Communicating with customers or potential ones via chat, as well as via HIPAA compliant email, is a key part of the healthcare digital transformation we are undergoing right now. Now that many companies, including those in the healthcare industry, are moving to a remote or work-from-home structure, utilizing a chatbot service can help capture more customer information. SEE ALSO: Cybersecurity Challenges of Remote Working That means, for many, staying HIPAA compliant is even more important than ever. But how HIPAA compliant can chatbots be? It depends on a variety of things. Today we are going to look at Freshchat.
About Freshchat
In 2018, Freshworks launched its sixth product , Freshchat, as a new lead generating avenue for sales and marketing teams. Freshchat has more capabilities than a customer-support only service, like the company's own Freshdesk . Freshworks saw the changing landscape of how consumers expect their experience to be with a company and adapted to create Freshchat, a “full-featured modern messaging software for sales and customer engagement.”What is a business associate?
A business associate is a person or company that performs certain functions or activities that involve the use or disclosure of protected health information (PHI) for a covered entity. In easier terms, the role of a business associate is to help covered entities comply with the HIPAA Privacy Rule.Business associate agreement provisions
If a business associate provides services to a covered entity, then a business associate agreement (BAA) must be in place. A BAA is a written contract between a covered entity and a business associate and is required by law for HIPAA compliance. At a minimum, a business associate agreement contains 10 provisions.Freshchat and HIPAA
After checking the Freshchat website, we found a webpage discussing its HIPAA compliance: Freshworks commitment towards HIPAA compliance . From this post, we know that:- Freshworks (Freshchat) may execute a BAA
- This BAA is limited to the following Freshworks products:
- Freshdesk
- Freshservice
- Freshsales
- Freshcaller
- Freshchat
- Other products offered by Freshworks will not be covered within the scope of the BAA