Is GoHighLevel HIPAA Compliant? (Guide on how to be)

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In today’s post, we’re going to be finding out if GoHighLevel is HIPAA Compliant and what to do to get your site HIPAA compliant.

When navigating the complexities of legal compliance in marketing, one of the crucial considerations revolves around the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

If your agency provides marketing services to healthcare providers or associates, it’s essential to ensure that your technology solutions align with HIPAA’s stringent requirements.

GoHighLevel, a popular Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and marketing automation platform, is often under scrutiny for its compliance status with HIPAA guidelines.

And today we’re going to be exploring everything you need to know.

Is GoHighLevel HIPAA compliant?

Yes, GoHighLevel is HIPAA compliant. They offer a HIPAA compliance add-on for agencies that handle protected health information (PHI).

HIPAA sets the standard for protecting sensitive patient data in the United States.

Any company that deals with PHI must ensure that all the required physical, network, and process security measures are in place and followed.

GoHighLevel acknowledges the importance of these regulations and, therefore, provides a HIPAA compliance add-on.

This add-on ensures that the platform secures PHI appropriately, with features such as secure data storage and transmission, access controls, and audit trails, among others, to comply with HIPAA requirements.

By implementing this add-on, agencies that handle PHI can use GoHighLevel’s tools without compromising their compliance with federal regulations.

HIPAA Compliance Add-On

• Standard Accounts: By default, GoHighLevel accounts are not HIPAA compliant.
• Enable Compliance: To achieve HIPAA compliance, a HIPAA Compliance add-on needs to be purchased.
• Application: After purchasing the add-on, HIPAA compliance extends to all location accounts under your control.

What is HIPAA?

HIPAA, or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, is a US legislation established in 1996.

The primary goal of HIPAA is to make it easier for people to keep health insurance, protect the confidentiality and security of healthcare information, and help the healthcare industry control administrative costs.

HIPAA established national standards for the protection of individually identifiable health information by setting limits and conditions on the uses and disclosures that may be made of such information without patient authorization.

It also gives patients rights over their health information, including rights to examine and obtain a copy of their health records, and to request corrections.

The law applies to covered entities, which include health plans, health care clearinghouses, and health care providers that conduct certain health care transactions electronically.

Compliance with HIPAA is overseen by the Office for Civil Rights within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The act consists of two main parts:

• The HIPAA Privacy Rule, which protects the privacy of individually identifiable health information.
• The HIPAA Security Rule, which sets standards for the secure keeping of patient data.

How GoHighLevel Relates to HIPAA

In the context of HIPAA compliance and the use of GoHighLevel software, the relationship between the various parties can be understood as follows:

The Practice:

This is the healthcare provider or any entity that is considered a HIPAA-covered entity.

They are primarily responsible for ensuring the privacy and security of their patients’ protected health information (PHI).

The Agency:

This refers to the customer of HighLevel, typically a marketing agency or similar entity that provides services to the Practice.

Even though the Agency is not the covered entity, it must still comply with HIPAA regulations because it handles PHI on behalf of the Practice.

GoHighLevel:

This is the company providing the GoHighLevel software platform. HighLevel acts as a Business Associate to the Agency, which in turn is a Business Associate to the Practice.

A Business Associate is any service provider who has access to the PHI of a covered entity and performs functions or activities on behalf of, or provides services to, a covered entity that involve the use or disclosure of PHI.

GoHighLevel has taken steps to ensure compliance with HIPAA by working with The Compliancy Group, a consultancy that specializes in HIPAA compliance.

With their help, GoHighLevel has ensured that it meets the requirements set out in the HIPAA Privacy Rule and the HIPAA Security Rule.

As a result, GoHighLevel is able to enter into Business Associate Agreements (BAAs) with its customer Agencies, which is a formal declaration of the safeguards in place to protect PHI.

For an Agency to work with a HIPAA-covered Practice and handle PHI, the Agency itself must also be HIPAA compliant.

This means the Agency needs to have its own safeguards and processes in place to protect PHI and be able to provide a BAA to the Practice.

GoHighLevel encourages Agencies to reach out if they need assistance or contact information for The Compliancy Group to ensure full compliance with HIPAA Title II.

When you enable the HIPAA compliance upgrade, GoHighLevel will handle user data and patient information in accordance with the stipulated HIPAA regulations, which includes:

• Ensuring data encryption and secure data transmission.
• Implementing necessary safeguards to protect health information.
• Maintaining appropriate data privacy measures.

GoHighLevel’s HIPAA Compliance Features

GoHighLevel takes your data security and privacy very seriously by integrating comprehensive features that aim to comply with HIPAA regulations.

#1. Security Measures

Access Control: GoHighLevel ensures controlled access to sensitive data, adhering to the HIPAA Security Rule, which mandates strict access controls.

You can be confident that only authorized users can decrypt and access medical information when necessary.

• Encryption: They use robust encryption methods to secure your data. According to the information given, GoHighLevel utilizes a Google service with 256-bit encryption to manage the encryption process, keeping your data safe from unauthorized access.

#2. Data Protection and Privacy

HIPAA Privacy Rule Compliance: The platform aligns with the HIPAA Privacy Rule by implementing measures that protect the privacy of individuals’ health information.

• Data Privacy: GoHighLevel is committed to maintaining data privacy by encrypting personal health information (PHI) and ensuring that decryption is restricted to authorized personnel, thus maintaining the confidentiality and integrity of your data.

By employing these features, GoHighLevel demonstrates a solid commitment to compliance and the protection of sensitive health-related information, giving you a reliable and secure system for managing your agency’s interactions with healthcare providers.

GoHighLevel HIPAA-Compliant Cost

When assessing the cost of making your HighLevel account compliant with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), it’s important to consider the specific add-on required for this functionality.

GoHighLevel, as a platform, is not HIPAA compliant by default. To meet the stringent privacy and security standards set by HIPAA, you must purchase an additional service.

Here is the breakdown of the costs:

• Monthly Charge: $297
• Annual Charge: $2970 (offering a cost-saving opportunity if paid annually)

How To Become HIPAA Compliant on GoHighLevel

Irrespective of your GoHighLevel pricing plan, from least to the highest plan, everybody can subscribe to be HIPAA Complaint.

To subscribe, log in to your GoHighLevel agency account and navigate to “Compliance” at the lower left side of your account.

Click on buy now and a popup will display prompting you to make payment with the card on your GoHighLevel account.

Once you’ve made payment, the next thing you want to do is to sign the document inside the app.