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Ethical Healthcare Online Storytelling: 4 Tips for Success

As a healthcare professional, you work for an organization led by the guiding, unifying principle “First, do no harm.” However, this philosophy shouldn’t just apply to the care and treatment you provide to your patients; it should extend to every facet of your organization, including your marketing and online storytelling efforts.

Storytelling offers plenty of benefits for your healthcare website marketing strategy. Studies have shown that 55% of consumers are more likely to remember a story than a list of facts, and organizations with compelling brand stories see a 20% increase in customer loyalty.

But if it’s not done carefully, storytelling can also risk accidentally violating patients’ privacy and breaking patient trust. To maintain your audience’s trust and tell stories responsibly, we’ve compiled these tips for telling healthcare stories ethically. 

1. Ask for patient consent.

Before sharing patient stories online, review HIPAA requirements and obtain consent from all patients whose stories you share. This verification will protect patients from having their private health details shared and save your organization from legal liability. 

According to HIPAA requirements, “The HIPAA Privacy Rule gives individuals important controls over whether and how their protected health information is used and disclosed for marketing purposes. With limited exceptions, the Rule requires an individual’s written authorization before a use or disclosure of his or her protected health information can be made for marketing.” 

Consult with your organization’s legal representation to ensure that all your marketing procedures align with HIPAA. A few steps your legal team may require include having your marketing team: 

• Explain your request clearly. Ensure patients know exactly what you’re asking for and what type of information you will share in your storytelling. Explain how sharing their story fits into your marketing strategy and your larger efforts to help patients feel seen and heard. 
• Don’t share protected health information (PHI) without written consent from the individuals involved. Allow patients to revoke their consent at any time. Respect their decision by not using their information in your storytelling, even if it’s been stripped of identifying information. 
• Enable patients to review stories beforehand and provide their feedback and approval. Many patients may be anxious to tell their stories. Maintain their trust by allowing them to review their stories before they’re shared publicly. Use their feedback to make each story as accurate and considerate as possible. 

Maintaining the security of patient information and fostering trust is crucial to the storytelling process. Adhering to HIPAA regulations ensures that your storytelling efforts comply with your organization’s legal obligations. At the same time, you’ll create a more respectful, secure environment for patients, helping them feel more comfortable to open up. 

2. Empower patients to tell their stories in their own words.

Every patient your organization treats is the expert of their own life story. Give patients the space to tell their stories how they want to. We recommend taking a person-first approach to storytelling. First-person storytelling is defined as “narratives shared by individuals in their own words.” Help patients feel comfortable telling their stories by:

• Forming real relationships with them. As a storyteller, your role isn’t just to collect interviews and data. You should prioritize forming a personal connection with patients so they feel more comfortable sharing their stories. Meet with them a couple of times before interviewing them to introduce them to the process and answer any questions they have.
• Giving patients the tools and resources needed to tell their stories effectively. Provide multiple formats for patients to share their narratives, whether writing in a notebook, typing on a laptop, or participating in a facilitated in-person or video interview. This flexibility allows patients to choose the option they feel most comfortable with. 
• Avoid leading questions. Leading questions prompt people to give a desired response. For example, “How awesome was our office’s care team?” is an example of a leading question. Instead, ask open-ended questions that help patients share their real perspectives. You may ask, “What was your experience like with our office’s care team?” to get a more unbiased answer.

Your patient stories should be authentic and accurate to each person’s experience. By making patients feel secure and comfortable to speak freely, you’ll empower them to share compelling narratives that help others understand what they’ve been through. 

3. Be inclusive and accessible.

Share the stories of a diverse range of individuals within your healthcare community to ensure your marketing efforts reflect the reality of your patient’s experiences. When choosing patient stories to share on platforms like your website or newsletter, prioritize showcasing patients of different ages, ethnicities, genders, and abilities. 

Your stories should also be accessible to all audiences. If your healthcare organization receives federal funding, the Americans with Disabilities Act requires you to have an accessible website. Accessible content ensures that everyone in your audience can engage with your stories, no matter their ability. 

To increase accessibility, Kanopi’s hospital web design guide recommends that you:

• Avoid animations or auto-playing videos.
• Use sufficient color contrast for text—the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines recommend a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text. 
• Test your stories for accessibility using both automated tools like Lighthouse and manual tests.

Ensure your stories are available in multiple media formats based on your audience’s preferences and abilities. For example, video stories should include accurate captions or transcripts, and photo slideshows should have alternative text so audiences with vision impairments can understand what’s being presented. 

4. Support stories with data. 

Back up any claims you make in your stories with data to enhance the trustworthiness of your content. 

For example, let’s say you share the story of an individual who received an innovative new treatment at your medical facility that helped ease symptoms of a chronic condition. You should include relevant data, such as how many patients have seen improvement with this treatment vs. those that didn’t see improvement, to paint a complete picture of the effectiveness of this form of care. 

Use data analytics tools like your predictive analytics and population health management (PHM) software to track the effectiveness of various programs, services, and treatments offered by your healthcare organization. This information will help contextualize your patient stories, allowing audience members to understand the larger trends underlying each story. 

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If you need support to ensure your healthcare storytelling is as ethical and impactful as possible, consider working with a healthcare web design professional. These experts will provide the technical expertise and ethical guidance needed to ensure your storytelling approach maintains positive patient relationships and complies with relevant regulations.