Business Associate Agreement

What Is a BAA? A Plain-English Guide for Healthcare Organizations

A Business Associate Agreement is one of HIPAA's most important — and most misunderstood — requirements. Here is what it is, who needs one, what it must include, and what happens when organizations skip it.

baa

What is a Business Associate Agreement and Who Needs One?

If you work in healthcare long enough, you’ll eventually hear someone say, “We’re HIPAA compliant—our vendor said so.” Then you ask a simple follow-up question: “Do you have a signed Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with them?” That one document (or lack of it) is where a lot