Yes. BastionGPT is designed specifically for protected health information (PHI), so it is safe to upload patient records, charts, evaluations, and session recordings. Every place you can enter data is protected to meet or exceed HIPAA expectations, your data is never used to train AI models, and every account is covered by our HIPAA Business Associate Agreement from the moment you sign up.
If you have been holding back on uploads because you were not sure whether it is safe to put PHI into an AI tool, consider this your green light. Here is what protects your data at every step.
Which parts of BastionGPT are safe for patient data?
All of them. Chat messages, document uploads, AI Scribe recordings, and transcripts are all designed for identified patient data, including the record types professionals are most cautious about: mental health records, psychological evaluations, substance use history, HIV status, and similar. HIPAA compliant document upload is core to what BastionGPT was built for. Healthcare professionals upload clinical documentation to our system every second of every day, and reviewing a large records packet (say, several hundred pages of history ahead of an evaluation) is one of the most common ways they use it.
How can every feature be safe for PHI?
We follow one rule across the product: we will never ship a feature that could put your compliance at risk. Anywhere data can go, we assume patient data will go. Every feature has to be safe for the most sensitive patient data before it ships, and when a capability cannot be made safe for PHI, we do not offer it, even if other AI tools do. For a closer look at the safeguards behind this rule, see our security and data-protection page.
Do I need to de-identify records before uploading?
No. Upload records exactly as they are, names and all. Some AI tools run patient data through a de-identification (sometimes called tokenization) layer before processing. That technology is roughly 99.9% accurate, and at our scale the remaining fraction would still mean exposed patient records, so we take the safer path: we treat everything you enter as PHI and protect it with controls designed to meet or exceed the standards EMR and EHR systems are held to. Skipping the de-identify-and-restore cycle saves you time, and keeping names and context intact typically produces better results because the AI sees the full picture. If you want the deeper technical picture, our blog covers what de-identification actually involves.
What happens to my records after I upload them?
Your data follows a short, tightly controlled path. When you upload a document or send a message, it is processed in a hardened secure enclave for anywhere from milliseconds up to about 30 seconds, securely wiped from the enclave, and your results are returned to your account. Along the way:
Your data is never used to train AI models, and we guarantee that contractually.
Your data is never resold and never used for marketing.
Behind the scenes, processing data is retained for a maximum of 30 days.
The documents you see in your account stay available to you permanently, and they are securely erased only after your account has been idle for 30 days.
For the full picture, including how we handle subpoenas and why we run licensed frontier models on our own secure infrastructure, see How is BastionGPT secure?. The HIPAA Business Associate Agreement covering all of this is included in every plan; you agree to it electronically at signup, and a signed DocuSign copy is available on request.
Is there anything I should not put into BastionGPT?
For healthcare work, no. If a record is covered under HIPAA, it is safe in BastionGPT, and you can also work with your practice's own business documents, such as policies and contracts. Two practical things are worth keeping in mind:
Your organization's policies. Our protections apply to every account, but your employer or the organizations you contract with may set their own expectations for AI use, so check your contracts. If you are wondering whether patients need to consent to or be told about your AI use, see Do you have consent form templates for healthcare AI use?
Document size limits. Each uploaded document can be up to about 1,000 pages and 40 MB. For oversized records, split the document or summarize it in passes, and note that scanned, faxed, photographed, and handwritten documents are all readable. Details and workarounds are in What types of documents are supported?
If a specific scenario still gives you pause, email [email protected] and we will help you confirm the right approach. Otherwise, upload with confidence: this is exactly what BastionGPT was built for.