LiveChat is a customer service software platform that provides online chat, web analytics, and help desk services.These can be useful tools for any business, but as a healthcare organization, you must ensure that the software is HIPAA compliant. Is LiveChat HIPAA compliant? The answer to this is discussed below.
Is LiveChat HIPAA Compliant: Security Features
When LiveChat is used by a healthcare organization, it is considered a business associate under HIPAA. This is because it has the potential to come into contact with protected health information (PHI). In fact, as a customer service platform, it is likely to have PHI transmitted and received through it. As a business associate, it is your obligation to ensure that it is HIPAA compliant before you use it to communicate PHI.
As such, it is important to assess a software platform’s security features before it is used to create, receive, transmit, store, or maintain PHI. LiveChat has the security features required to secure PHI, but the platform has to be configured to ensure proper use and disclosure of PHI.
To learn how to make LiveChat HIPAA compliant, follow these steps.
Is LiveChat HIPAA Compliant: Business Associate Agreement
A business associate agreement (BAA) is a legal contract that dictates the security measures that the business associate must have in place securing PHI. A BAA is required to be signed between software platforms and their clients before it can be used for PHI. Will LiveChat sign a business associate agreement? Yes, with clients using their Enterprise plan.
Is LiveChat HIPAA Compliant?
Is LiveChat HIPAA compliant? Yes, it is but ONLY when properly configured, and for clients using the Enterprise plan. Since LiveChat is only willing to sign a BAA with members of the Enterprise plan, even though LiveChat has all of the security features in place to be HIPAA compliant, only Enterprise customers can use the platform in conjunction with PHI.
