Is ActiveCampaign HIPAA Compliant?

by

ActiveCampaign is not HIPAA compliant for handling electronic protected health information in email marketing workflows because HIPAA compliance requires a signed HIPAA Business Associate Agreement that covers the specific services in scope and operational controls that prevent electronic protected health information from being created, received, maintained, or transmitted in ways the platform is not designed to secure for regulated healthcare use.

HIPAA Covered Entities and Business Associates must have a written HIPAA Business Associate Agreement in place before a vendor creates, receives, maintains, or transmits electronic protected health information on their behalf. A compliant arrangement also depends on how the organization configures access, segmentation, form capture, automations, integrations, and outbound message content under the HIPAA Security Rule. A vendor security page or marketing statement does not replace a service-specific agreement and a documented configuration standard.

ActiveCampaign is willing to sign a HIPAA Business Associate Agreement for certain customers based on plan level and contracting process. That agreement status does not convert all ActiveCampaign functionality into an approved electronic protected health information environment. Email marketing platforms routinely process contact records, custom fields, tags, behavioral tracking, message templates, link tracking parameters, landing pages, and web forms. Any of those elements can become electronic protected health information when they include identifiers and relate to an individual’s treatment, payment, or healthcare operations.

Accredited HIPAA Certification

Healthcare organizations using ActiveCampaign should avoid placing electronic protected health information into contact properties, segmentation logic, automations, email subject lines, email bodies, landing pages, form submissions, and tracking links. Identifiers combined with a healthcare context can create protected health information even when clinical details are not present. The HIPAA Privacy Rule also restricts the use and disclosure of protected health information for marketing, and patient communications that meet the definition of marketing may require a valid authorization when protected health information is used outside a permitted purpose.

ActiveCampaign can be used for healthcare outreach only when campaigns are structured to exclude protected health information and to avoid connecting identifiable individuals to specific care, conditions, or payment status. When patient-specific outreach requires electronic protected health information, select a service that executes a HIPAA Business Associate Agreement for the exact marketing and messaging components in use and supports controlled access, audit controls, transmission security, and incident response procedures aligned to HIPAA obligations.

James Keogh

James Keogh has been writing about the healthcare sector in the United States for several years and is currently the editor of HIPAAnswers. He has a particular interest in HIPAA and the intersection of healthcare privacy and information technology. He has developed specialized knowledge in HIPAA-related issues, including compliance, patient privacy, and data breaches. You can follow James on Twitter https://x.com/JamesKeoghHIPAA and contact James on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-keogh-89023681 or email directly at [email protected]