The healthcare industry is navigating a wave of transformation—digitally, operationally, and culturally. Between HIPAA regulations, evolving patient expectations, and siloed tech stacks, the need for connected, compliant, and scalable solutions has never been greater.
In SmartBug Media’s latest vidcast episode, “How Healthcare Organizations Can Stay Ahead of Healthcare Compliance Changes with HubSpot,” Paul Schmidt, Vice President of Marketing at SmartBug, was joined by Casey Peddicord, Senior Director of Channel Sales at Smartbug and former HubSpotter, to explore how healthcare organizations can unlock HubSpot’s full potential while staying compliant.
Table of Contents
Why HubSpot’s HIPAA Compliance Changed Everything
For years, HubSpot was a no-go for many healthcare organizations simply because it wasn’t HIPAA compliant. That all changed last summer.
Casey’s insight: HubSpot's front-end didn’t change—but the backend did. With the introduction of HIPAA-compliant forms, personal health information (PHI)-safe properties, and enhanced governance tools, healthcare teams can now confidently store and manage sensitive data inside HubSpot.
This update opened the floodgates for legal and compliance teams who previously loved the platform's UX but couldn’t justify the risk. Now, it’s a different story.
Consolidate Complex Tech Stacks
Healthcare organizations—especially larger systems—often run on fragmented technology. Marketing is in Mailchimp. Sales is in a homegrown database. The electronic health record (EHR) doesn’t talk to the CRM.
Casey’s insight: One East Coast vein clinic had more than 25 disconnected tools. With HubSpot, SmartBug helped them consolidate to under five while maintaining a tight EHR integration and compliance across the board.
This simplification reduces tool fatigue, improves data visibility, and creates smoother experiences across marketing, sales, and patient engagement.
Don’t Integrate Without a Plan
Many organizations rush to integrate HubSpot with their EHR without thinking through their data flow strategy.
Casey’s insight: Data mapping—what information is exchanged, in which direction, and how often—is the most critical part of any integration. Without it, you risk compliance issues, inefficiencies, and misaligned systems.
The best implementations start with mapping the current state, envisioning the ideal future state, and building the system to bridge the two.
Benefit from Shorter Implementation Timelines
Healthcare leaders often associate CRM implementations with long, painful rollouts. But with HubSpot, the timeline is surprisingly fast.
Casey’s insight: HubSpot is like bowling with bumpers. It gives you the ability to customize within thoughtful guardrails. That approach shortens onboarding timelines to as little as 2–6 months, even for enterprise healthcare systems.
HubSpot isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it tool, but it’s designed to be scalable, intuitive, and adaptable—without endless custom development.
Tailor the Approach to Your Org’s Size
Large healthcare systems and smaller provider groups can both benefit from HubSpot—but their implementation paths look very different.
Casey’s insight: For enterprise organizations, like a 26-hospital group with 46,000 employees, the onboarding process is often phased, starting with an MVP group. Smaller practices—such as dental clinics or senior living centers—can move faster with “land-and-expand” rollouts.
In both cases, success hinges on having clearly mapped processes and a long-term adoption plan.
Real-World Impact: From Chaos to Clarity
Casey shared a powerful story about a medical device company that relied on 40 outsourced sales reps who all operated in separate systems. The company had no visibility into activity, attribution, or ROI.
The result: After switching to HubSpot and internalizing its sales team, the company gained full-funnel analytics, streamlined operations, and secured $30 million in funding within 12 months—fueled by better data and smarter insights.
Choose the Right HubSpot Partner for Healthcare
With thousands of HubSpot partners in the ecosystem, how can healthcare organizations find the right one?
Casey’s checklist:
- Look for healthcare-specific experience
- Confirm they have third-party HIPAA certifications
- Ensure they understand PHI handling and data governance
- Ask if they can work with your legal team
- Review healthcare case studies and references
Pro tip: If your partner can’t clearly explain how they handle patient data or navigate compliance, that’s a red flag.
Final Thoughts
For healthcare organizations, implementing HubSpot is no longer just a “nice to have”—it’s a strategic move that can improve compliance, simplify workflows, and unlock better patient experiences.
Now that the HIPAA hurdle has been cleared, a whole new world is opening up for healthcare organizations that were on the fence.
Whether you work in a large hospital network or a growing private practice, HubSpot (and the right partner) can help you modernize without compromising compliance.
