AI, Data, and PR: What next for healthcare communications?

The healthcare sector is undergoing a profound transformation, and communication is at the heart of it. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and data-driven insights are reshaping the way healthcare providers, from GP practices and Primary Care Networks (PCNs) to Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) and NHS Trusts, engage with their patients, communities, and stakeholders. At Grey Sergeant, we believe that AI, data, and PR together hold the key to building trust, strengthening reputation, and driving effective healthcare integration.

In this blog, I will explore how AI and data are influencing PR in healthcare communications and what comes next for GPs, Primary Care, and the wider NHS system.

Why healthcare communications must evolve

Healthcare communications has always been about trust. Patients turn to their GP or local health centre in times of need, and the public relies on the NHS as a trusted institution. Yet, the current environment is more complex than ever.

• Public confidence in healthcare integration is fragile. As services shift from hospitals to neighbourhood health centres, effective communication becomes vital.

• Digital-first patients expect the same seamless experience they get from consumer brands.

• ICBs and PCNs must demonstrate measurable outcomes to regulators, funders, and communities.

Traditional PR methods; press releases, media coverage, patient leaflets are no longer enough. The future lies in combining PR, AI, and data to create personalised, transparent, and meaningful communications.

The role of AI in healthcare PR

AI is often discussed in clinical settings, but its impact on healthcare PR and communications is just as significant. When used ethically and strategically, AI can:

1. Analyse patient and public sentiment

AI tools can scan social media, online reviews, and news coverage to detect sentiment around GP services, Trusts, or ICB initiatives. For example, a PCN launching a new community diagnostic hub can use AI-driven monitoring to gauge patient reactions in real time, allowing for agile response and reputation management.

2. Enhance personalised engagement

Patients want tailored communication. AI can help segment audiences based on demographics, health needs, and digital behaviour, ensuring the right message reaches the right person at the right time. For GPs, this could mean targeted campaigns about flu vaccinations, mental health support, or local wellbeing services.

3. Automate routine communications

From chatbots answering FAQs to AI-generated appointment reminders, automation reduces administrative burden while maintaining a consistent patient experience. This gives PR and communications professionals more space to focus on strategy and reputation-building.

Data: The backbone of effective healthcare communications

If AI is the engine, data is the fuel. For PR and communications in healthcare, data provides the evidence and credibility needed to build trust.

1. Measuring public confidence

ICBs are tasked with integrating care across systems, but success must be demonstrated. Data on patient satisfaction, service uptake, and online sentiment provides measurable insights that can be communicated back to stakeholders, showing transparency and accountability.

2. Informing campaign strategy

Whether a GP practice wants to promote a new digital triage system or an NHS Trust needs to explain investment in cancer services, data ensures messages are aligned with patient priorities. Heat maps of service demand, feedback from patient participation groups, and online reviews all provide actionable intelligence.

3. Protecting reputation during a crisis

Healthcare organisations face reputational risk daily. Data-led crisis monitoring can detect issues early, whether it’s misinformation spreading on social media or patient dissatisfaction with appointment access, allowing for rapid, evidence-based responses.

The PR opportunity: Building trust in the age of AI

AI and data bring enormous potential, but the role of PR in healthcare remains unchanged at its core: to build relationships, manage reputation, and foster trust. The difference is that communications strategies must now integrate technology with humanity.

Communicating with transparency

Patients are wary of AI in healthcare. They want reassurance that their data is secure and used ethically. PR has a crucial role in explaining AI applications clearly, ensuring transparency, and positioning healthcare providers as guardians of patient trust.

Storytelling with data

Numbers alone don’t move people - stories do. The opportunity for healthcare PR professionals is to take data insights and humanise them. A GP practice’s flu vaccine uptake rate is impressive, but the real story is the elderly patient who felt safe and cared for. Data provides credibility; storytelling provides impact.

Demonstrating leadership

For ICBs and PCNs, communication is not just about services, it’s about leadership. By using AI and data insights to shape messages, leaders can position themselves as forward-thinking, trustworthy, and responsive to community needs.

What Comes Next for Healthcare Communications?

The next five years will redefine how healthcare PR operates. Based on current trends, here are the key developments Grey Sergeant sees on the horizon:

1. Hyper-local healthcare campaigns

Neighbourhood health centres will become central to NHS long-term strategy. PR campaigns must be hyper-local, using AI and data to target communications down to postcode level, ensuring patients feel heard and connected to their community.

2. Real-time reputation management

With AI-driven sentiment analysis, healthcare organisations will shift from reactive to proactive reputation management. GPs and PCNs will be able to anticipate patient concerns before they escalate into national media stories.

3. AI-powered content creation

AI tools will increasingly support content production, blogs, patient FAQs, or local campaigns. The challenge will be ensuring these outputs retain human authenticity, with PR professionals curating and shaping the narrative.

4. Integration of patient voice

Data collection won’t just be about numbers but about amplifying the patient voice. Online reviews, social listening, and feedback platforms will become core inputs into communications strategies.

5. Ethics at the forefront

The NHS must uphold the highest ethical standards. The PR function will play a critical role in governance, ensuring communications around AI and data are responsible, transparent, and aligned with patient values.

Grey Sergeant’s Perspective

At Grey Sergeant, we work with GP practices, PCNs, ICBs, and Trusts to navigate this new era of healthcare communications. Our approach blends traditional PR values - trust, reputation, clarity - with the power of AI and data-driven strategy.

We believe that:

• GPs and PCNs must use PR to position themselves as leaders in neighbourhood health.

• ICBs should harness AI and data to communicate integration success and build public confidence.

• Trusts and providers must balance technological innovation with patient-centred storytelling.

Healthcare is personal. That is why every communication, whether powered by AI or driven by data, must be rooted in humanity. PR remains the bridge between innovation and patient trust.

Conclusion: The Future is Human + AI

AI and data are not replacing PR; they are enhancing it. The future of healthcare communications will be defined by how effectively we combine human storytelling, ethical practice, and technological insight.

For healthcare providers, this is both a challenge and an opportunity. The organisations that succeed will be those that use AI and data responsibly, engage their communities transparently, and build reputations founded on trust.

At Grey Sergeant, our mission is to help the healthcare sector lead this transformation, turning communication into a strategic tool for better care, stronger reputation, and healthier communities.

About the author

Michael O’Connor is a partner at Grey Sergeant, specialising in PR, communications, and engagement across the healthcare and non-profit sectors. Through his consultancy Grey Sergeant, he helps primary care networks, GP surgeries, and healthcare organisations define their brand, strengthen their reputation, and communicate with clarity. For more information, contact michael.oconnor@greysergeant.com