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Is RingCentral HIPAA Compliant?

Carylee Gali : Published May 21, 2020 Updated October 16, 2026

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Practice manager comparing HIPAA-compliant RingCentral alternatives on a glass planning wall

💡 RingCentral can be HIPAA compliant. The company signs a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with paying healthcare customers. It also uses strong encryption, yearly SOC 2+ audits, and a HITRUST rating for RingEX and its app.

Compliance isn't automatic, though. Your practice must sign the BAA, set up who can see what, and limit features like SMS that can expose patient data.

If you need patient texting built for healthcare, Curogram offers HIPAA-compliant 2-way messaging that works with almost any EMR. Practices using Curogram have cut phone calls by up to 50%.

Most medical practices shop for a communication system the same way. They compare pricing, scan the feature list, and look for one reassuring word: HIPAA. If that label appears, the search feels finished.

That's where the trouble starts.

A vendor can describe itself as HIPAA ready and still leave your practice exposed. The label explains what the vendor protects on its end, but it says nothing about how your team uses the tool every day.

RingCentral is a good example. It's one of the biggest names in cloud communication, and many clinics rely on it for calls, video, team messaging, and fax. So the question comes up often: is RingCentral HIPAA compliant?

The short answer is yes, it can be. RingCentral signs a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with paying healthcare customers and invests in security. But the BAA is only the starting line, because your practice is still responsible for how patient information moves through the system.

There's a bigger question, too. Even a compliant platform may not match the way a medical office actually operates. Consider a front desk that juggles calls, reminders, and reschedules all morning. If the phone system can't share data with your EHR, staff enter the same details twice, and that time never comes back.

Remote and hybrid care have raised the stakes even further. More patient conversations now happen by phone, text, and video, and each one is an opportunity to protect PHI or to put it at risk.

In this guide, you'll learn what RingCentral offers healthcare teams and how it supports HIPAA compliance. You'll also see where users say it falls short and which features to prioritize in a HIPAA-compliant alternative. By the end, you'll know whether RingCentral fits your practice or whether a platform designed for patient communication makes more sense.

What RingCentral Offers Healthcare Teams

RingCentral started out as a cloud-based phone system. Over time, it grew into a full communication suite for businesses of every size, including medical practices.

Its main business phone product, once called RingCentral MVP, is now called RingEX.

It bundles several tools in one place:

Cloud phone calls
Team messaging
Video meetings
Online fax

RingCentral also sells some products on their own, such as RingCentral Video and its contact center platform. This lets your practice choose a package that fits your size and budget.

If you use RingCentral to create, receive, send, or store electronic PHI (ePHI), you need a signed BAA first. Under HIPAA, RingCentral then acts as your business associate. That means it takes on legal duties to protect the patient data it handles for you.

How RingCentral Supports HIPAA Compliance

RingCentral saw a clear chance to serve healthcare, so it built strong security into its platform. These tools help keep patient data safe across calls, chats, and meetings.

The company describes its approach as seven layers of security. Those layers cover the building, the network, the servers, the data, the apps, business steps, and the company as a whole. Here's how they help with HIPAA in real life.

Infrastructure Safeguards

Under the hood, RingCentral has the core tools that healthcare buyers look for:

Firewalls and session border controllers
Two-factor authentication
Intrusion detection and analytics
System monitoring and vulnerability scans
PCI DSS-compliant payment processing

These tools work in the background to stop threats before they reach your data. For your team, that means less risk from hackers.

Encryption for Data in Motion

Encryption is one of the best ways to keep ePHI safe, both when it's stored and when it's on the move.

RingCentral uses two types to guard data as it travels:

Transport Layer Security (TLS) for data and call setup
Secure Real-Time Transport Protocol (SRTP) for voice and video

RingCentral says it encrypts data sent over public wired and Wi-Fi networks.

One catch: calls that cross the old-style phone network (PSTN) fall outside that promise.

Physical Data Center Security

RingCentral runs its platform in data centers audited under SSAE 18 and ISO 27001 standards. On site, it uses key-card entry, full-time guards, and engineers to protect the hardware.

In plain terms, a stranger can't walk in and walk out with a server full of patient records.

Audits and Certifications

RingCentral goes through a third-party SOC 2+ audit every year. This audit checks its controls against the HIPAA Security Rule. You can ask for a copy of the latest report.

RingEX and the RingCentral app have also earned HITRUST certification. HITRUST is a security standard that many healthcare groups trust, so it adds more proof.

Still, RingCentral is clear on one point. Its own HIPAA overview says that customers covered by HIPAA are, in the end, responsible for meeting its rules.

Infographic answering is RingCentral HIPAA compliant: BAA, encryption, SOC 2+ audits, HITRUST

Quick Tip: A Signed BAA Is Only Step One

No platform can make your practice HIPAA compliant on its own. Before any patient data touches a new tool, run through these four checks:

Sign the BAA before you store or send any PHI.
Confirm which products the BAA covers. RingCentral's own documents exclude some third-party channels.
Turn on two-factor authentication and give staff only the access they need.
Limit features that can leak PHI, such as patient details in SMS, voicemail sent to email, and open call recordings.

In practice, compliance is a shared job. The vendor secures the platform, and your team secures how it's used.

Pros and Cons of Using the Platform for HIPAA-Compliant Communications

The most vital advantage of RingCentral is that it is fully HIPAA compliant. Healthcare providers who opt for this solution should not get into any trouble for violating HIPAA rules and regulations.

Even though RingCentral is HIPAA compliant, it does not guarantee the best solution for your practice. Any software system has its drawbacks, and RingCentral is no exception.

If you’re considering telemedicine or virtual appointments as part of your practice’s services, you may encounter quite a few problems and hurdles with RingCentral.

Present and former clients of RingCentral have left informative and in-depth reviews about the company’s services on TrustRadius, a popular review site for business technology.

Some of the most current and prevalent issues with RingCentral, according to its users, are:

Constant bugs on the app
Poor support team
Late and inaccurate call reports
No transparency in pricing and contract renewal
Complicated for new users

Additionally, there’s a reason why RingCentral doesn’t mention electronic health record (EHR) integration and doesn’t respond to customer inquiries regarding this capability — its platform doesn’t integrate with any EHRs.

When choosing a telemedicine solution, EHR integration should be one of your top priority features. Without an EHR option, you and your team must manually enter all of the information into your EHR when sharing PHI. That means you waste valuable time on tedious administrative tasks rather than spending that time treating patients.

Considering everything, it’s evident that RingCentral is a HIPAA-compliant platform, but the system also has downsides that may significantly affect the operation of your medical practice.

RingCentral for Healthcare: Pros and Cons

RingCentral's biggest strength for healthcare is security. With a signed BAA and the right setup, your practice can use it in a HIPAA-compliant way.

But compliant doesn't mean ideal. Every platform has trade-offs, and RingCentral is no exception. This matters most if virtual visits and patient texting are a big part of your care.

Current and past users have shared detailed reviews on TrustRadius, a popular review site for business software.

Here's how the strengths stack up against the most common complaints:

What works well	What users often report
BAA available to paying healthcare customers	Slow support and long hold times
TLS and SRTP encryption, plus yearly SOC 2+ audits	Higher cost than some other options
HITRUST certification for RingEX and the app	Features buried in menus and hard to find for new users
Phone, video, messaging, and fax in one suite	Limited flexibility to add or remove users mid-contract
Scales from small offices to large health systems	Reporting and analytics that feel basic

EHR integration is another factor to weigh. In 2024, RingCentral announced EHR integrations with Epic, Cerner (now Oracle Health), and Allscripts through a partnership with patient engagement company SpinSci. Those tools are built mainly for contact center agents who handle large call volumes.

For a smaller practice, that setup may be more than you need, or harder to get. Ask any vendor if it supports your EHR, what the link costs, and who sets it up. Without a solid connection, staff must enter patient details by hand, which takes time away from patients.

Stop playing phone tag! Reduce your call volume by 50% with Curogram's HIPAA-compliant 2-way texting platform.

So yes, RingCentral can be a HIPAA-compliant choice. But its trade-offs can affect how smoothly your practice runs day to day.

What to Look for in a HIPAA-Compliant RingCentral Alternative

Telehealth and remote communication offer real benefits for your practice. But between HIPAA requirements and technical setup, selecting the right platform can feel overwhelming.

The good news is that you have plenty of options to choose from. The key is to look beyond the HIPAA label and evaluate each platform by how well it supports your daily operations.

Here's what matters most.

Patient Experience

Your patients' communication preferences should guide your decision. Many patients now expect to get text messages from their providers, and texts are hard to miss, with open rates as high as 98%.

A secure 2-way text messaging system for booking and reminders makes it easy for patients to confirm, reschedule, or ask a quick question. Atlas Medical Center used Curogram's automated reminders to cut its no-show rate from 14.20% to 4.91%.

Here's a sample calculation to show what that means. For a clinic with 1,000 visits a month, that drop works out to about 93 fewer missed visits every month.

Time to Implement

Connecting a new platform to your EHR or EMR can take considerable time. Some vendors need several weeks to complete an integration, so request a clear timeline up front.

Look for a platform that plugs into the systems you already use for scheduling, charting, and billing. Curogram integrates with almost any EMR, and most staff can learn it in under 10 minutes. That means your team can get started fast without changing how they work.

Office Efficiency

The right platform should reduce work for your front desk, not create more of it. Digital forms that flow into your EHR cut down on double entry. An internal messaging tool lets staff set up channels to talk through daily tasks without leaving the platform.

Texting also eases phone traffic. Curogram users have cut call volume by up to 50% and raised front desk productivity by more than 30%.

Here's an example of the impact. If your front desk takes 200 calls a day and each one lasts about 3 minutes, cutting half of them saves roughly 5 hours of staff time every day.

Transparency and Flexibility

You should know exactly what you're paying for and what's included from day one. Hidden fees and confusing renewal terms make it difficult to plan your budget.

Before you commit, ask for a live demo. Seeing the platform run with your own workflows is the fastest way to know if it fits. Being HIPAA compliant is a must, but it's only one part of the decision.

Choosing the Right Communication Platform for Your Practice

So, is RingCentral HIPAA compliant? It can be. The company offers a BAA to paying healthcare customers, encrypts data in transit, and supports its security program with SOC 2+ audits and HITRUST certification. For many organizations, that's a strong foundation.

But a medical practice isn't just any organization.

Your team needs much more than secure phone lines. You need tools that match how patients prefer to reach you and how your staff actually operates. That means simple texting, automated reminders, and a reliable connection to your EHR, so no one has to enter the same information twice.

This is where RingCentral can fall short for some practices. Users report slow support, features that are difficult to locate, and contracts that are hard to adjust. Its EHR integrations also focus on large contact centers, which may not reflect the needs of a smaller office.

None of this makes RingCentral a bad product. It simply means the HIPAA label shouldn't be the only thing you evaluate. The right platform protects patient information and makes every day easier for your team.

Before you decide, take an honest look at your current workflow. Count how many calls your front desk handles daily, how often patients miss appointments, and how much time goes into manual data entry. Those answers will show you exactly what to prioritize first.

Curogram was designed for exactly these challenges. It's a HIPAA-compliant patient communication platform with 2-way texting, automated reminders, and integration with almost any EMR. Practices using it have reduced no-shows, cut phone calls by up to 50%, and freed staff to focus on patients instead of phones.

Ready to see how it could work for your practice? Book a demo of Curogram's HIPAA-compliant patient texting platform and discover how much time your team could get back each week.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is RingCentral HIPAA compliant?

Yes, RingCentral can be HIPAA compliant when your practice signs its Business Associate Agreement (BAA) and sets up the platform correctly. The company protects data with encryption, yearly SOC 2+ audits, and HITRUST certification for RingEX and its app. Still, your practice is responsible for how staff use the system day to day.

Does RingCentral sign a BAA?

Yes. RingCentral offers a BAA to paying healthcare customers who are covered entities under HIPAA. You should sign it before you store or send any patient information through the platform. It's also smart to confirm which products the BAA covers, since some third-party channels are excluded.

Can I text patients through RingCentral and stay HIPAA compliant?

You can, but it takes care. Texts that include patient details can create risk if your settings and staff habits aren't tight. Many practices limit what goes into SMS or choose a platform built for secure patient texting, such as Curogram's 2-way messaging.

Does RingCentral integrate with EHR systems?

RingCentral announced EHR integrations with Epic, Cerner (now Oracle Health), and Allscripts in 2024 through its partner SpinSci. These tools are built mostly for call centers that take a lot of calls. If you run a smaller practice, ask if your EHR is supported and what setup looks like.

What is a good HIPAA-compliant alternative to RingCentral for medical practices?

The best option depends on how your practice talks with patients. If texting, reminders, and EHR integration matter most, Curogram is built for that work. It integrates with almost any EMR, and practices using it have cut phone calls by up to 50%.