Calm is a mental wellness platform offering guided meditations, sleep stories, and stress-reduction tools to individuals and organizations. Through its enterprise offering, Calm, the app can be integrated into care programs and used by employers, health plans, and providers.
With Calm, users can access personalized mental health programs developed by psychologists, including screenings based on PHQ-9 and GAD-7.
Is Calm HIPAA compliant? Yes, based on our research, Calm can be HIPAA compliant.
Yes, Calm will sign a business associate agreement, which can be reviewed here.
The Calm BAA covers the use and disclosure of protected health information (PHI), stating, “Calm will Process Customer Data only… for the specific purpose of performing the Services… Calm will not: (x) retain, use, or disclose the Customer Data… for any purpose other than for the specific purpose of performing the Services…”
Their BAA covers:
Calm limits its platform to behavioral health support and does not provide direct clinical care or treatment. Calm Health is designed to supplement care, not replace it. Their terms say, “Calm Health is designed to supplement other forms of support and is not intended as a substitute for care by a physician, therapist, or other physical or mental health care provider.”
This means Calm may not be suitable for use cases involving direct patient treatment or diagnosis.
Calm signs a BAA and is therefore HIPAA compliant.
Learn more: HIPAA Compliant Email: The Definitive Guide
A business associate agreement (BAA) is a legally binding contract establishing a relationship between a covered entity under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and its business associates. The purpose of this agreement is to ensure the proper protection of personal health information (PHI) as required by HIPAA regulations.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) sets national standards for protecting the privacy and security of certain health information, known as protected health information (PHI).
HIPAA is designed to protect the privacy and security of individuals’ health information and to ensure that healthcare providers and insurers can securely exchange electronic health information. Violations of HIPAA can result in significant fines and penalties for covered entities.
HIPAA applies to covered entities, which include healthcare providers, health plans, and healthcare clearinghouses. It also applies to business associates of these covered entities. These are entities that perform certain functions or activities on behalf of the covered entity.