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HIPAA Compliant Cloud Storage Platforms

  • January 22, 2017 12:53 PM
    Message # 4562192
    Deleted user


    HIPAA Compliant Cloud Storage Platforms

    Many of counselor educators, counseling students, and mental health professionals use various online cloud storage platforms to store important documents, clinical notes, or counseling/supervision videos. Cloud storage platforms have simplified our lives now days because information can be accessed from everywhere you are; from your personal computer or an internet café, or your smart tablet or phone. Overall it offers time efficiency and a lot of flexibility. 

    In academia for example cloud storage platforms can be used to store important meeting minutes notes, or counseling students to store videos from their practicum or internship experience. In mental health practice professionals may use such convenient services to upload client’s notes or other pertinent to mental health practice information.

    The question though that a lot of you might be thinking, is what cloud storage platforms can ensure safe storage of information, so you, the counselor educator, the counselor student, or mental health practitioner, ensure that you are HIPAA compliant?

    Let us take a look of what is currently available in the market:

    Amazon: If you are one of those users who currently use the Amazon S3 to store information, unfortunately is not HIPAA compliant. On the other hand, Amazon AWS can be used as a HIPAA compliant cloud storage service, but the user has to configure it by himself by encrypting the information that he or she want store on the AWS Amazon cloud. Detail information can be found by clicking on the following link: https://aws.amazon.com/

    BackBlaze: BackBlaze offers to its users’ the option of HIPAA compliant store cloud backup services. BackBlaze is also offering the option for the user to access information even from their smart phone, making things more accessible. Detail information can be found by clicking on the following link: https://www.backblaze.com/

    Box:  Box is another HIPAA compliant cloud storage platform. Again though as with Amazon AWS, the user needs to manually configure each cloud storage as a HIPAA compliant one. Detail information can be found by clicking on the following link: https://www.box.com/home

    Carbonite ProPlan: This particular cloud storage platform is meant for businesses which seek in every single aspect HIPAA compliant storage protection. Detail information can be found by clicking on the following link: https://www.carbonite.com/

    CareCloud: CareCloud is also another HIPAA compliant platform that offers to its users’ safety, client-side security, and control of your stored data. Detail information can be found by clicking on the following link:  http://www.carecloud.com/hipaa-compliant-cloud-storage/

    Crashplan: Crashplan is a very user friendly cloud storage platform, and one of the most popular currently in the market. Detail information can be found by clicking on the following link: https://www.crashplan.com/en-us/business/

    Dropbox: As of February 23, 2016 Dropbox supports HIPAA and HITECH Act compliance. To receive those services, you will need to upgrade your personal DropBox account to a business account. Detail information can be found by clicking on the following link: https://blogs.dropbox.com/business/2015/11/support-for-hipaa-and-hitech/  *Link does not work

    Google Drive: September 2013, Googles apps for business allows the domain administrator to sign a business associate agreement (BAA) that can cover the Gmail, Google Drive, Google Calendar, and Google Vault. Detail information can be found by clicking on the following link: https://www.google.com/drive/

    ICloud: Unfortunately to this date, Apple corporation refuses to sign a BAA, thus iCloud is not a HIPAA compliant storage platform. 


    You have questions or comments? Contact me at sacessocialmedia@gmail.com


    With love,

    Panagiotis Markopoulos

    SACES social media co-chair

    SACES technology Interest Network chair

    Doctoral Candidate

    The University of New Orleans

    Counselor Education program

    Personal e-mail: pmarkopo@uno.edu

    Amended by Webmaster, 2023

    Last modified: July 03, 2023 1:18 PM | Rachel Gilreath (Administrator)

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