We've been seeing more vendors, customers, and prospects asking about HIPAA compliant services. Since Paubox is a Business Associate to thousands of customers, we’ve been wondering if they are able to use Google Vault in a HIPAA compliant manner.
SEE ALSO: Google & HIPAA Compliance: The Ultimate Guide
We know the HIPAA industry is vast, so we can empathize with just how many people need to use cloud services in this sector. Today we will determine if Google Vault offers HIPAA compliant service or not.
Google Vault is an eDiscovery and compliance solution for Google Workspace. It positions itself as allowing customers to retain, hold, search, and export their data.
See Also: Can I use Google Keep and be HIPAA Compliant?
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 a nutshell, the role of a Business Associate is to help Covered Entities comply with the HIPAA Privacy Rule
Read full article: What does it mean to be a Business Associate?
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.
Read full article: Business Associate Agreement Provisions
The Business Associate Agreement (BAA) is a key component to HIPAA compliance between a Covered Entity and a Business Associate. Since Google Workspace offers a BAA that covers Google Vault, we conclude that Google Vault is a HIPAA compliant service, as long as you digitally sign a BAA with Google.
Conclusion: Google Vault can be configured for HIPAA compliance.