People are more actively involved in their own health and wellness than ever before. As a result, patients are now evaluating their healthcare providers on perceived value and quality, rather than just location. They’re comparing prices, reviews, and sites to ensure they find a healthcare provider that meets their unique needs.

With this change, having a strong, customer-centric focus is critical to keeping patients engaged and happy. For marketing teams, this translates into an increased demand for content that showcases their knowledge, transparency, and success. From inspiring videos to comprehensive online help desks, healthcare providers need to consistently develop on-brand content that provides value to their patients.

This increase in content creation has made a digital asset management system (DAM) a must-have in the healthcare sector. But, with more stringent security and compliance requirements than other industries, it can be a challenge to find a DAM that will meet your needs.

This post will help identify the key features to look for when buying a DAM for a healthcare organization.

Key Features in a DAM for Healthcare

The healthcare industry has very specific pain points and requirements, making it difficult to find a DAM provider that understands your needs and delivers a viable long-term solution. Here are five features to look for:

1. Comprehensive Compliance

One of the key features any healthcare organization should look for in a DAM provider is a HIPAA compliance certification - more specifically, the vendor’s willingness to enter into a HIPAA Business Associate Agreement (BAA). By entering into a BAA, the DAM provider is stating that they will comply with all HIPAA standards and follow the rules & regulations required to properly safeguard any personal health information stored. Additionally, this holds the provider liable for any breaches of data caused by the DAM and makes them responsible for following the steps to properly report any breach.

2. High Security

Keeping personal health information secure is becoming an increasingly difficult task, with cyber-attacks becoming more and more frequent. In fact, according to Black Book Market Research, 93% of healthcare organizations have experienced a data breach in the last 3 years. In response, hospitals & other HIPAA-responsible companies are becoming the subject of more frequent audits and increasing fines.

To protect your media assets, it’s important to find a DAM system that has expertise in security. Look for a DAM that uses a well-established and reliable cloud platform with a reputation for outstanding security, such as Microsoft Azure. That way, your company can rest assured that your assets are held securely at all times.

3. Custom Access Permissions

With various locations, partners, and departments, it can be challenging to ensure each person is using photos, videos, presentations, and more that have been explicitly approved for use. But, controlling access to your media assets can be critical – especially given the sensitivity around personal health information.

For example, in 2012, a Los Angeles-based physical therapy provider broke HIPAA privacy rules, when they posted patient testimonials on their website. By using the patients’ full names and headshots without prior approval, the business was in direct violation of HIPAA Privacy Rules. The violation resulted in a $25,000 settlement.

To prevent incidents like the above, it’s important to only look at DAM vendors who offer advanced permission settings. With custom permission capabilities, you can segment your users by location, department, seniority, and more to ensure each user will only access and use assets that are pre-approved for use.

4. Advanced Search Capabilities

Arguably one of the most important features when selecting a DAM (in any industry) is its ability to optimize searchability. While it’s standard for vendors to offer keywording capabilities, some offer additional features to improve productivity.

One feature offered is advanced search filters, which allow you to filter your search by rating, file type, color or text identified in an asset, and more. For example, searching for an image that contains a group of nurses in blue uniforms.

Another is artificial intelligence, which labels your assets with AI-generated tags (either generic or customized to your business). These AI-generated tags will not only save you time when uploading assets but can also enhance your search results.

5. Strong User Experience

No matter the level of security, compliance, or functionality, if a system isn’t used, it’s of no use. When looking for a DAM, it's crucial to evaluate the vendor’s user interface and approach to customer support, onboarding, and training. This will help determine how easily your users will adopt the system, and what their overall experience will be. Prioritize vendors with an attractive, easy-to-use, and intuitive interface. Then, ask for reference customers from the vendor that can talk to about their experience in these areas.

These are just a few things to look for in your hunt for a DAM. If you’re ready to start your DAM journey, don’t forget to download our 8-step playbook: How to Buy a DAM.