Skip to the main content.
Talk to sales Start for free
Talk to sales Start for free

2 min read

Can I use SendGrid and be HIPAA compliant?

Can I use SendGrid and be HIPAA compliant?

We've been getting asked by customers and prospects about whether they can use  SendGrid in a HIPAA compliant manner. We know the HIPAA industry is vast so we can empathize with just how many people need to use cloud-based services in this sector. Today we will determine if SendGrid offers HIPAA compliant email for marketing or not.

 

About SendGrid

SendGrid is a cloud-based customer communication platform for transactional and marketing email. The company was founded by Isaac Saldana, Jose Lopez, and Tim Jenkins in 2009. It was incubated through the TechStars accelerator program and went public November 2017. SendGrid has offices in Denver,CO, Boulder,CO, Orange,CA, Redwood City, CA and London.

 

SEE ALSO: SaaStr Speaker Series with Sameer Dholakia and Ajay Agarwal: The Rule of 40 and More

 

SendGrid and the business associate agreement

We’ve previously talked about how a business associate agreement (BAA) is a written contract between a covered entity and a business associate. It is required by law for HIPAA compliance.

We checked SendGrid's site and found a documentation page called Is Sendgrid HIPAA Compliant? On that page, the company clearly states:


No, we are not. SendGrid does not natively support HIPAA compliant data transmission. We do not offer any encryption or security measures surrounding message transmission beyond those included in the SMTP RFC, which was not designed with HIPAA compliancy in mind.

 

Furthermore, its Terms of Service says:


SendGrid does not intend uses of the Service to create obligations under The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”), the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (“GLBA”) or similar Laws (as defined below) and makes no representations that the Service satisfies the requirements of such laws. If You are (or become) a Covered Entity or Business Associate (as defined in HIPAA) or a Financial Institution (as defined in GLBA), You agree not to use the Service for any purpose or in any manner involving Protected Health Information (as defined in HIPAA) or Nonpublic Personal Information (as defined in GLBA).

 

Does SendGrid offer HIPAA compliant email service?

The BAA is a key component to HIPAA compliance between a covered entity and a business associate. SendGrid clearly states it will not sign a BAA.

 

Conclusion

SendGrid is not a HIPAA compliant email solution.

 

HIPAA email marketing tools comparison

To meet the unmet need for HIPAA compliant email marketing, we created Paubox Marketing. It is the only solution that will:
  • Sign a BAA
  • Provide military-grade encryption
  • Allow you to include PHI in your marketing emails
  • Allow patients to read your emails directly from their inbox with no extra steps

 

In addition, Paubox Marketing is HITRUST CSF certified. Compared to the standard marketing tools, Paubox Marketing is the best option for maintaining HIPAA compliance while harnessing the power of personalized email marketing.

SEE ALSO: Why Paubox Marketing is the Best HIPAA Email Marketing Solution Available

 

Company Will they sign a BAA? Can you send PHI?
Adobe Campaign NO NO
Blue Orchid Marketing NO NO
Campaign Monitor NO NO
Campaigner NO NO
Drip NO NO
Emma NO NO
GetResponse NO NO
Hubspot NO NO
L-Soft NO NO
Mad Mimi (GoDaddy) NO NO
Mailchimp NO NO
MailerLite NO NO
Marketo (Adobe) NO NO
Salesforce Pardot NO NO
SendGrid (Twilio) NO NO
Yesware NO NO
ActiveCampaign YES NO
Constant Contact YES NO
Infusionsoft by Keap YES NO
Salesforce Marketing Cloud YES NO
Eloqua (Oracle) YES YES **
Paubox Marketing YES YES

(** To use Oracle Eloqua in a HIPAA compliant manner, recipients receive two emails for every message you send. Patients must also log into a secure message center to view your message— it does not appear in their inboxes. This creates friction and makes it less likely that your patients will read your marketing email.)

 

Try Paubox Marketing for free and make your email marketing HIPAA compliant today.

Subscribe to Paubox Weekly

Every Friday we'll bring you the most important news from Paubox. Our aim is to make you smarter, faster.