What is a HIPAA-compliant messaging app?
A HIPAA-compliant messaging app lets healthcare staff exchange protected health information securely: messages, photos, files and calls are encrypted, access is controlled, activity is auditable, and the vendor signs a business associate agreement. Buzz combines secure messaging, a Buzz phone number for every user, fax and administrative controls in one platform.
Why it matters
Consumer texting was never built for PHI
Personal SMS, consumer chat apps and personal email put patient information on devices and services your agency doesn’t control, with no business associate agreement behind them. Most agencies know it. Staff use them anyway, because they are fast and familiar.
Buzz wins that trade by being just as easy. The interface looks like the messaging apps staff already know, so adoption doesn’t depend on a training campaign.
What’s included
Secure communication, without changing how people work
Secure messaging
One-to-one and group messages with photos, documents, video and voice dictation, encrypted in transit and at rest.
BuzzChat →A Buzz phone number for every user
Call and text from a Buzz number at no extra cost, with agency caller ID, so a personal number never reaches a patient. Voicemail and call recording where your organization allows it.
BuzzPhone →Fax inside the thread
Send and receive faxes in the patient’s conversation. Orders and referrals arrive where the team works, with no fax machine or analog line.
BuzzFax →Administrative controls
User and group management, conversation permissions, role-based access, audit controls and bulk onboarding for the agency.
Before and after
Fragmented communication vs. one secure platform
| Typical today | With Buzz | |
|---|---|---|
| Texting | Personal SMS and consumer apps | Secure messaging with a BAA |
| Phone numbers | Personal cell numbers | A Buzz number for every user |
| Fax | Paper, a machine and a tray | Fax in the patient’s thread |
| Apps | Several, none connected | One platform |
| History | Scattered across devices | In the conversation, for the team |
| Oversight | Limited | Admin audit controls |
In their words
Why staff actually switch
“The Buzz support team was lightning-fast to respond to requests, and they offered free onboarding training, not just to IT, but to the entire staff. Most of all, the interface felt familiar, like many of the consumer-level messaging apps. This meant that the staff could pick up the tool organically, without much training. It wasn’t a fight to get staff to make the switch and that was all I needed to see.” Health information management lead at a behavioral health provider
Where it’s used
Built for every care setting
Whether a clinician works across facilities or drives between patient homes, the same secure conversation follows them.
Security
Secure by default, not by add-on
Every message, call, fax and file is encrypted in transit and at rest, inside one compliance boundary. Skyscape signs a business associate agreement before any PHI is exchanged, and holds a SOC 2 Type 2 attestation for the Buzz service.
Evidence
Results from agencies using it
Questions
Frequently asked
What is a HIPAA-compliant messaging app?
A messaging platform built to carry PHI: encrypted messages and files, controlled access, audit capability and a business associate agreement from the vendor.
Is Buzz HIPAA compliant?
Buzz is built for PHI. Messages, calls, faxes and files are encrypted in transit and at rest, Skyscape signs a business associate agreement before any PHI is exchanged, and Skyscape holds a SOC 2 Type 2 attestation for the Buzz service. Your organization remains responsible for its own policies, permissions and workforce training.
Why shouldn’t clinicians use personal texting for patient care?
Personal texting puts PHI on devices and services your agency doesn’t control, with no business associate agreement and no record the agency can see.
Can Buzz replace secure texting, fax and calling?
Yes. Messaging, a Buzz phone number for every user and fax all live in one platform, in the same patient conversation.
Can clinicians call patients without sharing a personal number?
Yes. Every user gets a Buzz phone number at no extra cost, and calls show the agency’s caller ID.
Does Buzz support home health and hospice agencies?
Buzz was built for field care teams first: home health, hospice, palliative care and behavioral health.
More of Buzz
Related features
Make secure messaging the easy option
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