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Business Associate

What is Business Associate?

Under HIPAA, a person or entity that performs certain functions or activities involving the use or disclosure of Protected Health Information on behalf of a covered entity. Business associates must comply with HIPAA Security and Breach Notification Rules.

Compliance

Each of these is named in at least one of the same controls as business associate. The number is how many controls name both.

What the standards actually require on business associate

Requirements naming business associate across 6 standards, quoted from the control text.

The contract or other arrangement required by 164.308(b)(3) must meet the requirements of paragraph (a)(2)(i), (a)(2)(ii), or (a)(2)(iii) of this section, as applicable.

164.314(a)(1) · Business Associate Contracts or Other Arrangements (Standard)
HITECH Act5 controls

HITECH Subtitle D - Breach Notification + Business Associate (BA) direct liability. BREACH NOTIFICATION RULE (Section 17932; 45 CFR Part 164 Subpart D, Sections 164.400-414): covered entities + BAs must provide notification following discovery of a breach of U...

HITECH-SubtitleD-Breach-Notification-BA-Direct-Liability · HITECH Subtitle D - Breach Notification Rule (45 CFR Part 164 Subpart D), Business Associate Direct Liability, Subcontractors
NIST SP 800-663 controls

Manage Business Associate relationships per HIPAA Security Rule 45 CFR 164.308(b) and HIPAA Privacy Rule 45 CFR 164.502(e). Obtain satisfactory assurances per a written contract or other arrangement (a Business Associate Agreement - BAA) that the business asso...

NISTSP66-4 · Business Associate Agreements (BAAs) and Third-Party ePHI Governance

A covered entity may permit a business associate to handle ePHI only after obtaining satisfactory assurances via written contract. NIST recommends due diligence, security questionnaires, and ongoing monitoring of BAs.

164.308(b)(1) · Business Associate Contracts and Other Arrangements (Standard)
ISO 277991 control

Business associate management. Control from ISO 27799 framework, domain: ISO 27799: Administrative Safeguards.

ISO27799-11 · Business associate management

16 CFR 318.1 purpose + scope. APPLICABILITY: applies to (1) VENDORS OF PERSONAL HEALTH RECORDS (PHR) - entities offering PHR product or service to consumers + that obtain consumer health information from other sources (e.g. cross-source aggregation);

HBNR-Scope-PHR-Vendor · Scope, PHR Vendor and PHR-Related Entity Applicability (16 CFR 318.1)

Questions people ask about business associate

What is Business Associate?
Under HIPAA, a person or entity that performs certain functions or activities involving the use or disclosure of Protected Health Information on behalf of a covered entity. Business associates must comply with HIPAA Security and Breach Notification Rules.
Why is Business Associate important for compliance?
Business Associate is a key concept in Compliance. Understanding business associate helps organizations meet regulatory requirements, reduce risk, and demonstrate due diligence during audits. Our compliance platform maps 686 frameworks with 311K cross-framework control mappings.
Which compliance frameworks address Business Associate?
Business Associate appears in the requirement text of HIPAA Security Rule, HITECH Act, NIST SP 800-66, NIST SP 800-66 Rev 2, ISO 27799. Across these standards we have identified 21 controls that name it directly, each linked to the control text on the compliance platform.
Where can I learn more about Business Associate?
Explore our compliance framework pages to see how business associate applies across different standards and regulations. Our implementation guides provide step-by-step guidance, and the compliance platform offers AI-powered analysis of how this concept maps across 686 frameworks.

See how Business Associate applies across compliance frameworks

Our platform maps 686 frameworks with 311K cross-framework control mappings. Explore how this concept is addressed across standards.

Written and maintained by Gerard Blokdyk, The Art of Service.