Introduction
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Unlike most healthcare marketing vendors that focus on either patient audiences or healthcare professionals, Health Union combines both sides of the healthcare ecosystem. The company operates a large network of condition-specific patient communities while also providing deterministic first-party healthcare professional (HCP) data and engagement solutions.
Following its acquisition of Adfire Health in 2024, Health Union now enables pharmaceutical and life sciences brands to run integrated DTC and HCP marketing programs using a combined dataset of patient and provider audiences.
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Key Differentiator
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PROS
- One of the largest combined first-party healthcare datasets, including 50M+ patients and caregivers and 2.8M+ NPIs.
- Unique ability to run coordinated HCP and patient engagement campaigns from a single platform.
- Large network of 125+ condition-specific health communities, creating highly engaged niche audiences.
- Deep research capabilities with both patient and provider insights integrated into healthcare market research programs.
CONS
- Primarily focused on pharmaceutical, biotech, and healthcare brands, limiting relevance outside healthcare.
- Solutions are largely custom and enterprise-oriented, meaning pricing transparency is limited.
- Less of a self-serve marketing platform compared to traditional ad-tech tools.
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Health Union is a healthcare marketing and engagement company built around one central concept: community-driven data and insights.
The company operates a large network of condition-specific online health communities that connect patients and caregivers dealing with specific diseases. These communities generate behavioral and attitudinal insights that pharmaceutical and healthcare organizations can use to improve patient engagement strategies.
During our research, what stood out most about Health Union is how different its data model is from typical marketing platforms. Instead of relying primarily on purchased or inferred datasets, the company collects first-party patient and caregiver data directly through its communities, where users share experiences, ask questions, and engage with educational content.
This approach produces a dataset grounded in real patient behaviors, symptoms, and decision points, which can be extremely valuable for healthcare brands trying to understand the patient journey.
Another defining element of Health Union’s platform is its combined patient and healthcare professional targeting capabilities.
After acquiring Adfire Health in 2024, the company expanded beyond patient communities to include one of the largest deterministic datasets of healthcare professionals. The combined system now includes more than:
- 50M+ first-party patient and caregiver records
- 8.3M healthcare professional records
- 2.8M+ National Provider Identifiers (NPIs)
- 600+ specialties
- 100+ license types
The idea is to enable healthcare companies to run campaigns that reach both patients and the care teams that influence their treatment decisions.
In practice, this allows brands to coordinate messaging across the healthcare ecosystem. For example, a pharmaceutical company launching a new therapy could engage patients through community content while simultaneously activating targeted campaigns toward physicians treating that condition.
Health Union refers to this combined strategy as integrated HCP-DTC engagement.
Patient Community Activation
Health Union operates more than 125 condition-specific health communities, including sites dedicated to conditions such as migraines, multiple sclerosis, and lung cancer. Brands can engage these communities through educational content, influencer partnerships, and sponsored activations.
First-Party Healthcare Professional Data
The platform includes one of the largest deterministic datasets of healthcare professionals, including 2.8M+ NPIs and millions of associated identifiers. This allows brands to target physicians, care teams, and administrators using verified professional data.
Omnichannel HCP Marketing
Health Union supports coordinated outreach across multiple channels to engage healthcare professionals during both clinical and personal moments. The platform distinguishes between:
- White Coat Moments – engagement during clinical decision-making
- Blue Jean Moments – engagement when healthcare professionals are outside clinical settings
Integrated HCP + Patient Campaigns
One of Health Union’s most distinctive capabilities is the ability to coordinate marketing across both patient communities and provider audiences, enabling brands to influence the full care journey.
Healthcare Market Research
Health Union provides custom research programs that combine insights from patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals. The company conducts 75+ custom research projects annually across more than 60 therapeutic areas.
Research offerings include:
- Patient journey mapping
- Message testing and segmentation
- Advisory boards
- Awareness and usage tracking
- Rapid pulse surveys
Clinical Trial Engagement
Health Union also supports patient-centric clinical trial initiatives, helping organizations recruit participants and gather insights throughout the clinical development process.
Health Union Pricing
Health Union does not publicly list pricing for its marketing and engagement solutions. Most programs are custom-built for pharmaceutical and healthcare clients, depending on campaign scope, audience targeting, and research requirements.
Live Recruit offers 3 pricing plans with each differing in the available features and number of recruiter seats permitted:
- Starter: This plan costs $349 per month and includes 1 recruiter seat ($295 with an annual subscription).
- Professional: The Professional plan costs $899 per month and allows for 3 recruiter seats ($765 with an annual subscription).
- Enterprise: This plan uses custom pricing, offers 3 recruiter seats, and more features.
Health Union is best suited for:
- Pharmaceutical companies
- Biotechnology firms
- Medical device companies
- Healthcare marketing teams
- Life sciences organizations running patient engagement or clinical research programs
Organizations seeking integrated patient and provider engagement strategies will likely find the platform particularly valuable.
Health Union engagements typically begin with strategic planning sessions to define target audiences and campaign goals.
From there, the company works with clients to design programs that may include:
- Patient community campaigns
- Healthcare professional targeting
- Omnichannel marketing activation
- Market research initiatives
- Clinical engagement programs
Because most programs are custom-designed, implementation timelines vary depending on campaign scope and research requirements.
Health Union is a healthcare engagement company headquartered in Philadelphia. The company operates the largest network of condition-specific online health communities, connecting millions of patients and caregivers with information and support.
In 2024, Health Union acquired Adfire Health, a company specializing in healthcare professional engagement and marketing data. The acquisition significantly expanded Health Union’s capabilities by combining first-party patient data with one of the largest verified datasets of healthcare professionals.
Today, Health Union helps pharmaceutical and healthcare organizations connect with both patients and the care teams that influence treatment decisions, delivering integrated marketing, research, and engagement solutions across the healthcare ecosystem.
Company HQ
Stamford, Connecticut, the United States
Number of Employees
50+
