Does Amazon Transcribe (incl. Transcribe Medical) sign a BAA?
Only on some plans or setups
AWS signs a BAA that covers Amazon Transcribe, including Transcribe Medical, and customers accept it themselves in AWS Artifact. Accounts opened through AWS's newer simplified sign-up cannot be designated for HIPAA workloads, so use a standard (advanced) account.
- Business associate
- Amazon Web Services
- Tool
- Amazon Transcribe (incl. Transcribe Medical)
- Plans with a BAA
- AWS accounts (Sign up for AWS, advanced)
- Checked
By plan
| Plan | BAA | How to get it | Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| AWS accounts (Sign up for AWS, advanced) | Signs a BAA | Accept or sign onlineRequest page | Customers review and accept the AWS BAA in AWS Artifact in the AWS Management Console. The BAA is accepted per account, or for multiple accounts in an organization. PHI should only go into the HIPAA-eligible services named on AWS's list, which includes Transcribe.[1],[2] |
| AWS accounts created with the new sign-up experience | No BAA | Not offered | AWS tells customers with HIPAA workloads not to use the new sign-up experience, and these accounts cannot be designated as HIPAA accounts. Upgrading to a paid plan does not change that. AWS mentions a separate way to activate advanced features, which was not researched.[3],[4],[5] |
Are the AI features covered?
Vendors often sign a BAA for the core product but leave some AI features out. Here is what Amazon Web Services says about each one.
| AI feature | Under the BAA | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Speech-to-text transcription (batch and streaming)AWS accounts (Sign up for AWS, advanced) | Covered | Transcribe is on the HIPAA-eligible list. AWS treats generally available features of a listed service as eligible unless a note excludes them, and the Transcribe entry lists no exclusions.[1] |
| Amazon Transcribe MedicalAWS accounts (Sign up for AWS, advanced) | Covered | AWS's documentation calls Transcribe Medical a HIPAA-eligible service, and the marketing page says the same. It handles batch and real-time medical speech.[1],[6],[7] |
| PHI identification (Transcribe Medical)AWS accounts (Sign up for AWS, advanced) | Covered | This feature labels PHI in Transcribe Medical output, for streaming and batch jobs. It is part of an eligible service. It only labels PHI; customers do their own redaction.[1],[7] |
| AWS HealthScribeAWS accounts (Sign up for AWS, advanced) | Covered | AWS's in-scope list shows HealthScribe as part of the Transcribe entry. HealthScribe has its own listing on this site (aws-healthscribe).[1] |
Speech-to-text and voice APIs that offer a BAA
- AssemblyAIBAA on: Paid (upgraded) accountsSome plans only
- DeepgramBAA on: EnterpriseSome plans only
- ElevenLabsBAA on: EnterpriseSome plans only
- Google Cloud Speech-to-TextBAA on: Google Cloud customers (with a Services Agreement)Signs a BAA
All BAA-ready alternatives to Amazon Transcribe (incl. Transcribe Medical)
Sources
- AWS Services in Scope by Compliance Program: HIPAA BAA
- HIPAA Compliance
- Compare sign-up options
- Upgrade your account in AWS Settings
- Compliance validation for Amazon Transcribe
- Amazon Transcribe Medical
- Identifying personal health information (PHI) in a transcription
A signed BAA is necessary but not sufficient for HIPAA compliance, which also depends on configuration, access controls, and your own policies. Verdicts summarize the vendor's own published terms as of the date checked; confirm with the vendor and your counsel before sending protected health information. Not legal advice.