Business Associate Definition

A HIPAA Business Associate is a person or organization, other than a member of the covered entity’s workforce, who performs functions or activities on behalf of, or provides certain services to, a covered entity that involve access to or use of protected health information (PHI). The HIPAA Business Associate must agree, in writing, to comply with the HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rules, as applicable, and to help the covered entity comply with these Rules. Examples of activities that may require a covered entity to enter into a Business Associate Agreement include claims processing or administration, data analysis, utilization review, quality assurance, billing, benefit management, practice management, and repricing.