickly and worry about the effects later, the challenge in marketing AI in healthcare lies in taking the time to consider the audience first before applying the right strategy. What story are you trying to tell, and to who?

Rationale will be at RSNA between Dec 1 and Dec 6. If you’d like to arrange a meeting with Svein, please get in touch at svein@wearationale.com.