Actionable takeaways from NESHCo 2025 conference

How patient-first design, modular content, and AI-ready search are driving smarter, more scalable digital experiences for providers.

Nearly 200 healthcare marketers gathered in Springfield, MA for the 2025 NESHCo Annual Conference.

If you couldn’t attend, here are three practical takeaways that reflect the direction healthcare websites are heading: patient-first strategy, modular content design, and AI-ready search. Each one is critical to creating a more effective digital experience and improving real patient outcomes.

1. Design for Patients, Not Clinicians

Clinicians see healthcare from the inside out. They’re trained to share detailed, precise information, often with peers in mind. But patients don’t navigate care that way. They’re task-driven, emotionally charged, and often unfamiliar with clinical language.

That’s where marketers step in. You understand what patients look for, what language they use, and how to guide them from search to appointment.
So when building a website, marketers should lead the experience. Clinicians should absolutely be consulted; but not own the structure, content, or calls to action.

This means:

Content will be organized around real-world tasks (find a doctor, pay a bill), not internal department structure.
Jargon like “dermatological conditions” will be swapped for “skin conditions”
Long-winded, text-heavy pages will be converted to concise, focused, scannable content
Every page will have a clear call to action

We’ve helped several clients with discovery workshops and UX audits that led to better patient alignment.

2. Build for Efficiency with a Modular CMS

Every healthcare marketer is pushed to do more with less. While AI can help, significant gains come from improving how content gets created and managed across your digital ecosystem.

Why Modularity Matters

Healthcare websites are content-heavy. Provider bios, service pages, and location details are reused in multiple places. A modular CMS lets you manage this content once and publish it everywhere, reducing errors and speeding up updates.

This also reduces your reliance on IT or agency partners for routine changes, freeing time for higher-value strategic work.

Where to Start

Start with content types that get reused the most:

Provider profiles – Bio updates shouldn’t require changes in 5 different places.
Locations – Keep hours, addresses, and services consistent site-wide.
Services – Align descriptions, eligibility, and calls to action across departments.

With the right structure, these can be built as reusable content “blocks” that plug into different templates.

Platform Compatibility

Good news: if you're using modern platforms like Drupal, WordPress, or Sitecore, the foundation for modular content is already there. If your platform is well-maintained, you can often redesign or add new features without replatforming. This saves time, money, and internal bandwidth.

The Bonus Benefit: Phased Rollouts

A modular system makes it easier to roll out changes gradually. Whether it’s redesigns or new features, you can test and launch in phases. That’s easier on your team, your patients, your partners (and your budget!).

3. Optimize for AI-Enhanced & Conversational Search

AI has changed the way we interact with computers. Users no longer search for keywords, they use full sentences and add context when writing (and speaking!) queries in search engines.

What This Means for You

Queries now look like:
“What pediatric clinic is best for toddlers near Springfield with great reviews?”
Not:
“pediatrician near me”
Your content needs to answer real questions, not just include keywords.
AI summaries prioritize clear, structured, specific content that aligns with searcher intent.

What to Prioritize

Focus on bottom-of-funnel, high-intent topics: anything that signals decision-making. Examples:

Doctor comparisons
Insurance coverage
How to book an appointment

Technical Must-Have

Structure your content using schema.org markup. This helps search engines understand and surface your content accurately in AI responses and featured snippets. Find out more in our article all about structured content for healthcare websites.