There‘s more to healthcare than the visit itself. Whether you’re a doctor’s office, dental practice, or senior living facility, you know that consistent, personalized communication is key to meeting patients’ changing health needs. In fact, it’s what patients prefer. Research by global healthcare company Abbott found that 72% of patients want more personalized care.
But keeping patients’ protected health information safe is a requirement, not just a nice-to-have. A good healthcare CRM will protect sensitive information and help you use it to power more personalized communications and stronger relationships with your customers.
Healthcare company Santagostino used HubSpot Smart CRM to send personalized pediatric communications to parents based on patient segments. This shows the power of combining CRM data with marketing tools in one platform.
Below, we’ve put together a list of healthcare CRM software with features that support HIPAA compliance. We’ll go over the features, pricing, and comparisons of different CRMs to help you choose the right one for your business. We used generative AI tools to enhance research and drafting, and a HubSpot staff writer fact-checked and reviewed this article before publication.
Table of Contents
- What is a CRM for healthcare?
- CRM Comparison Table
- Best CRM Software for Healthcare Businesses
- Benefits of CRM Software for Healthcare
- 5 Important Features for a Healthcare CRM
- How to Choose a CRM for Healthcare (Step-by-Step)
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Meet HubSpot, the Top CRM Choice for Healthcare Companies
What is a CRM for healthcare?
While an EHR stores the full digital chart and medical records of your patient, a healthcare CRM complements an EHR by storing only the limited, relevant patient data that your marketing, sales, and service teams need to create a cohesive patient experience.
This data might include a patient’s needs or interests so marketing can send condition-specific campaigns or a patient’s chosen communication preferences, such as receiving calls only in the evenings. And of course, it is critical to maintain HIPAA compliance, which is a shared responsibility between the CRM software provider and the customer.
Best CRMs for Healthcare at a Glance
CRM |
BEST FOR |
KEY FEATURES |
PRICING |
FREE TRIAL AVAILABLE |
HubSpot |
Healthcare businesses seeking an all-in-one customer platform built for HIPAA compliance |
Features that support HIPAA compliance, unified customer platform, advanced marketing automation |
HubSpot’s CRM is always free and includes free tiers for all six core products. Paid plans start at $15/seat/month. To store sensitive information and enable HIPAA-supporting features, you need the Enterprise plan for its products, which starts from $150/month/seat for Sales and Service Hubs. |
Free plans |
Epic Cheers |
Providers seeking a healthcare CRM that’s seamlessly integrated with the Epic EHR ecosystem |
Natively integrated with Epic’s EHR, helps patients find new doctors, streamlines call center operations |
Contact for pricing |
No |
Salesforce Health Cloud |
Enterprise healthcare organizations seeking an out-of-the-box healthcare CRM solution |
Features that support HIPAA compliance, access to MuleSoft integration platform, powered by Agentforce AI |
From $325/user/month |
Yes, 30-day free trial |
Zoho |
Healthcare businesses seeking an affordable CRM with built-in scheduling |
Features that support HIPAA compliance, built-in appointment scheduling, EHR integrations |
From $14/user/month |
Yes, 15-day free trial |
LeadSquared |
Healthcare businesses wanting to manage the full patient journey in one CRM |
Features that support HIPAA compliance, automated personalized patient outreach, EHR integrations |
From $60/user/month |
Yes, free trial available |
Best CRM Software for Healthcare Businesses
Choosing the best healthcare CRM for your business requires knowing the unique advantages of the top platforms. We’ve evaluated the following popular healthcare CRMs based on their HIPAA-related features, sales and marketing automations, and ability to provide a more personalized patient experience.
1. HubSpot
Best for: Healthcare businesses seeking an all-in-one customer platform built for HIPAA compliance
Key HubSpot Features
- Features that support HIPAA compliance: In June 2024, HubSpot released features for HIPAA support. Enterprise-level subscribers to HubSpot can now configure the customer platform to support HIPAA compliance by turning on Sensitive Data settings and accepting HubSpot’s Business Associate Agreement (BAA). HubSpot also provides comprehensive audit logging, inactive session timeout, and other security features.
- Unified customer platform: Say goodbye to disjointed tech tools. HubSpot is a unified customer platform with connected sales, marketing, service, and operations tools all powered by the CRM data. CancerIQ streamlined its sales and marketing by combining them into HubSpot’s single platform.
- Advanced marketing automation: With Marketing Hub, build visual workflows to automate tasks such as appointment reminders and follow-ups. You can also build custom email campaigns that are triggered by certain patient behaviors or milestones.
HubSpot Pricing
- HubSpot’s CRM is always free, and it offers free plans for all six core products (marketing, sales, service, content, operations, and commerce).
- Each core product has a free, Starter, Professional, and Enterprise plan. Paid plans start at $15/seat/month and go up to $3,600/month for the Marketing Hub Enterprise plan (which includes five core seats).
- Please note that if you’re seeking HIPAA compliance, you must purchase the Enterprise plan to get HIPAA-related security features. The Enterprise Customer Platform bundle (which includes Enterprise access to HubSpot’s marketing, sales, customer service, content, and operations software) starts at $4,700/month and includes seven seats.
- HubSpot pricing depends on your specific needs and add-ons. Use this HubSpot pricing calculator to see your custom price.
2. Epic Cheers
Best for: Providers seeking a healthcare CRM that’s seamlessly integrated with the Epic EHR ecosystem
Key Epic Cheers Features
- Natively integrated with Epic’s EHR: This CRM is a part of Epic’s ecosystem, which includes MyChart, a popular patient portal that already supports HIPAA compliance. Providers already using MyChart can implement this CRM and conveniently connect to their patients’ health records and portal.
- Helps patients find new doctors: The Provider Finder feature ensures you can connect your patients to a new PCP, provide correct addresses for their upcoming appointments, and see which doctors are currently accepting new patients.
- Streamlines call center operations: The Call Management module helps call center agents see past interactions with patients and provide more personalized information. It also ensures calls are routed to the best department.
Epic Cheers Pricing
- Epic does not list pricing for Cheers CRM on its website. Contact Epic for pricing. No free trial available.
3. Salesforce Health Cloud
Best for: Enterprise healthcare organizations seeking an out-of-the-box healthcare CRM solution
Key Salesforce Health Cloud Features
- Features that support HIPAA compliance: Health Cloud is designed to support HIPAA compliance. Customers can contact their account representative to find out more about obtaining a Business Associate Addendum (BAA).
- Access to MuleSoft integration platform: Health Cloud customers can purchase MuleSoft Accelerator for Healthcare, which contains prebuilt APIs to help customers integrate with popular EHR systems, including Epic.
- Powered by Agentforce AI: With the Agentforce add-on, customers can unlock AI agents to provide 24/7 support to patients. For example, Agentforce can answer common questions, suggest services based on patient needs, and build quotes.
Salesforce Health Cloud Pricing
Below are the different tiers of Salesforce Health Cloud pricing, all billed annually.
- Health Cloud Enterprise: $325/user/month
- Health Cloud Unlimited: $500/user/month
- Health Cloud Agentforce 1 for Service: $750/user/month
- Health Cloud Agentforce 1 for Sales: $750/user/month
- 30-day Health Cloud trial available
4. Zoho
Best for: Healthcare businesses seeking an affordable CRM with built-in scheduling
Key Zoho CRM Features
- Features that support HIPAA compliance: This CRM has features to help you ensure HIPAA compliance, including audit logs to monitor access and modifications to customer records, ePHI encryption that you can turn on by selecting fields with protected health information, and the ability to enable HIPAA compliance settings.
- Built-in appointment scheduling: Access a unified scheduling system to book in-person and virtual appointments that sync with calendar apps like Google Calendar. You can also send automatic reminders to patients to reduce the chances of no-shows.
- EHR integrations: This CRM has a native integration with Charm EHR, but it doesn’t have out-of-the-box integrations for major EHRs such as Epic or Cerner. For that, you’d need custom middleware or access to its APIs to build your own integration.
Zoho CRM Pricing
Below are the different pricing tiers of Zoho CRM, based on annual billing.
- Standard: $14/user/month
- Professional: $23/user/month
- Enterprise: $40/user/month
- Ultimate: $52/user/month
- 15-day Zoho CRM free trial available
5. LeadSquared
Best for: Healthcare businesses wanting to manage the full patient journey in one CRM
Key LeadSquared Features
- Features that support HIPAA compliance: This CRM can be used in compliance with HIPAA and has many security features, including audit logs for each remote user session, and data centers that are ISO 27001, SSAE-16, and HIPAA compliant. It also has a BAA.
- Automated personalized patient outreach: Send automated appointment confirmations to reduce no-shows.
- EHR integrations: Access ready integrations to connect to EHR systems like Epic, AthenaHealth, DrChrono, and more.
LeadSquared Pricing
Below are the plans for LeadSquared’s healthcare CRM pricing:
- Sales Pro: $60/user/month
- Sales Super: $100/user/month
- Free trial available
Benefits of CRM Software for Healthcare
- Increase patient support and satisfaction. A healthcare CRM with in-depth reporting can increase your understanding of customer behavior and needs, empowering your customer service team to provide better support. Mental health startup Mindgram enhanced customer satisfaction after integrating HubSpot help desk features within its platform.
- Grow your practice by attracting new patients. A healthcare CRM with built-in marketing tools helps you create targeted content that attracts the right patients to your practice. DocPlanner, a marketplace for patients seeking doctors, used HubSpot’s Marketing Hub’s smart content to display different versions of content based on user segments to drive its international growth.
- Improve your healthcare business’ operational efficiency. When you finally have access to all your customer data, it’s incredible the time savings you’ll see. Sales reps will no longer waste time chasing the wrong leads; customer service agents will no longer field repetitive common questions; and your marketing team will no longer wonder which campaigns are driving the most ROI. MedicAlert saw “astronomical” efficiency gains after replacing its disconnected systems with HubSpot’s unified customer platform.
- Scale your healthcare business without adding unnecessary complexity. With the right healthcare CRM, you won’t overburden your IT team with complicated, cumbersome systems. CancerIQ was able to quickly onboard new sales team members without the help of a CRM engineer by using HubSpot’s intuitive CRM platform.
4 Important Features for a Healthcare CRM
- Security features to support HIPAA compliance: Configuring your CRM for HIPAA compliance is essential. HubSpot Enterprise users can enable the Sensitive Data setting and indicate their status as a HIPAA-covered entity or business associate to accept the terms of HubSpot’s Business Associate Agreement (BAA).
- Integrations with EHR and other existing software: Check what kind of integrations your healthcare CRM can offer and whether they’re native integrations that can be enabled in one click or custom integrations that take more time and resources. HubSpot offers more than 1,900 apps in its App Marketplace, HubSpot solutions partners for custom-built integrations, and developer-friendly API documentation for DIY integrations.
- Mobile access: Your staff aren’t always at a computer. That’s why your healthcare CRM needs to have a mobile app that provides your staff with easy access wherever they are. HubSpot’s mobile app lets you report customer issues, open support tickets, create social media posts, and message your patients from the convenience of a smartphone.
- Analytics and reporting: Get data-driven insights into the health of your practice with your CRM. MedicAlert uses HubSpot’s custom reports and dashboards to track KPIs for finance, marketing, sales, and service. CancerIQ uses HubSpot’s Dashboard & Reporting Software add-on to measure sales activity, helping the business make better decisions.
How to Choose a CRM for Healthcare (Step-by-Step)
Step 1: Map your workflows. From patient onboarding to appointment management to email marketing campaigns, map out the current workflows in your practice. These will inform the areas that a healthcare CRM could replace or enhance.
Step 2: Identify must-have features. Based on the workflows you identified, look for a healthcare CRM that can handle the crucial ones. For example, if you want to automate your appointment management and reminders, look for a healthcare CRM with built-in booking and appointment reminders.
Step 3: Compare ease of use and team fit. Assemble a decision-making team consisting of one representative from each department that will use your new healthcare CRM. Sign up for demos or free trials for each healthcare CRM you’re considering, and have the decision-making team evaluate the options.
Step 4: Check cost at scale. When checking the pricing of each health CRM solution, consider the cost per seat, implementation fees, and the cost of building any custom integrations. It’s also worth noting that the features that enable HIPAA compliance are often available only on the higher-priced tiers.
Step 5: Verify HIPAA compliance details. Ensure that the CRM, and the features you need to enable with it, can be used in a HIPAA-compliant way. Review the BAA and ask lots of questions to verify what sensitive information you can store in it and remain in compliance with HIPAA.
Step 6: Choose a CRM that’s easy to use and flexible. The right healthcare CRM won’t be an IT nightmare to implement. CancerIQ used HubSpot to scale its sales team remotely without needing a CRM engineer, demonstrating just how intuitive and flexible the customer platform is.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best CRM for healthcare?
The best healthcare CRM will meet the unique needs of your business, specifically the need for HIPAA compliance. As of June 2024, HubSpot Smart CRM has features for HIPAA support for subscribers to its Enterprise plan, including the ability to enable Sensitive Data settings, get a BAA, and access comprehensive audit logs — making HubSpot a fantastic option for healthcare businesses needing a CRM with powerful marketing and sales tools.
What features should I look for in a healthcare CRM?
Look for features that support HIPAA compliance, robust security measures, appointment reminders, workflow automation, integrations with EHR and other healthcare software, analytics and reporting, and mobile access.
Is HubSpot good for healthcare?
Yes, especially with HIPAA support available on its Enterprise plan, HubSpot is a good CRM option for healthcare. It’s already used by healthcare businesses including CancerIQ, Mesa Labs, and DocPlanner.
Is HubSpot HIPAA compliant?
It can be, with an important note: Like most CRMs, HubSpot is not HIPAA compliant “out of the box;” it must be properly configured and operated by the customer to ensure compliance. The features that can support HIPAA compliance can only be activated on HubSpot Enterprise accounts. Also, be sure to read the full HubSpot Sensitive Data Terms to see the covered services.
Will HubSpot sign a BAA?
To enter into a BAA with HubSpot, you must have an Enterprise account and enable Sensitive Data settings, then check the Health/Medical Data checkbox and the checkbox that says We are a HIPAA-covered entity or business associate.
How much does a CRM for healthcare cost?
The cost of a healthcare CRM varies depending on team size, the features you need access to, and the software itself. HubSpot’s CRM is free forever, but to access HIPAA-related features, you’ll need an Enterprise plan. HubSpot has six core products, so calculate your pricing here based on which products you’d like. For access to its entire customer platform at the Enterprise level, the investment starts at $4,700/month for seven seats for access to all of its marketing, sales, service, content, operations, and commerce features.
Meet HubSpot, the Top CRM Choice for Healthcare Companies
HubSpot Smart CRM is an all-in-one customer platform that unifies data across all of your teams, powering a more personalized and streamlined patient experience.
- Security features to support HIPAA compliance: A properly configured HubSpot Enterprise account enables you to securely store sensitive information, get a BAA, access audit logs, and more.
- Unified sales, marketing, service, operations, and commerce tools: Finally have a single source of truth with a CRM that’s connected to must-have tools.
- AI-powered CRM: HubSpot’s Breeze AI is integrated into the platform, allowing you to use AI to automate customer support replies, analyze marketing campaign performance, and craft content targeting your ideal audience.
Surgical simulator company VirtaMed switched from disparate point solutions to HubSpot’s all-in-one platform and increased website traffic by 39%. Healthcare company Mesa Labs used HubSpot’s Google Ads integration to boost conversion rates by 20%.
Ready to see why healthcare companies choose HubSpot Smart CRM? Try HubSpot today.
Disclaimer: This blog post is not legal advice for your company to use. Instead, it provides background information to help you better understand healthcare CRMs and HIPAA. This legal information is not the same as legal advice, where an attorney applies the law to your specific circumstances, so we insist that you consult an attorney if you’d like advice on your interpretation of this information or its accuracy.
In a nutshell, you may not rely on this as legal advice, or as a recommendation of any particular legal understanding.
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