Digital health PR must establish credibility with an audience that follows trade publications and clinical journals, not only tech media, while remaining within FDA and FTC claim boundaries that most consumer tech comms teams never need to consider. We create PR and comms programs around the publications and voices your real buying committee trusts, backed by the compliance discipline this category demands.
The Challenge
You're pursuing general tech coverage while your buyers are reading trade and clinical publications
A health system CMIO or a payer's medical director is far more likely to be influenced by coverage in Healthcare IT News, Fierce Healthcare, or a clinical journal than by a general tech outlet, but most PR programs default to the general tech media list because it's the playbook the team already knows. Landing on TechCrunch feels like a win and does almost nothing to move the specific committee that decides whether your product gets bought.
One exaggerated press release claim can invite FDA or FTC scrutiny that lasts years beyond the news cycle
A press release that implies clinical efficacy, regulatory clearance you don't have, or outcome data that isn't substantiated is not just a messaging problem – it's the kind of statement that can draw FDA or FTC attention, and that scrutiny doesn't disappear when the news cycle moves on. Comms teams optimizing for the boldest possible headline without a compliance review step are trading a short-term press hit for long-term regulatory exposure.
You lack a crisis communications plan for the kinds of incidents unique to this category
A data breach involving patient health information, an adverse event connected to your product, or a clinical outcome dispute are the incident types that actually threaten a digital health company's business, and they require a different response protocol than a typical tech company's crisis playbook – HIPAA breach notification obligations, patient safety messaging, regulator communication. Companies that only have a generic tech crisis comms plan discover the gap during the actual incident, which is the worst possible time to discover it.
Your comms and your sales team's security review responses are presenting two different narratives
What your PR team says publicly about data handling, clinical validation, or company scale needs to match exactly what your sales and solutions engineering team says during a health system's security and procurement review, because that committee will absolutely compare the two. A public claim that doesn't match the more conservative language your security team uses in a due diligence questionnaire reads as a credibility problem right when a deal is closest to closing.
What We Do
We begin by identifying the outlets, trade publications, and individual reporters your real buying committee – clinical leaders, health IT decision-makers, payer executives – follows and trusts, which is often a very different list from the general tech and startup media a comms team typically targets. Credibility in trade outlets such as Healthcare IT News, Fierce Healthcare, MedCity News, or the appropriate clinical journals influences committee members in ways general tech coverage does not.
Before publication, every press release, byline, and media statement goes through a claims-review step developed with your regulatory or medical affairs contact, ensuring efficacy language, comparative claims, and references to clinical evidence or regulatory status are substantiated and won't attract FDA or FTC attention later. This isn't an extra, slower process added to PR – it's integrated into the drafting workflow from the initial outline.
We align the messages your comms team shares publicly with what your sales and solutions engineering teams communicate in security reviews and procurement questionnaires, so a health system committee comparing both hears one consistent narrative rather than finding a gap that creates questions just as a deal approaches closing.
We create a crisis communications plan tailored to the incidents that genuinely threaten a digital health company – a patient health information data breach, an adverse event, a clinical outcome dispute – with HIPAA breach notification requirements, patient safety messaging, and regulator communication protocols established before an incident occurs rather than improvised in the moment.
We produce thought leadership and executive bylines for the trade and clinical publications your committee follows, connected to genuine regulatory shifts, payer policy changes, or clinical evidence your company can address credibly, instead of generic commentary that fails to build authority with this particular audience.
What sets this apart from a general tech PR agency is that success isn't measured by press hit volume or domain authority – it's measured by whether the particular trade outlets and voices your buying committee trusts are covering you, and whether your public narrative withstands the scrutiny of a health system's own review process.
What we deliver
- Trade and clinical media target list built around what your actual buying committee reads, not general tech press
- Claims-review workflow for every press release and byline, built with your regulatory or medical affairs contact
- Message alignment audit between public PR statements and sales/security review answers
- Category-specific crisis communications plan covering PHI breach, adverse event, and clinical outcome dispute scenarios
A press release claim that a journalist never fact-checks may still be fact-checked through an FDA warning letter – the review step many comms teams overlook is what protects the company well beyond the end of the news cycle.
Our Methodology
We operate digital health PR and comms as a 90-day sprint that establishes media relationships and compliance infrastructure before transitioning into ongoing execution. During the first 30 days, we identify the trade and clinical outlets your buying committee truly follows, review recent public statements against your regulatory posture, and uncover gaps between comms messaging and what your sales team communicates in security reviews. Days 30 through 60 establish the claims-review workflow, begin pitching priority trade publications and reporters, and develop the crisis communications plan for incidents specific to this category. Days 60 through 90 deliver the first round of trade press outreach and bylines, then finalize crisis protocols with approval from whoever internally owns HIPAA compliance.
Rather than operating like a general tech PR agency pursuing broad coverage volume, we design the program around the precise trade credibility that influences a health system, payer, or employer buying committee, with compliance review integrated into the workflow instead of added after a release has already been written. Crisis preparedness is a first-90-days deliverable, not an issue considered only when an incident demands it.
Our Approach
The first 30 days identify what your buying committee actually reads, review recent public statements for claims risk, and assess whether your public narrative aligns with your sales team's security review responses.
Days 30 through 60 establish the claims-review workflow alongside your regulatory or medical affairs contact, launch trade press outreach and byline pitching, and develop the crisis communications plan with input from whoever oversees HIPAA compliance and patient safety response.
Days 60 through 90 deliver the first round of coverage and bylines, secure final approval for the crisis plan, and set up a message-alignment check-in with your sales team so public and private claims remain consistent as the business changes.
The ongoing cadence includes a monthly media relations push connected to genuine news – product milestones, clinical evidence, regulatory developments – along with a standing quarterly crisis-readiness review that keeps the plan updated as your risk profile evolves.
- Trade and clinical press coverage that actually reaches your buying committee, not just general tech visibility
- Public claims that are substantiated and unlikely to draw FDA or FTC scrutiny after the fact
- Consistent messaging between public PR statements and sales team security review answers
- A crisis communications plan ready before a PHI breach, adverse event, or outcome dispute happens, not during one
If your digital health company needs pr / comms leadership, we should talk.
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Frequently asked questions
What does a PR and comms engagement cost for a digital health company?
Pricing varies based on the scope of trade media relationships we're developing and whether the engagement includes a complete crisis communications plan. Companies that need both ongoing media relations and category-specific crisis planning pay more than those seeking media relations alone.
How soon can we expect trade press coverage?
The first trade press outreach and initial bylines generally land within 60 to 90 days, after the claims-review workflow is established and pitches are sent. Developing genuine relationships with trade reporters covering this category takes more time than securing one hit and compounds throughout the engagement.
Will you collaborate with our regulatory and medical affairs team on each release?
Yes, each press release and byline involving efficacy, clinical evidence, or regulatory status goes through a claims-review step with your regulatory or medical affairs contact before publication. In this category, that isn't optional, and we integrate it into the workflow to avoid slowing releases unnecessarily.
How is Winston Francois different from a typical general tech PR agency?
A general tech PR agency pursues broad coverage volume and judges success by the number of hits. We focus on the particular trade and clinical publications your buying committee actually follows, put every claim through a compliance review that most tech PR teams omit, and prepare for crisis scenarios specific to digital health rather than relying on a generic tech crisis plan.
How is ROI measured for a PR and comms engagement?
We measure coverage in the trade and clinical publications your buying committee genuinely follows, whether messaging remains aligned during sales security reviews, and the state of crisis readiness, instead of relying on generic press hit volume or reach metrics that don't correspond with a health system purchasing decision.
Which type of digital health company is best suited to this service?
This service is designed for digital health companies selling to health systems, payers, or employers that need credibility among clinical and health IT audiences, typically in the 5M to 100M ARR range, particularly those lacking an existing crisis communications plan for PHI or clinical incidents. Begin with a strategy call and an assessment of your current media presence.
