HIPAA-Compliant Medical Translation Services
We Sign Business Associate Agreements With Every Covered Entity — Protecting Patient Data at Every Step
What HIPAA Means for Medical Translation
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) establishes the national standard for protecting sensitive patient health information in the United States. When a covered entity — such as a hospital, physician practice, health insurer, or clinic — shares protected health information (PHI) with an outside vendor to perform a service, that vendor becomes a Business Associate under HIPAA law. Translation is explicitly one of those services.
Protected health information encompasses any individually identifiable health data: a patient's name linked to a diagnosis, a date of service, a medical record number, a health plan beneficiary number, or any other data element that could identify an individual in connection with their health status, care, or payment. When you send us a medical record to translate — even in a foreign language — that document carries PHI and triggers HIPAA obligations for both your organization and ours.
Many healthcare organizations are surprised to learn that HIPAA does not make an exception for language barriers. A discharge summary in Spanish, a lab report in Mandarin, or a consent form in Somali all carry the same PHI protections as their English counterparts. Any translation company that handles these materials must operate under a signed Business Associate Agreement and implement appropriate administrative, physical, and technical safeguards.
At Taika Translations, we have built our entire workflow around HIPAA compliance. We understand the liability exposure that covered entities face when working with non-compliant translation vendors, and we eliminate that risk entirely. Our processes, our contracts, and our team are structured to meet HIPAA's requirements — not just technically, but in practice.
Our clients include major healthcare networks, hospital systems, public health agencies, and insurers across the United States. Organizations like Apple, Dell, the City of Boston, the State of California, and Los Angeles trust Taika for high-stakes translation work. When those clients have medical or health-related translation needs, they know that HIPAA compliance is not optional — and neither do we.
We Sign Business Associate Agreements
A Business Associate Agreement (BAA) is a legally binding contract between a covered entity and the outside vendors it shares PHI with. The BAA defines the permitted uses of that information, establishes each party's security obligations, specifies breach notification procedures, and governs the return or destruction of PHI when the relationship ends. Under HIPAA's Privacy Rule and Security Rule, a covered entity cannot legally share PHI with a vendor unless a valid BAA is in place.
Taika Translations executes Business Associate Agreements with every covered entity client, on request. We do not treat the BAA as a paperwork burden — we treat it as a foundational document that aligns our operational obligations with your compliance requirements. Our BAA is reviewed by legal counsel familiar with HIPAA and is updated in response to regulatory changes.
What Our Business Associate Agreement Covers
Our standard BAA addresses each of the required provisions under 45 CFR §164.504(e), including:
- Permitted uses and disclosures of PHI received from or created on behalf of the covered entity
- Prohibition on use or disclosure of PHI other than as permitted or required by the agreement
- Requirement to implement appropriate safeguards to protect PHI
- Obligation to report any use or disclosure of PHI not provided for in the agreement, including security incidents
- Breach notification procedures consistent with the HIPAA Breach Notification Rule
- Subcontractor obligations: all translators and reviewers are bound by equivalent privacy and security requirements
- Individual rights: access to PHI and incorporation of amendments as directed
- Availability of internal practices, books, and records for HHS compliance review
- Return or destruction of PHI upon termination of the agreement
To request a BAA before sending your first project, simply email us at info@taikatranslations.com and note that you are a covered entity. We will send the agreement for signature within one business day.
Request a BAA NowIf your organization has its own standard BAA template, we are happy to review and execute your version as well, subject to legal review. We understand that many large health systems and insurers require use of their own contracting documents, and we accommodate that process routinely.
Our HIPAA-Compliant Translation Workflow
Compliance is not a feature you activate — it is the result of consistently following the right process on every single project. Our workflow is designed so that PHI never touches an insecure channel, is never stored beyond operational necessity, and is never accessible to anyone outside the authorized project team.
Secure File Transmission via SFTP or Encrypted Channel
All PHI-containing documents are transmitted via SFTP, encrypted email (PGP/S-MIME), or our secure client portal — never via standard email attachment. If your organization uses a specific secure transfer protocol, we will accommodate it. We do not accept PHI-containing files through unsecured channels.
NDA and Confidentiality Agreement for Every Linguist
Every translator, editor, and proofreader assigned to a project containing PHI signs a non-disclosure agreement before receiving any project materials. These NDAs include HIPAA-specific provisions covering the definition of PHI, permitted uses, prohibition on disclosure, and consequences of breach. We maintain executed NDA records for all linguists in our network.
Minimum Necessary Access
Consistent with HIPAA's minimum necessary standard, project materials are shared only with the specific linguists required for that assignment. Project managers do not retain copies of source documents beyond the active project window. No PHI is shared across unrelated project teams or repurposed for training, quality benchmarking, or any other internal use.
No PHI Storage Beyond Project Completion
We do not maintain long-term archives of PHI-containing source documents. Once a project is complete and deliverables are accepted, source files are deleted from active systems. Upon client request, we will certify in writing that all PHI has been securely deleted and provide a deletion log with timestamps and responsible parties identified.
Encrypted Delivery of Completed Translations
Completed translations containing PHI are returned via the same secure channel used for receipt, or via an alternate secure method specified by the client. We do not deliver PHI-containing translations via standard unencrypted email. Translation memory files and glossaries derived from PHI projects are treated with equivalent security controls.
Access Logs Maintained Throughout
We maintain access logs documenting which team members accessed project files and when. These logs are available to covered entity clients upon request and are retained for a minimum period consistent with HIPAA's documentation requirements. In the event of a security incident, these logs support our breach investigation and notification obligations.
Protected Health Information We Translate
Our medical translation team handles a comprehensive range of document types that contain or may contain protected health information. All of the following document categories are handled under our standard HIPAA-compliant workflow and, where a BAA is in place, under the additional obligations of that agreement.
Our translators are specialists in medical and life sciences content. ATA-certified linguists with subject matter expertise in clinical, pharmaceutical, and insurance contexts handle these assignments. We do not route PHI-containing medical documents through generalist translators or AI-only pipelines.
HIPAA + FERPA Compliance for Educational Health Records
Healthcare at the intersection of education creates a specific compliance challenge: school districts and universities must navigate both HIPAA and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), and the boundary between which law governs a particular record is not always obvious. Taika Translations serves school districts, university health services, and state education agencies that require compliant translation of health-related student records.
FERPA protects education records that include health and disability information maintained by educational institutions — for instance, a student's IEP, a school nurse record, or a Section 504 accommodation plan. In most cases, FERPA (not HIPAA) governs these records at educational institutions. However, when a school contracts with an outside health clinic or provider, those records may fall under HIPAA. Our team understands this distinction and applies the appropriate compliance framework based on the originating entity and the nature of the records.
HIPAA — Covered Entity Records
When translating PHI for hospitals, health plans, physician practices, or health clearinghouses, we operate as a Business Associate under HIPAA. Our BAA, secure workflow, and data handling obligations apply in full.
FERPA — Educational Institution Records
When translating health-related student records for school districts, colleges, or universities, we operate under FERPA's requirements for authorized representatives. We execute the necessary data agreements and apply equivalent security and confidentiality controls to all student health information.
We hold NASPO Master Contract status and a GSA MAS Contract (47QRAA18D00GT), making us a pre-approved vendor for state education agencies and federally funded school districts seeking to procure compliant translation services through established government contracting vehicles.
Frequently Asked Questions: HIPAA-Compliant Translation
Ready to Work With a HIPAA-Compliant Translation Partner?
We sign BAAs, protect PHI at every step, and deliver accurate medical translations in 100+ languages — with a 48-hour standard turnaround.