Healthcare AI visibility is different - how are other health systems approaching this with HIPAA considerations?

Healthcare AI visibility is absolutely achievable, but requires different strategies than other industries.

Why Mayo/Cleveland dominate:

1. Massive content libraries (decades of investment)
2. Strong medical credentials on all content
3. National reach = more training data exposure
4. Heavy investment in structured data

Where regional systems can win:

1. Local visibility - “Cardiologist near [city]” is winnable
2. Specialty depth - Your centers of excellence
3. Patient experience content - What to expect, how to prepare
4. Community health content - Local health topics, events

The key strategy:

Don’t compete head-to-head with Mayo on “what is diabetes.”

DO compete on:

• “Diabetes care in [your region]”
• “What to expect from diabetes treatment at [your system]”
• “Dr. [Name]’s approach to managing Type 2 diabetes”

Own your niche, not the general space.

Getting physician buy-in is the hardest part. Here’s what works:

The physician content model:

1. Interview-based content - 30 min interview, we write the article
2. Review-only model - We draft, they approve (faster)
3. Video first - Short video, we create written content from it
4. Ghost-authorship - Marketing writes, physician reviews and signs

What gets physician buy-in:

• Show them competitor AI visibility (competitive drive)
• Highlight patient education value (mission-aligned)
• Minimize time commitment (15-30 min max)
• Handle all writing/editing

The credential requirement:

AI systems (especially for health) weight content with visible physician credentials. Every health article should have:

• Author: Dr. [Name], [Specialty], [Credentials]
• Reviewed by: [Another physician]
• Last updated: [Date]

This signals to AI that the content is medically vetted.

Technical implementation matters a lot for healthcare AI.

Schema markup for healthcare:

{
  "@type": "MedicalWebPage",
  "author": {
    "@type": "Physician",
    "name": "Dr. Jane Smith",
    "medicalSpecialty": "Cardiology"
  },
  "reviewedBy": {
    "@type": "Physician",
    "name": "Dr. John Doe"
  },
  "lastReviewed": "2026-01-01"
}

Why this helps:

AI systems apply extra scrutiny to health content (YMYL). Schema explicitly signals:

• Content created by physician
• Reviewed by another physician
• Recently updated

This reduces AI’s hesitation to cite your content.

Common healthcare SEO mistakes:

1. No author attribution (anonymous health content = not trusted)
2. Missing review dates (how old is this info?)
3. Generic schema (using Article instead of MedicalWebPage)
4. No physician credentials visible

Patient education content is a sweet spot.

Why patient education works for AI:

1. Answers real patient questions
2. Naturally structured (what, why, how)
3. Medically accurate (by necessity)
4. Unique to your facility’s approach

Content we create:

• “What to expect before/during/after [procedure]”
• “How to prepare for your [test/surgery]”
• “Understanding your [diagnosis] - a guide for patients”
• “Questions to ask your doctor about [condition]”

The format:

What is [procedure]?
[Clear explanation]

How to prepare
[Step-by-step list]

What to expect
[During, after, recovery]

When to call your doctor
[Warning signs]

Questions to ask
[Empowerment content]

AI loves this format because it’s structured and directly answers patient queries.

Compliance perspective on AI content:

What’s safe for AI optimization:

• General health education
• Physician bios and expertise
• Service descriptions
• Facility information
• Community health content

What requires extra care:

• Patient testimonials (need written consent)
• Case studies (must be de-identified)
• Before/after photos (explicit consent required)
• Any patient-identifiable information

Best practices:

1. All patient content needs consent documentation
2. Use general examples, not specific patient stories (unless consented)
3. Have legal review process for testimonial content
4. Include appropriate disclaimers

AI visibility is achievable within HIPAA constraints - just requires proper process.

Local SEO and AI visibility overlap significantly for healthcare.

The local advantage:

When someone asks AI “Where should I go for knee replacement in [city]?” - that’s your opportunity.

How to win local health AI queries:

1. Complete Google Business profiles for all locations
2. Location-specific content for each facility
3. Physician directory with specialties and locations
4. Service pages for each location’s offerings
5. Patient reviews (encourage and respond to)

The physician finder:

Your physician directory is often your most AI-visible content. Make sure:

• Each physician has a full profile page
• Credentials are prominently displayed
• Specialties are clearly listed
• Locations and availability included

AI cites directories when answering “find a [specialist] near me” queries.

Content calendar suggestion for healthcare AI visibility:

Monthly content types:

• 2-3 condition education pieces (physician-reviewed)
• 2-3 procedure/service explainers
• 1-2 physician spotlight features
• 1 community health topic (seasonal, local)
• Ongoing: physician directory updates

Quarterly:

• Review and update existing content
• Add new physicians to directory
• Refresh “what to expect” guides
• Update service line pages

The review workflow:

Draft (marketing) → Medical review (physician) → Legal review (if needed) → Publish → Monitor performance

Build physician review into the workflow from the start - don’t surprise them at the end.

Excellent discussion. Here’s our action plan:

Strategic shift:

• Stop competing for generic health terms
• Focus on local + specialty + patient experience content
• Own our region, not the national conversation

Content priorities:

1. Physician directory overhaul - Full profiles with credentials
2. “What to expect” guides - For all major procedures
3. Centers of excellence content - Our specialty programs
4. Local health content - [Region] specific health topics

Process improvements:

• Interview-based physician content (30 min max)
• MedicalWebPage schema on all health content
• Author/reviewer attribution on every page
• Quarterly content refresh schedule

Compliance integration:

• Legal review in content workflow
• Patient consent process for testimonials
• Disclaimer templates for health content

Tracking:

• Am I Cited for AI visibility
• Local query performance
• Physician page traffic

We can’t beat Mayo nationally, but we can own [our region] health content in AI answers.

Thanks everyone for the healthcare-specific insights.