Is Proton Mail HIPAA Compliant? How to Check (2024 Update)

✅ Proton Mail states on their official website that they are a HIPAA compliant Email software suitable for use in healthcare.

ProtonMail supports healthcare professionals with its encrypted email service. It offers features such as end-to-end encryption, secure communication, and data protection. With its HIPAA compliance and strong security measures, ProtonMail ensures confidential information exchange, enhances data privacy, and facilitates secure communication for healthcare professionals.

They state on their website that Proton Mail is HIPAA compliant which is clearly a positive sign, but the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) legislation states that you can’t stop here and you need to thoroughly vet the vendor.

According to the HIPAA rules for Covered Entities and Business Associates:

'If a covered entity engages a business associate to help it carry out its health care activities and functions, the covered entity must have a written business associate contract or other arrangement with the business associate that establishes specifically what the business associate has been engaged to do and requires the business associate to comply with the Rules’ requirements to protect the privacy and security of protected health information. In addition to these contractual obligations, business associates are directly liable for compliance with certain provisions of the HIPAA Rules.'

Source: https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/covered-entities/index.html

Below we provide some general guidelines on how to first quickly screen this vendor for the HIPAA compliance fundamentals, and if all initial checks pass successfully, then to proceed and do your own in-depth audit to ensure that this vendor will qualify as your HIPAA-compliant Business Associate.

Quick Check on HIPAA Compliance Fundamentals for Proton Mail

A. Does Proton Mail claim to be HIPAA compliant?

✅ They communicate they are HIPAA compliant which is a positive sign, as they legally commit from their side using such public statements.

'Proton Mail is a HIPAA-compliant email service developed by CERN scientists.'

B. Does Proton Mail sign a Business Associate Agreement (BAA)?

✅ They state they will sign their standard BAA with covered entities/business associates, which is again a good sign because if they don’t sign a BAA then it’s a deal-breaker for HIPAA compliance.

'THIS Business Associate Agreement (this “Agreement”) dated as of ______________ (the “Effective Date”) is by and between Proton Technologies AG, a corporation with offices at Chemin du Pré-Fleuri, 3 CH-1228 Plan-les-Ouates, Genève, Switzerland (“Business Associate”), and ___a corporation, with offices at ______ (“Covered Entity”).'

C. Does Proton Mail claim they take measures to keep patient data private & secure?

✅ They publicly outline various of the privacy & security safeguards they have in place, but these can be very broad statements and you need to check the low level details here.

'Proton Mail is protected by multiple layers of security and trusted by journalists, security experts, and millions of people around the world.'

Vendor Audit for Checking if Proton Mail is HIPAA Compliant

There is no one-size-fits-all set of requirements when selecting a 3rd party vendor as one of your HIPAA-compliant Business Associates, but here are some general guidelines:

1. Eligible Plan

First, you need to determine on which plans they offer HIPAA compliance and whether pricing makes sense for you:

Proton Mail states that the HIPAA compliance service is available on their both business plans.

2. Legal Contracts

Then, you need to carefully review & sign their legal contracts, especially their Business Associate Agreement and Terms of Service (ask them for the latest versions - in some cases, you might need to sign an NDA):

Proton Mail’s Business Associate Agreement
Proton Mail's Terms of Service
Proton Mail's Privacy Policy

3. HIPAA Safeguards

4. PHI Access

5. Re-assessment

Finally, at least once a year, reassess whether or not the vendor is still in compliance with HIPAA.

Source 1: U.S. Department of Health & Human Services HIPAA Privacy Rule Guidance Material
Source 2: U.S. Department of Health & Human Services HIPAA Security Rule Guidance Material

Final Remarks on Proton Mail’s HIPAA Compliance Status

HIPAA compliance has no one-size-fits-all vendor assessment methodology but we have covered here various best practices on how to thoroughly evaluate Proton Mail for HIPAA compliance, so that they can be eventually trusted to process or store your sensitive patient data.

Regardless of the above, for all your 3rd party vendors, you need to follow the fundamental HIPAA principle and always disclose to them the 'minimum necessary' information, which means only disclosing the amount of PHI you absolutely have to.

If you follow the 'minimum necessary' principle and you regularly evaluate your 3rd party vendors for their commitment to the HIPAA standards while having solid Business Associate Agreements with them in place, then you can minimize the risk of a potential HIPAA violation and decrease the probability of a damaging data breach happening in the first place.