Geofencing in Healthcare CRM: Use Cases, Benefits and Examples

Geofencing refers to the usage of virtual location boundaries to execute pre-defined automations. In healthcare, geofencing can be used to create a virtual boundary (known as a “geofence”) around healthcare organizations such as hospitals, clinics, pharmacies or diagnostic labs. Depending on who (patient/caregiver/field staff) enters, exits or lingers in the geofenced area, predefined actions are triggered. 

These actions can be set up via healthcare CRMs and can be communication or workflow related. Some examples are:  

• Sending SMS/Message notifications for promotional packages 
• Assigning new patient leads for nearby care teams
• Logging attendance of field staff 

Simply put, geofencing helps healthcare organizations engage patients and staff members at the right place and right time. 

What is geofencing in healthcare CRM? 

You might have thought the term “geofencing in healthcare” simply refers to hospitals and clinics running targeted ads around their location. That is one use case, but geofencing in healthcare CRM is more than that. While retail/generic marketing geofencing might push coupons or discount codes when you walk by a physical store, healthcare geofencing can go one step further and automatically check in a patient or even remind a person to schedule a due vaccination when they walk past a clinic.  

Geofencing in healthcare can also be extended to on-field teams. For example, when a field sales representative enters the referral partner’s parking lot and clicks on “check in”, geofencing will automatically be able to verify the location, create tasks in the CRM, and start SLA timers. Geofencing typically resides in your CRM, between your HIMS/HIS and operational workflows. It enables flow between both systems, based on where the user is.  

Why geofencing matters for healthcare organizations

We live in a mobile-first world. This has increased competition, patient expectations, and access to data. Geofencing helps healthcare organizations survive this competitive landscape. For example, if a patient is physically near a healthcare facility, a geofence-enabled organization can send push notifications or SMS messages to patients, encouraging them to avail an ongoing offer. This aligns with modern patient expectations: seamless, personalized communication. 

Geofencing involves four critical steps:  

1. Defining a geofence: Creating a virtual perimeter around a specific healthcare location or area. 
2. Detecting location: Mapping a person’s location event in real time using GPS, WiFi or Bluetooth beacons. 
3. Triggering an action: Automatically triggering a predefined action based on location event, via CRM or other geo-integrated systems. 
4. Delivering outcomes: Using the predefined action to produce an outcome such as sending a push notification. 

Many healthcare organizations use field-based roles to execute operations. Untracked activities can lead to wasted resources (such as time, energy and money), higher operational costs, lost opportunities, and mismatched schedules. Geofencing brings transparency in operations, that can translate to better allocation of resources and higher ROI.  

Geofencing also brings in verifiable accountability. For example, if a client complains about a missed visit, the field sales manager can clearly determine the date and time of scheduled appointment, the assigned field rep, and even track the location of the rep at the time of the meeting. Location-based check-in and check-out are especially helpful for organizations that calculate pay on an hourly basis as it can eliminate fraudulent clock-ins.  

Types of technologies used in geofencing  

Key use cases of geofencing in healthcare 

1) Patient acquisition & marketing:  

• Targeting patients near healthcare campuses/centers: Example: If someone has downloaded the hospital’s app enters the geofenced zone around the hospital, they could receive a personalized notification, such as: “Looks like you’re nearby! Need a quick health check-up today? Walk-in slots available at 20% discount just for today!” 
• Ethical geo-conquesting: The term geo-conquesting refers to geofencing a competitor’s location. This works similar to the above use case; Here you can provide notifications/content/ads for your clinic’s services. However, this must be done carefully and respectfully. A sample notification you could send is “Considering a second opinion? Our heart care center is nearby if you need us.” 

2) Patient acquisition & marketing: 

• Automated check-in upon arrival: Help patient skip long registration queues by automatically checking them in upon arrival. By setting up geofencing parameters around the parking lot or hospital entrance, patients can automatically receive check-in notifications on their phone. This can trigger another workflow which notifies the front desk and updates appointment status. 
• Indoor navigation: Large hospitals can often be confusing to navigate. By using WiFi or Bluetooth beacons at key locations/floors, patients can receive real-time navigation instructions. For example, once a patient has checked in, they can receive directions to reach their doctor/radiologist’s room.  
• Context-based messaging: Geofencing can help deliver the right information to patients based on their live location. For example, if they’re lingering around the radiology and diagnostics department, their location can be detected via geofencing and matched with CRM records – if updated in real time, patients can receive preparation instructions for the prescribed test/scan.  

3) Care coordination & field sales teams 

• Home healthcare visits: Many medical professions such as nursing, ambulances, therapy, counselling, etc. require home visits. Geofencing can help verify visit details by auto check-in and check-out features. Features like daily summaries can help managers gain insights into each team members’ tasks and activities. This is especially useful for field teams working in sensitive areas of healthcare like behavioral health and ABA, which often follow strict verification, documentation and operational compliance rules.  
• Ambulance/emergency situations: Geofencing a hospital’s emergency unit can help staff prepare for incoming patients and route ambulances to nearby emergency sites.  
• Sample collection: Phlebotomists utilize geofencing to ensure samples are picked up on time and sent to the right location. This also doubles as proof of service. 
• Field sales teams: Geofencing can help verify attendance proof and ensure territory compliance to prevent overlap, maintain clear accountability and track missed visits. It can also help users plan routes for best navigation and provide real-time visibility into doctor & patient onboarding processes. 

4) Preventive care 

• Vaccination reminders: Clinics and other health departments that offer vaccinations can set geofences around schools or their own facilities to send preventive healthcare reminders to passers-by. For example, if someone is near a clinic or hospital they have previously visited, they could receive a message for an upcoming vaccination drive. Screening nudges can also be delivered in a similar fashion. 
• Chronic care follow up: Geofencing can help chronic care patients stay on track with their treatment. For example, if a physiotherapist’s clinic has tied up with a rehabilitation center, they can geofence that area and send an automated blood test reminder to their patient, if they’re in the geofenced area. 

Geofencing in behavioral healthcare and mental health 

In the US, many Medicaid-funded behavioral health practices (like ABA therapy or home-based counseling) require proof of the caretaker’s physical presence, at the right location, for the billed duration. This is part of the Electronic Visit Verification (EVV) compliance process. 

Geofencing can automate this process entirely and accurately, by capturing the caretaker’s live location, and check in and check out timings. This also reduces the chance of fraudulent billing and related penalties.  

Geofencing in healthcare CRM can also act as a silent guardian in behavioral health fieldwork practices. For example, if a home-based therapist does not check out from a client’s geofenced location by the expected time, the system could alert a supervisor. It can also help log distance and time spent on travel automatically, helping fasten the process of reimbursement or claims.  

Geofencing can also be used in crisis response cases, especially psychiatric emergencies or mobile crises units. The healthcare CRM can identify the location of the emergency and alert all nearby medical professionals.

Benefits of implementing geofencing in healthcare CRM 

• Increase in operational efficiency: Since geofencing can sync with your healthcare CRM, it can automatically trigger workflows and reminders. This can also help with reducing wait times, enabling staff to handle higher volumes and real-time visibility into operations while they are on field. 
• Faster patient access to care: Geofencing can help automatically check in a patient, send them automated messages with navigation guides and alert critical care teams of incoming patients. 
• Accurate staff coordination: Geofencing through mobile CRM solutions can help manage large teams that are on field by ensuring route adherence. It can also help administrative teams identify bottlenecks, such as traffic patterns.  
• Improved patient satisfaction: With all the benefits mentioned above, teams can deliver better patient experience, ultimately improving patient satisfaction. Timely follow-up messages and reminders can help keep a patient engaged as well, improving their loyalty. 

Challenges and best practices of geofencing in healthcare 

Privacy and compliance guardrails to consider  

Geofencing, while offering operational gains, also raises important privacy and legal concerns. Here are some guardrails to keep in mind, while enabling geofencing in healthcare CRM and operations:  

1. United States:

• Primary healthcare privacy law to follow: HIPAA, which covers PHI (Protected Health Information)  
• Regulators have clarified that geographic location can be considered PHI if tied to healthcare interactions.  
• If you involve a third-party vendor to enable geofencing, they must sign a Business Associate Agreement (BAA).  
• Many states such as California, Texas and Illinois prevent non-consensual electronic tracking of people. 
• Implement clear policies: what is being tracked, why it’s being done, when tracking is off, and how long such data is stored for.  

2. EU/UK:  

• Primary healthcare privacy law to follow: GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)  
• Under GDPR, any data that can identify a person (name, age, location) is personal data, that must be consensually collected.  
• The 2 key principles are lawfulness and data minimization, i.e. the company should either get explicit consent from the user being tracked or be able to justify it under “legitimate interests”.  
• Users should be clearly informed about what data is being collected, by whom and for what purpose. 
• GDPR also states that individuals have the right to access their data, erase it, or withdraw consent at any point.  
• Do not track any data off-hours or beyond the scope defined – as data minimization is heavily emphasized upon, in EU/UK regions.  

3. India:

• The Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 guides India’s data privacy landscape.  
• Although DPDP doesn’t explicitly define certain data as “sensitive”, health-related information is implicitly sensitive.  
• Location data being captured in relation to health services would be considered sensitive personal data -as well.  
• Explicit consent capture and data minimization should be followed as well, for best practices.  
• DPDP also emphasizes purpose limitation, i.e. collecting data only for legitimate use.  
• In addition to DPDP, the National Digital Health Mission guidelines stress consent and privacy in health services.  

Step-by-step blueprint to implement geofencing in healthcare CRM 

Step 1: Define objectives and KPIs 

• List down everything you want to achieve with geo-fencing: increase in field visit completion rates, reduction in falsified logs, improve turnaround times, ensure EVV compliance,etc.  
• Set specific metrics for each objective – ex. 50% reduction, 20% increase.  

Step 2: Define areas to be geofenced 

• Decide where to set up each geofence and what area should be covered.  
• Define the trigger conditions for each geofenced area, such as enter/exit/dwell etc. 

Step 3: Choose communication channels and content

• Before you start searching for geofencing vendors, set up communication workflows and trigger actions.  
• Decide which channels to integrate – SMS, WhatsApp and email are common.  
• Define timing, frequency, target audience, send time and other logistical features if possible. 

Step 4: Engage stakeholders and craft policies 

• Is the platform compliant with your local healthcare guidelines?
  • Can the platform provide easy to create-and-edit geofences?
  • Is a mobile app available, and if yes, can it support offline mode?
  • Can the platform send real-time alerts in cases of emergencies?
  • Can the geofencing feature be configured to your workflows?
  • Does the platform provide reports or analytics for location-based metrics?
  • Can granular permission controls be changed?
  • Can the platform handle a scale in number of users?
• A vendor that ticks all these boxes is LeadSquared. Check out more about the geofencing capabilities here.

Step 6: Pilot, in phases  

• Rather than rolling out a new feature company-wide, start small – such as a specific team in a specific region.  
• Closely monitor usage and results, such as false negatives, workflow triggers, etc.  
• Collect feedback from pilot users: how much drain the app puts on battery usage, how easy it is to use the app on the go, any privacy concerns?  
• Conduct regular hands-on training sessions so users know what to use and how. 

Step 7: Refine and expand  

• Use insights from conversations to refine geofence boundaries – some might be too narrow or too wide.  
• Adjust settings on check-in/out timings if needed.  
• Document successful use cases to show to other teams during expanded rollout.  
• Keep an eye on KPIs defined in step 1 and monitor it throughout usage over a defined period of time, such as 6-8 months.  

Conclusion  

Geofencing in healthcare CRM is a must-have strategic tool for healthcare organizations today. With clear policies, user education, and strict privacy guidelines, geofencing can empower healthcare staff to perform better.  

If you are exploring geofencing and geo-tracking services for your institution, LeadSquared’s geofencing in healthcare CRM is a perfect solution. We provide geofencing for critical activities like activity audio recordings, document collection, task completion, and KYC verification etc. 

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