Campaign Monitor is not HIPAA compliant for uses that involve protected health information because it does not offer a Business Associate Agreement for HIPAA Covered Entities or Business Associates, so it should not be used to create, receive, maintain, or transmit protected health information in email marketing or related email automation.
A Business Associate Agreement is required when a vendor performs functions or services for a regulated entity that involve protected health information. Email marketing platforms routinely process subscriber lists, segmentation fields, engagement analytics, and message content, and those data elements can become protected health information when they identify an individual and relate to healthcare services, payment, or health status. Without a Business Associate Agreement, using Campaign Monitor for patient outreach that includes protected health information creates a HIPAA compliance gap.
The HIPAA Privacy Rule treats “marketing” communications as a regulated category and requires an individual authorization for many marketing uses of protected health information, subject to specific exceptions and conditions. Even when a communication is permitted, the HIPAA Privacy Rule and HIPAA Security Rule still apply to the protection of electronic protected health information when it is transmitted or stored. A marketing authorization does not remove the requirement to use vendors and safeguards that support HIPAA obligations.
Healthcare organizations sometimes consider Campaign Monitor for general newsletters, wellness messaging, or community announcements. Those uses can be structured to avoid HIPAA scope by excluding protected health information from the platform. That approach requires controls that prevent the upload of patient lists derived from treatment relationships, the use of segmentation fields that reflect diagnoses or services, and the inclusion of identifiers tied to care. A message that references an identifiable individual’s appointment, condition, treatment plan, test, prescription, billing balance, or provider relationship can convert the campaign content and associated mailing data into protected health information.
Using Campaign Monitor for communications that contain protected health information also raises security and administrative control issues addressed by the HIPAA Security Rule. Regulated entities must implement administrative, physical, and technical safeguards for electronic protected health information, including access controls, audit controls, and transmission security appropriate to risk. A vendor relationship that cannot be governed by a Business Associate Agreement prevents the regulated entity from establishing required contractual assurances for safeguard implementation and downstream handling of protected health information.
Organizations that need email marketing capability involving protected health information should use an email marketing service that supports a Business Associate Agreement and supports security controls aligned with the HIPAA Security Rule, and they should apply HIPAA Privacy Rule requirements for authorizations, content restrictions, and recipient management when protected health information is used for marketing. Campaign Monitor can be used only for outreach that is designed to exclude protected health information from lists, tracking, message content, and automation logic.