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Do I Need a BAA With My Vendor? A Plain-English Guide to Which Vendors Require a Business Associate Agreement · Business AssociatesYour 'Success Story' Program Just Cost This Rehab Facility $182,000: The Cadia Healthcare HIPAA Settlement · OCR EnforcementAn Accounting Firm Just Paid a HIPAA Fine: BST and Co. CPAs and What It Means for Professional Services Firms · OCR Enforcement15 Million Records, a $10,000 Fine, and a Company That No Longer Exists: The MMG Fusion Story · OCR EnforcementOCR Creates Religious Discrimination Units: What the Restructuring Means for HIPAA Enforcement · Rule UpdateOCR Director: The Cost of Doing Nothing Is Very High · Rule UpdateHIPAA Victims May Soon Receive a Share of OCR Fines: What the Proposed Compensation Program Means · Rule UpdateOCR Restructured: Three New Divisions and What It Means for HIPAA Enforcement · Rule UpdateRehab Center Pays $103,000 After Phishing Attack: OCR's 11th Risk Analysis Enforcement Action · OCR EnforcementConcentra Pays $112,500 After Patient Made Six Records Requests Over 13 Months · OCR EnforcementHIPAA Security Rule Final Rule: May Deadline Passes With No Announcement · Rule UpdateDo I Need a BAA With My Vendor? A Plain-English Guide to Which Vendors Require a Business Associate Agreement · Business AssociatesYour 'Success Story' Program Just Cost This Rehab Facility $182,000: The Cadia Healthcare HIPAA Settlement · OCR EnforcementAn Accounting Firm Just Paid a HIPAA Fine: BST and Co. CPAs and What It Means for Professional Services Firms · OCR Enforcement15 Million Records, a $10,000 Fine, and a Company That No Longer Exists: The MMG Fusion Story · OCR EnforcementOCR Creates Religious Discrimination Units: What the Restructuring Means for HIPAA Enforcement · Rule UpdateOCR Director: The Cost of Doing Nothing Is Very High · Rule UpdateHIPAA Victims May Soon Receive a Share of OCR Fines: What the Proposed Compensation Program Means · Rule UpdateOCR Restructured: Three New Divisions and What It Means for HIPAA Enforcement · Rule UpdateRehab Center Pays $103,000 After Phishing Attack: OCR's 11th Risk Analysis Enforcement Action · OCR EnforcementConcentra Pays $112,500 After Patient Made Six Records Requests Over 13 Months · OCR EnforcementHIPAA Security Rule Final Rule: May Deadline Passes With No Announcement · Rule Update

A customer asked, "Are you HIPAA compliant?"

Be honest: explain your controls and BAAs, never promise a checkbox no one can guarantee.

  1. 1

    Clarify what they mean

    Ask whether they mean you will sign a BAA, support their audit, or meet specific security standards. Vague questions get vague answers.

  2. 2

    Describe how you protect health data

    Encryption, access controls, logging, backups, and subprocessors are concrete. Avoid marketing fluff.

  3. 3

    Offer a BAA if you handle PHI

    If their data includes patient information, offer your standard BAA and security documentation.

  4. 4

    Point to independent review if available

    SOC 2, HITRUST, or penetration test summaries help, but they do not replace the customer's own risk assessment.

Important

HIPAA compliance is shared: your customer must configure your product correctly and train their staff, you cannot "HIPAA certify" them.

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Not legal advice. Follow your organization's policies and consult counsel for legal questions.