Can I Use Postmark and be HIPAA Compliant?

We’ve been getting asked by customers and prospects about Postmark and their ability to use it in a HIPAA compliant manner.

We know the HIPAA industry is vast so we can empathize with just how many people need to use cloud-based services in this sector.

In previous posts, we’ve covered the following cloud solutions and their capabilities for HIPAA compliance:

• Amazon CloudFront
• Apple iCloud
• Apple iMessage
• Box
• Citrix ShareFile
• DocuSign
• Dropbox
• FaceTime
• Google Calendar
• Google Docs
• Google Drive
• Google Forms
• Google Hangouts
• Google Slides
• Google Voice
• GoToMeeting
• Heroku
• Intercom
• Office 365
• OneDrive
• Return Path
• SendGrid
• SharePoint
• Slack
• Sonic
• WhatsApp
• WordPress
• Yammer
• Zoho
• Zoom

Today, we will determine if Postmark offers HIPAA compliant email service or not.

SEE ALSO: HIPAA Breaches and Cloud Providers

About Postmark

Postmark provides transactional email services for web applications. The company competes with SendGrid and is based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Postmark and the Business Associate Agreement

We’ve previously talked about how a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) is a written contract between a Covered Entity and a Business Associate. It is required by law for HIPAA compliance.

We checked Postmark’s site and found a support article called Is Postmark HIPAA Compliant?

On that page, they clearly state:

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If your business needs to be compliant with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, your emails typically need to be compliant as well. Postmark is not HIPAA compliant so we do not recommend using our platform if you need to send HIPAA compliant emails. We also cannot sign any Business Associate Agreements around HIPAA.

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Does Postmark Offer HIPAA Compliant Email Service?

The Business Associate Agreement is a key component to HIPAA compliance between a Covered Entity and a Business Associate.

Postmark clearly states they are not in the business of providing HIPAA Compliant email service.

Conclusion

Postmark is not a HIPAA Compliant email solution.