Is Rackspace HIPAA compliant?

This week we received another inbound lead that asked us if our HIPAA Compliant Email service was compatible with their current email provider, Rackspace. In previous posts, we’ve covered email providers like Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, GoDaddy, IPOWER and HostGator and their capabilities for HIPAA compliance. The purpose of this post is to determine if Rackspace offers HIPAA compliant email or not.

Rackspace and the Business Associate Agreement

We've previously talked about how a Business Associate Agreement is a written contract between a Covered Entity and a Business Associate. It is required by law for HIPAA compliance. We checked their website and found the Rackspace HIPAA Business Associate Agreement. Also, here's what their Cloud Servers FAQ says: Are Rackspace Cloud Servers HIPAA compliant? Rackspace cannot determine if a given customer is meeting their obligations under the laws applicable to them, and it remains our customers’ obligation to understand the laws applicable to their use of the services and select appropriate services to meet those obligations. We do understand the needs of many of our customers in the healthcare space to implement appropriate security measures to protect the sensitive information they work with. To help customers in the healthcare industry meet their compliance requirements with regards to HIPAA, Rackspace offers a Business Associate Agreement in all of our dedicated hosting services segments, and it is included by default in our agreements with customers for those services.

Is Rackspace HIPAA Compliant?

The Business Associate Agreement (BAA) is a key component to HIPAA compliance between a Covered Entity and a Business Associate. If you are a covered entity and bound by HIPAA compliance regulations, Rackspace is willing to sign a BAA with your organization.

Conclusion: Rackspace is HIPAA compliant, provided you use their dedicated hosting services segments.

About Rackspace

Rackspace Inc. is a managed cloud computing company based in Windcrest, a suburb of San Antonio, Texas. It went public in 2008 and in 2016 was purchased and taken private by Apollo Global Management LLC.