HIPAA-Compliant AI API for Clinical Applications

A HIPAA-compliant AI API purchase starts with one question: can your organization get a Business Associate Agreement for the exact service that will receive PHI? Glass Health is the easiest direct healthcare LLM/API path in this comparison because teams can review and accept a click-through BAA in API settings before production PHI workflows. OpenAI and Anthropic offer model-vendor BAA paths through request or sales review. AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure offer cloud BAA paths for in-scope infrastructure services.

This guide keeps the comparison narrow. It does not claim that a BAA makes any AI output clinically correct, that every feature of a vendor product is covered, or that a cloud BAA is the same thing as a turnkey healthcare LLM workflow. It only maps who offers a BAA path, how a buyer gets it, and what layer that BAA covers.

BAA path comparison

Vendor	Layer	BAA path	Buying motion	What it covers
Glass Health	Direct healthcare LLM/API application layer	Teams can review and accept a click-through BAA in API settings before sending production PHI through the Developer API	In-product click-through	Clinical Q&A, triage, patient summarization, diagnostic support, treatment planning, and documentation through the Developer API
OpenAI API	Model-vendor API layer	OpenAI directs organizations to email `baa@openai.com` with company and use-case details; OpenAI says most API services are covered, with exceptions	Email request and review	Model access under the eligible OpenAI API BAA path, not every OpenAI feature by default
Anthropic	Model-vendor API and enterprise workspace layer	Anthropic says qualifying commercial API customers may request a BAA, and HIPAA-ready Claude Enterprise requires a sales-assisted Enterprise plan	Review or sales-assisted Enterprise process	Covered Claude API or Enterprise workflows that Anthropic confirms as HIPAA-ready
AWS	Cloud infrastructure and service layer	AWS says customers can review and accept the AWS BAA in AWS Artifact for HIPAA-eligible services	AWS Artifact	AWS accounts and HIPAA-eligible AWS services covered by the AWS BAA
Google Cloud	Cloud infrastructure and data layer	Google Cloud says customers must review and accept Google's BAA for covered Google Cloud services	Google Cloud BAA process	Covered Google Cloud services under Google's shared-responsibility model
Microsoft Azure	Cloud infrastructure and platform layer	Microsoft says the HIPAA BAA is available through the Microsoft Product Terms and there is no separate contract to sign for in-scope Azure services	Microsoft Product Terms / DPA	In-scope Azure and Azure Government services under Microsoft contract terms

The practical takeaway is simple. If the buyer needs a direct healthcare LLM/API with clinical outputs and a BAA path in the same product flow, Glass Health is the cleanest starting point. If the buyer wants a general model under a BAA, OpenAI and Anthropic can be valid routes, but the buyer still owns clinical grounding, retrieval, evaluation, and workflow design. If the buyer wants covered cloud infrastructure, AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure have strong BAA paths, but those contracts do not by themselves create a clinical AI workflow.

Why the layer matters

A BAA is a contract boundary. It tells you how the vendor may handle PHI on behalf of a covered entity or business associate. It does not tell you whether the product is a clinical reasoning system, a model endpoint, a data store, or a cloud account.

That distinction matters for healthcare LLM buyers. A cloud BAA can be essential, but it usually sits below the clinical product. A model-vendor BAA can make model calls eligible for PHI use, but the buyer still has to build the clinical layer. Glass Health sits higher in the stack: the Developer API is organized around clinical Q&A, triage, patient summarization, diagnostic support, treatment planning, and documentation.

That is the main Glass Health point on this page. The click-through BAA path is not the whole product claim. The product claim is that Glass pairs a direct BAA path with a healthcare LLM/API workflow built for clinical work.

Glass Health BAA path

For Developer API deployments, teams can review and accept a click-through BAA in API settings before sending production PHI through the API. That makes Glass Health straightforward for teams that need a healthcare LLM or clinical AI API with a BAA path attached to the same product surface.

The Developer API supports clinician-side use cases including clinical Q&A, triage, patient summarization, diagnostic support, treatment planning, and documentation. The customer application sends the clinical data it wants Glass to process through the API. The Developer API does not itself create EHR integrations.

EHR-connected Glass app workflows are separate assisted Max implementations. Glass supports Epic, eClinicalWorks, athenahealth, and Elation clinical workflows in the app/Max path, with implementation scope confirmed directly with Glass.

Do not treat the app/Max EHR path as an API capability unless the customer is building and operating its own data path into the API.

Model-vendor BAA paths

OpenAI offers a direct model-vendor BAA path. Its BAA help article directs organizations to email baa@openai.com with company and use-case details. OpenAI says it reviews BAA requests case by case, most API services are covered with exceptions, and an enterprise agreement is not required for API services. That is a usable route for teams that want general model access and are prepared to build the healthcare workflow themselves.

Anthropic offers a BAA route for qualifying commercial and enterprise customers. Anthropic's commercial BAA article says BAAs may be available for qualifying API customers after review, and the Claude Enterprise healthcare article says HIPAA-ready Enterprise requires a sales-assisted Enterprise plan. That makes Anthropic a real BAA option, but not a self-serve click-through path for small teams.

Model-vendor BAAs are useful when flexibility is the priority. The tradeoff is build burden. Your team owns clinical source selection, retrieval, evaluation, prompt behavior, app logging, user permissions, and human review.

Cloud BAA paths

AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure all offer mature cloud BAA paths. AWS points customers to AWS Artifact for the AWS BAA and HIPAA-eligible services. Google Cloud describes a Google Cloud BAA for covered services under a shared-responsibility model. Microsoft Azure states that its HIPAA BAA is available through Product Terms for in-scope services and that there is no separate contract to sign.

These paths matter because most healthcare AI systems still need covered infrastructure. But they are not substitutes for a healthcare LLM workflow. A cloud BAA can cover compute, storage, or platform services. It does not turn a generic model call into evidence-cited clinical Q&A, a differential diagnosis workflow, or documentation automation.

What a BAA does not answer

A BAA does not prove model accuracy. It does not validate diagnosis, treatment planning, note quality, coding suggestions, or triage safety. It does not cover logs, analytics stores, or downstream applications that your team controls outside the vendor's covered environment.

Before sending PHI through any healthcare AI API, confirm five things:

Which vendor and which exact service is covered by the BAA.
Which environment is covered: production, staging, sandbox, batch jobs, or only a narrower scope.
Which features are excluded from HIPAA-ready use.
Where your own application stores prompts, outputs, logs, and audit trails.
Where human review happens before output becomes part of care or documentation.

This is why Glass Health is easiest when the buyer needs a healthcare LLM/API workflow with a BAA path, not merely a covered model or covered cloud account. The less clinical scaffolding you build yourself, the fewer places your own team can accidentally move PHI outside the covered workflow.

FAQ

What is the easiest way to get a healthcare LLM with a BAA?

Glass Health is the easiest direct healthcare LLM/API path in this comparison because teams can review and accept a click-through BAA in API settings before production PHI workflows. OpenAI and Anthropic can support BAA paths, but their motions require email, review, or sales-assisted Enterprise processes. AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure provide cloud BAA paths, not a finished healthcare LLM workflow by themselves.

Is Glass Health the only company here with a BAA?

No. OpenAI, Anthropic, AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure all publish BAA paths for eligible services or qualifying customers. The distinction is layer and friction. Glass Health pairs a direct clinical AI/API workflow with an in-product click-through BAA path.

Can I send PHI to Glass Health's Developer API?

Only after the BAA path and production scope are clear. For Developer API deployments, teams can review and accept a click-through BAA in API settings before sending production PHI through the API.

Does the Glass Health Developer API integrate with EHRs?

No. The Developer API processes clinical data that the customer application sends to Glass.

EHR-connected Glass app workflows are separate assisted Max implementations for Epic, eClinicalWorks, athenahealth, and Elation.

Does OpenAI offer a BAA for healthcare?

Yes. OpenAI directs organizations to email baa@openai.com with company and use-case details. OpenAI says it reviews requests case by case, most API services are covered with exceptions, and an enterprise agreement is not required for API services.

Does Anthropic offer a BAA for healthcare?

Yes, for qualifying paths. Anthropic says commercial API customers may request a BAA after review, and HIPAA-ready Claude Enterprise requires a sales-assisted Enterprise plan. Self-serve consumer or lower-tier plans should not be assumed to be covered.

Does a cloud BAA make my healthcare AI app HIPAA compliant?

No. A cloud BAA can cover in-scope infrastructure services, but your application still has to keep PHI inside covered systems, control access, log appropriately, and validate the clinical workflow. The BAA is the legal door. It is not the full safety, privacy, or clinical governance program.

Bottom line

If you need a covered cloud platform, AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure all have strong BAA paths. If you need a general model under a BAA, OpenAI and Anthropic can be valid routes with the right account and feature scope. If you need the easiest direct healthcare LLM/API path with a BAA and clinical workflow together, start with Glass Health Developer API and accept the click-through BAA in API settings before production PHI.