How to Choose a PR Agency for Your Medical Practice (2025 Guide)
- Carolyn Walker
- Aug 21, 2025
- 2 min read
Learn how to find a healthcare PR agency that understands HIPAA, medical media, and patient acquisition. Criteria, questions to ask, red flags, and a comparison checklist.
How Do I Find a PR Agency for My Medical Practice?
Why PR Is Different in Healthcare
Public relations for medicine isn’t about hype—it’s about credibility, compliance, and clarity. The right agency can translate clinical excellence into patient trust, peer recognition, and sustainable growth.
7 Criteria to Evaluate a Healthcare PR Partner
Healthcare Focus & Case StudiesLook for proven results with physicians, hospitals, aesthetic practices, or medical devices. Ask for outcomes tied to consults, referrals, or adoption—not vanity metrics.
Compliance Literacy (HIPAA, FDA/FTC, state regs)Your agency should have clear workflows for PHI handling, patient consent, and on-label language.
Medical Media RelationshipsTier-one health/beauty outlets, clinical trades, and regional press matter. Assess their track record for expert commentary and feature placement.
Thought Leadership EnginePanels, podcasts, bylines, and conference placements elevate you from provider to authority.
Reputation & Review ManagementAsk how they handle responses, escalation, and crisis protocols without disclosing PHI.
Digital PR & Influencer ExpertiseShort-form video, UGC, and creator partnerships—executed with HIPAA/FTC discipline.
Measurement & ROIExpect dashboards that tie PR to consult requests, bookings, referral sources, and qualified pipeline.
10 Questions to Ask Before You Sign
What healthcare specialties do you know best?
How do you operationalize HIPAA in content and media workflows?
Show three recent placements relevant to my specialty.
How do you vet influencers and secure compliant patient stories?
What KPIs do you report and how often?
Who is on my core team (bios/roles)?
What’s your crisis-communications plan?
How do you coordinate with in-house marketing and legal?
Can you provide references from similar practices?
What does success look like at 30/60/90 days?
Red Flags
“Guaranteed” press or verification
No written consent process for patient content
Generic beauty/lifestyle focus with no medical nuance
Reporting limited to reach/likes without booked-consult attribution
Simple Comparison Matrix (use in your RFP)
Criteria | Agency A | Agency B | Agency C |
Healthcare case studies | |||
HIPAA/FDA/FTC workflows | |||
Relevant media wins | |||
Thought leadership plan | |||
Reputation management | |||
Influencer/UGC compliance | |||
KPI & ROI reporting | |||
Cultural/strategy fit |
Getting Started: 90-Day Onboarding Plan
Weeks 1–2: Discovery, message house, consent templates, media kit
Weeks 3–6: Pitch calendar, expert commentary, review governance
Weeks 7–10: Doctor-led video series, first feature placement
Weeks 11–12: Influencer pilot + paid amplification, KPI review
Looking for a healthcare-only partner? Illumination PR builds HIPAA-aware PR programs for physicians, aesthetics, and wellness brands.
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