Self-hosted team chat for HIPAA

Self-hosted team chat for HIPAA: what the Security Rule asks of clinical messaging

The HIPAA Security Rule sets technical standards for electronic protected health information in transit, audit controls and session termination, but it names no chat product and issues no certification. For a covered entity or business associate moving clinical and staff messaging onto infrastructure it controls, the work is to map each relevant standard to a configured control in the chat platform, its database, file storage and client devices, and then keep evidence that the control works. The transmission security standard at 45 CFR 164.312(e)(1) requires protection against unauthorized access to ePHI sent over an electronic network, and the audit controls standard at 45 CFR 164.312(b) requires mechanisms that record and examine activity in systems that use ePHI. The automatic logoff standard at 45 CFR 164.312(a)(2)(iii) asks for electronic session termination after a predetermined period of inactivity, but it leaves the period to the entity.

Compliance here is an assessment and evidence exercise, not a badge. HHS states that no Security Rule standard requires certification and that it does not recognize private certifications, so a vendor's claim of being HIPAA certified should not appear in your file as proof. Integrity controls and encryption are addressable implementation specifications, which means you must assess whether each is reasonable and appropriate for your chat deployment, implement it if so, and otherwise document why not and adopt an equivalent measure. Decide early which of these choices are your own: the session timeout value, whether message content reaches mobile push notifications, how long clinical threads are retained, and who can export them. Record each decision with its rationale, because that record is what an OCR investigator or independent auditor will ask to see.

Confirm the specifics with your security officer, counsel and chosen vendor rather than assuming them. Ask which Mattermost or Rocket.Chat edition provides the audit trail, session and SSO settings you need, and whether those settings are available in the edition you are licensing. Check how the Security Rule's pending revision, proposed in January 2025 and not yet final, could change expectations before go-live. The starting point for the mapping is the NIST resource guide, NIST SP 800-66 Rev. 2, which describes key activities for each standard, including determining what activity to audit and developing review procedures.

Mapping HIPAA technical safeguards to chat platform configuration

This table maps each HIPAA technical safeguard that touches clinical messaging to what the chat function must do and how Mattermost, Rocket.Chat or Matrix can be configured to support it. Read it as a starting checklist for your risk analysis: the rule sets the outcome, not the exact settings, and every addressable decision needs a documented rationale.

Requirement	What the chat function must do	How to configure the platform	What must be documented
Transmission security, 45 CFR 164.312(e)(1)	Guard ePHI in messages, files and calls against unauthorized access while it crosses the network, including between clients and the server and between server nodes	Enforce TLS on all client, API and mobile connections; use encrypted links between application and database nodes; disable plaintext ports; confirm encryption of push and file storage options with the vendor	Network diagram of message paths, certificate management owner, cipher and protocol settings, and the decision on any unencrypted path
Audit controls, 45 CFR 164.312(b)	Record and periodically review who accessed, sent, edited or deleted messages and files containing ePHI	Turn on audit logging for logins, admin changes and message or file events; forward logs to a central store; Rocket.Chat paid plans list tamper-evident audit trails, while Mattermost and Matrix audit scope must be confirmed for your edition	Activities to be tracked, the tools used for review, review frequency and owner, and the standard operating procedure for investigating a flagged event
Automatic logoff, 45 CFR 164.312(a)(2)(iii)	Terminate sessions after a predetermined period of inactivity on web, desktop and mobile clients	Set idle session timeouts in the server console for each client type; shorten lifetimes for shared workstations; the rule does not set the time, so choose and justify a value	The chosen inactivity period per client type, the reasoning for it, and evidence that the setting is enforced after a test
Integrity controls, addressable specification under 164.312(c)(1)	Protect messages and files from improper alteration or destruction, and show that a record has not changed	Restrict edit and delete rights, set message edit windows, enable retention so deletions are controlled, and confirm whether message signing or hashing is available in your edition	Who may edit or delete clinical content, retention settings, and the assessment of whether each integrity mechanism is reasonable and appropriate
Encryption, addressable specification under 164.312(e)(2)(ii)	Encrypt ePHI in transit and, where your assessment requires it, at rest in the database and file store	Use TLS for transit; encrypt storage volumes and object storage; evaluate end-to-end encryption for direct messages, accepting trade-offs for search, compliance export and admin visibility	Encryption decisions for each data path, key management owner, and any equivalent alternative chosen if end-to-end encryption is not used
Access control and unique user identification, 164.312(a)	Give each clinician a unique identity, tie access to role, and remove access promptly when staff leave	Connect SSO (SAML, OIDC or OAuth) and directory sync; Mattermost lists these from the Professional plan, and Rocket.Chat lists LDAP, Active Directory and SSO on its free Starter plan; confirm the edition for your user count	Provisioning and deprovisioning procedure, role mapping, and evidence of periodic access reviews
Retention and records, related to 164.316 documentation and ePHI availability	Keep clinical messages only as long as your policy requires and make them retrievable for patient care and audit	Set channel and global retention policies; confirm legal hold and compliance export features in your edition; test that deleted content is removed as configured	Retention periods by message type set by your policy, owner of holds, and results of restore and export tests
Addressable decisions, 45 CFR 164.306(d)	Assess each addressable specification for reasonableness and appropriateness against your environment and risk	Record the decision for each addressable item, whether implemented, or not implemented with the reason and an equivalent alternative measure	A dated decision log per specification, approval by the security official, and review when the platform or edition changes

Which open-source chat platform fits a HIPAA clinical deployment

Mattermost is an open core, self-hosted collaboration platform written in Go and React. It runs as a single Linux binary with PostgreSQL as its database, which keeps the first deployment small and predictable. Compiled releases are licensed under MIT, and the source code for custom builds falls under AGPL v3.0 with a commercial alternative from Mattermost, Inc. For a clinical deployment, the features that matter most sit in paid plans, so the edition decision is part of the HIPAA design.

Single node first: A single binary with PostgreSQL fits a pilot or a single-site unit before you commit to clustering.
SSO and directory sync: SSO (SAML, OIDC, OAuth) and AD/LDAP user sync are listed from the Professional plan, which supports unique user identity and deprovisioning when staff leave.
High availability: Redundant application servers, database servers and load balancers are available only on Enterprise and Enterprise Advanced. A cluster needs shared file storage on S3, an S3-compatible service or NAS on each node, because local storage risks file corruption.
FIPS 140-3: Listed from Enterprise, which matters if your encryption policy references validated cryptographic modules.
Air-gapped deployment: Listed in Enterprise Advanced, relevant for isolated clinical networks.

Mattermost releases a new server version in binary form on the 16th of each month, and v11.7 is the current Extended Support Release with support ending 2027-05-15. Confirm current edition features, support windows and licensing terms with Mattermost before purchase, and ask how audit logs and message retention are delivered on the plan you select.

How TLS, SSO and session timeouts combine to protect ePHI in transit

Transmission security under 45 CFR 164.312(e)(1) asks for technical measures that guard against unauthorized access to ePHI as it moves across a network. For a self-hosted chat platform, that means encrypting every hop a message takes: client to load balancer, load balancer to application servers, application servers to the database, and application servers to shared file storage where attachments sit. In Mattermost, the TLS settings live in the server configuration, and in a Mattermost high availability cluster, the shared file store must also be reachable over encrypted connections. Confirm each hop with your partner and record the protocol versions and cipher suites in your configuration baseline. For the protocol guidance itself, NIST SP 800-52 is the informational reference HHS points to for TLS, and NIST SP 800-77 and SP 800-113 cover IPsec and SSL VPN paths if administrators or remote clinicians reach the platform through a tunnel.

Encryption in transit does not limit who can read a message, so identity controls come next. Connect the chat platform to your identity provider through SSO (SAML or OIDC) and sync user groups from Active Directory or LDAP, so that access is removed centrally when a clinician leaves. Automatic logoff is a separate control: 45 CFR 164.312(a)(2)(iii) requires electronic procedures that end a session after a predetermined time of inactivity, but the rule does not set that time. Your organization chooses the interval, documents the reasoning, and configures it in the chat client, the identity provider and any session lifetime settings. Shorter timeouts suit shared workstations on clinical floors, and the chosen value should appear in your policy and risk analysis.

Mobile push is where message content most often leaks outside the protected path. A push notification that displays the message body can expose ePHI on a locked screen, in a notification center or through a third-party push gateway. Decide whether notifications show only a generic alert, and confirm with your partner how push traffic routes and what metadata it carries, since Rocket.Chat and Mattermost each document their own push handling. Pair this with device controls such as enforced screen locks and remote wipe, and test the behavior on the device models your staff actually use. These are the checks to add to your own risk analysis before go-live.

What chat tooling alone does not satisfy under HIPAA

A chat platform can enforce encryption, audit logging and session timeouts, but HIPAA also expects a documented program around it. The cards below cover the work that sits outside the software and that the covered entity or business associate must own, document and be able to show.

Risk analysis and risk management

The Security Rule expects an accurate assessment of where ePHI lives and moves, followed by measures that reduce those risks to a reasonable level. For chat, that means mapping which channels may carry patient details, file uploads, mobile devices, bots and integrations, and deciding which of them are in scope. The platform cannot make this decision for you. Check that the assessment covers the server, database, file store, push notification path and backups, and that it is updated when you add a federation partner or a new integration.

Business associate agreements with providers

If an implementation partner, cloud host, backup provider or managed database service can access ePHI, a business associate agreement is needed before that access begins. Self-hosting does not remove this requirement, because a partner who administers the chat servers may still handle ePHI during support or troubleshooting. Confirm in writing who can reach production data, from which locations, and how access is logged. Ask each provider whether it will sign the agreement and which subcontractors it uses.

Workforce training and sanctions

Staff are the most common route for chat content to leak, through screenshots, forwarded threads, personal phones and messages sent to the wrong channel. Training should cover what may be posted in chat, how to use the mobile app safely, how to report a misdirected message, and what happens after a breach. The Security Rule also expects a sanctions policy for workforce members who violate it. Record who completed training and when, because the platform cannot prove that people were taught.

Retention and disposal policy

HIPAA does not set one chat retention period, so the period must come from your own policies and from any other rules that apply to your organization. The platform stores messages according to the settings you choose, but it does not decide what must be kept or when records are destroyed. Write the rule for each channel type, including clinical threads, direct messages and deleted content. Confirm how the chosen edition handles retention and deletion, and who approves the disposal process.

Backups and contingency planning

The Security Rule expects a contingency plan that keeps ePHI available after an emergency, which covers data backup, disaster recovery and emergency operating procedures. For a self-hosted chat server, that includes the database, file storage, configuration and encryption keys. Test restores on a schedule and record the results. Also decide how clinicians will communicate if the chat service is down, because a backup that has never been restored does not prove recovery is possible.

Documented decisions for addressable specifications

Several technical specifications, including integrity controls and encryption, are addressable. That means you must assess whether each one is reasonable and appropriate for your environment, then implement it or document why not and adopt an equivalent measure. Keep a dated record for each decision, with the reasoning and the approver. This record is often the first thing an auditor or the HHS Office for Civil Rights asks for, and the platform cannot write it for you.

Evidence OCR auditors ask for from a chat deployment

This table maps the evidence items an OCR investigator or independent assessor may ask to see from a self-hosted chat deployment to what each item shows and which component produces it. Read it as a checklist of records to design for, not as proof of compliance, since OCR judges the overall risk-based program. Most rows depend on your own configuration, logging destination and retention settings, which you should confirm with your chat vendor and partner.

Evidence item	What it proves	Component that produces it
Audit log exports showing access and activity	Who signed in, when, from where, and which messages, files and admin actions occurred, supporting the audit controls expected under 45 CFR 164.312(b)	Chat server audit logging, forwarded to a central log platform; paid audit trail features may be required on some editions
Access reviews tied to directory groups	That only current, authorized clinicians and staff hold channel and workspace access, and that removals happen when roles change	Directory (AD or LDAP) group sync and the chat team and channel membership records
TLS configuration records	That ePHI in transit is protected by encryption that meets your documented standard, relevant to 45 CFR 164.312(e)(1)	Reverse proxy or load balancer, certificate inventory and scan results from your own testing
Session timeout settings	The configured inactivity period for automatic logoff under 45 CFR 164.312(a)(2)(iii), and the rationale for the value you chose	Chat server session configuration, SSO identity provider session policy and mobile device management settings
Activity review and audit policy and SOPs	That you defined what to audit, which tools review it, how often, and who responds, following the key activities in NIST SP 800-66 Rev. 2 section 5.3.2	Your governance documents, drafted with your privacy and security officers and tested against log samples
Change and upgrade records for supported versions	That the platform runs a vendor-supported release with tracked patches and tested upgrades, since unsupported versions lose security fixes	Change tickets, release notes, staging test results and the chat platform's own version support schedule
Risk analysis records	That you identified where ePHI moves through chat, including mobile push, file attachments and integrations, and documented decisions on each risk	Your risk assessment register, data flow diagrams and the configuration records that address each identified risk

Questions buyers ask before hiring help with HIPAA chat

Is there a HIPAA certification for a self-hosted chat platform?

No. HHS states that no Security Rule standard requires an entity to certify compliance, that HHS does not endorse or recognize private organizations' certifications, and that such certifications do not prevent HHS from later finding a violation. Any vendor or partner offering a HIPAA certificate for a chat deployment should be asked what it actually covers. The practical question is whether you can show, through configuration records, audit logs, access reviews and written procedures, that the 45 CFR 164.312 safeguards operate as described. Independent assessors can evaluate that evidence, but DeployOpen does not issue audit reports, attestations or certifications.

What drives the cost of a HIPAA chat rollout?

The cost has several components, and each is paid to a different party. Software licensing is typically a recurring cost, and the edition matters: the Mattermost pricing page lists SSO and directory sync from the Professional plan, high availability and FIPS 140-3 from Enterprise, and air-gapped deployment from Enterprise Advanced, while Rocket.Chat prices paid plans by quote. Other cost drivers include:

Hosting, storage and database capacity in your own cloud or data center, which recur monthly or yearly
Integration with your identity provider, logging and mobile device management, which is typically one-time
Migration of existing message history, which depends on the source system and export format
Internal staff time for clinical and compliance review, which recurs

Ask any partner for a written scope that separates one-time work from recurring costs.

How long does a self-hosted HIPAA chat rollout take?

No duration can be stated responsibly before the scope is defined. The timeline depends on the number of users, whether high availability is required, how many integrations must be connected, whether message history must be migrated, and how much clinical and compliance review the rollout needs. DeployOpen's engagements are fixed-scope, so deliverables and timelines are agreed in writing before work starts. Ask for a timeline that lists each phase, the owner of each dependency, and the acceptance tests that close the project, including failover testing if high availability is in scope.

Can our internal IT team run a self-hosted chat platform without a partner?

Many teams can, but the work is recurring rather than one-time. Mattermost publishes a new server version in binary form on the 16th of each month, and Rocket.Chat states that unsupported versions may lose the ability to connect with its official mobile and desktop clients, so upgrades are part of operating the platform. Rocket.Chat 8.x also requires MongoDB 8.0 or later running as a replica set. Your team should confirm it can staff upgrades, database administration, backup and restore testing, access reviews and incident response before taking ownership. A retainer with a partner can cover some of these functions, and the division of responsibility should be written down.

What do clinical and compliance staff need to contribute?

Clinical and compliance staff define the rules the platform must enforce, and those decisions cannot be delegated to the implementer. Clinical leads should describe which messages may contain ePHI, which users need access to patient conversations, and how mobile notifications should avoid showing message content. Compliance and privacy staff should assess the addressable specifications under 45 CFR 164.306(d), document decisions about encryption, integrity controls and session timeouts, and define the audit and activity review policy that NIST SP 800-66 Rev. 2 describes. Expect review meetings at scoping, configuration sign-off and go-live, and confirm the names of accountable owners before work starts.

What penalties can apply to a HIPAA Security Rule violation?

For penalties assessed on or after January 28, 2026, the inflation-adjusted civil money penalty under 45 CFR 102.3 ranges from $145 per violation where the entity did not know of the violation to $2,190,294 per violation for uncorrected willful neglect, with a calendar-year cap of $2,190,294. The actual amount depends on the culpability tier, the duration of the violation and whether it was corrected, so these figures set the outer range rather than a forecast. The HHS Office for Civil Rights enforces the Security Rule through complaint investigations, compliance reviews and audits, and the 2024 to 2025 audits reviewed 50 covered entities and business associates on hacking and ransomware provisions. Confirm the current figures against the eCFR text before relying on them.

Does the HIPAA Security Rule change in 2026?

A major revision was proposed, but it has not been finalized. HHS published a proposed rule on January 6, 2025 (90 FR 898, RIN 0945-AA22) with comments due March 7, 2025. As of October 2026 no final rule has been published, and the latest Unified Agenda lists the rule under Long-Term Actions with final action projected for July 2027. Until a final rule is issued, the current Subpart C requirements apply. Ask any partner how the design would be updated if the proposal is finalized in a different form, and confirm the status on the Federal Register and the Unified Agenda before each compliance review.

How a HIPAA chat rollout is sequenced and who owns each step

A HIPAA chat rollout works best when the covered entity settles its decisions before any platform is installed. The sequence starts with scoping the ePHI use cases: which clinical teams message about patients, whether photos or lab results travel in chat, and which staff and outside parties (such as a business associate hosting the servers) touch that traffic. The risk analysis comes next and feeds directly into the edition and hosting choice. Under 45 CFR 164.306, the covered entity decides whether each addressable safeguard is reasonable and appropriate and documents any alternative it adopts. The covered entity owns those decisions, the risk analysis and the policies that follow from them. DeployOpen plans, configures and documents the platform against the decisions the covered entity has written down. Durations depend on the written scope, including the number of users, the number of sites and whether mobile or federated access is in scope, so ask for a phased plan with dates rather than a generic estimate.

Once the hosting model is fixed, the technical phases follow. Identity configuration covers single sign-on and directory sync so that deprovisioning a clinician removes chat access the same day. Encryption configuration covers transport protections for the connections to the server, storage encryption for uploaded files, and the session settings that implement automatic logoff under 45 CFR 164.312(a)(2)(iii), where the rule requires a procedure but leaves the timeout to the covered entity. Test audit exports and logoff before go-live: confirm that the audit controls required by 45 CFR 164.312(b) capture the activity the risk analysis named, that an export can be produced and read by someone outside the administrator team, and that an idle session really ends on the chosen timeout. Staff training and go-live then follow, with the covered entity owning the training content and the acceptable-use rules. Monitoring after go-live should review audit logs on a schedule the covered entity sets, and it is a recurring cost to plan for.

Decisions to settle before configuring the platform

Six decisions shape how a self-hosted chat platform can support HIPAA safeguards. Each one changes which evidence you can produce for transmission security, audit controls and automatic logoff, so settle them in writing before the first clinical user signs in. The order matters less than making sure each decision has an owner and a documented rationale.

Choice of platform and edition

Mattermost, Rocket.Chat and Matrix handle identity, audit trails and high availability differently, and several of those features sit in paid editions. Confirm which edition includes SSO, directory sync, tamper-evident audit trails and clustering before you commit. Ask the vendor which features you need in writing, because a feature missing from your edition will leave a gap in the evidence you present. Mattermost and Rocket.Chat publish their paid-plan features on their pricing pages, so check those against your requirements.

Mobile push for clinicians

Push notifications can carry message previews to a lock screen or pass through a third-party gateway, which can expose ePHI outside your network. Decide whether clinicians receive content-free alerts that prompt them to open the app, and confirm how the platform's push path works in your environment. Document the choice and test it on a managed device before rollout. Any gateway that handles message metadata may also need a business associate agreement, so confirm that with counsel.

Federation with outside providers

Federation lets your server exchange messages with servers run by outside organizations, such as referring practices, laboratories or contracted specialists. Each federated partner becomes a recipient of ePHI, so the transmission safeguards under 45 CFR 164.312(e)(1) depend on which domains you trust. Decide whether federation is permitted, restrict it to a documented allow-list, and record who approved each partner. Confirm with counsel whether a business associate agreement is needed before any clinical exchange.

Retention periods set by the organization

HIPAA does not set a retention period for chat messages, so your organization must define one based on clinical documentation policy and applicable state law. Configure retention in the platform to match that policy, and confirm that deletion runs as designed and is logged. A retention rule that deletes records too early can weaken your ability to show how care decisions were communicated. Assign an owner for the policy and review it when regulations change.

End-to-end encryption use

End-to-end encryption protects message content from the server and its administrators, but it can limit compliance export, retention enforcement and content review. The Security Rule treats encryption as an addressable specification, so you must assess it and document the decision either way. If you use it, record which channels and users are covered and how you preserve required records. If you do not, explain the equivalent measures, such as TLS in transit and encryption at rest, in your risk analysis.

Location of audit logs

Audit controls under 45 CFR 164.312(b) require mechanisms that record and examine activity in systems containing ePHI. Decide where the chat server writes its logs, who can read them, and how long they are kept. Store them outside the chat application's own administrator reach, protect them against tampering, and review them on a defined schedule. Write down the activities you track, the tools you use to review them and the procedure for investigating a flagged event, as NIST SP 800-66 Rev. 2 suggests.

How DeployOpen scopes a HIPAA-aligned chat deployment

The sequence moves from a written scope that names the ePHI boundary to a configured platform, a set of evidence artifacts the covered entity can review, and ongoing support. Each step ends with a check the client can verify, so the work stays tied to the Security Rule requirements it supports.

Define the ePHI boundary in writing
DeployOpen works with your privacy officer, security lead and clinical operations owner to list which teams, channels, guests and file types may carry ePHI, and which must not. The written scope also names the covered entity or business associate roles, the hosting environment and the platform edition under consideration. Confirm with your counsel whether any Business Associate Agreement applies to the people or vendors involved. The step is complete when the signed scope document lists in-scope users, data types and out-of-scope uses.
Map requirements to Security Rule standards
Using the scope, DeployOpen maps each chat requirement to the relevant technical safeguards, including transmission security under 45 CFR 164.312(e)(1), audit controls under 164.312(b) and automatic logoff under 164.312(a)(2)(iii). For each addressable specification, the covered entity records whether it is reasonable and appropriate and, where it is not, the equivalent measure chosen. The output is a requirements matrix that your compliance lead can review line by line.
Confirm edition and feature fit
Because several controls depend on paid features, DeployOpen checks the candidate platform's edition against the matrix. For Mattermost, that means confirming which SSO, directory sync, high availability and FIPS-related features the chosen plan includes. For Rocket.Chat, it means confirming which audit trail, retention and SAML group mapping features sit in a paid plan. Ask the vendor to confirm each item in writing, since plan contents change. The check is complete when every required feature has a named plan and a vendor confirmation on file.
Design hosting, network and encryption
DeployOpen designs the deployment inside your cloud account, data center or private network, including TLS termination, certificate management, database encryption at rest where the platform supports it, and network segmentation between the chat servers, database and file storage. Mobile push design is documented so that message content does not pass through a public gateway unless your risk assessment accepts that. The output is an architecture diagram and a network flow list that your security team reviews before build.
Configure identity, logoff and audit logging
DeployOpen configures single sign-on, directory-based provisioning and removal, session timeout and inactivity logoff settings, and the audit log export path to your SIEM or log store. Access reviews are scheduled and recorded. Each setting is captured in configuration-as-code or an exported settings file so it can be re-checked later. The step closes when a test user's session logs off after the configured inactivity period and the corresponding audit events appear in the central log store.
Prepare evidence and operating procedures
DeployOpen drafts the operating procedures and records that support the audit control activities described in NIST SP 800-66 Rev. 2, including which activities are logged, how log review is performed, who reviews them and how incidents are escalated. Evidence is gathered from the configured system, such as configuration exports, test records and access review results. DeployOpen prepares these artifacts and does not issue audit reports, attestations or certifications. Independent auditors and HHS evaluate the evidence, and no HIPAA certification exists. The step is complete when your compliance lead accepts the evidence pack and the procedures.
Test, go live and hand over
DeployOpen runs the agreed test plan covering logoff, audit log capture, access revocation, backup restore and failover where high availability is in scope. Defects are logged and closed against the written scope, and the platform moves to production under your change process. Administrators receive runbooks and training. The handover is complete when the test report is signed and the admin team has run a restore in its own environment.
Support configuration changes under a retainer
After go-live, ongoing patching, version upgrades, configuration drift checks and periodic evidence refreshes can be covered by a retainer agreed in writing. Upgrades follow the vendor's published support windows, which your team should track closely. The retainer scope states response expectations and what triggers a re-review of the HIPAA mapping, such as a new integration or a change to the ePHI boundary. The arrangement is working when each change produces an updated matrix entry and a dated evidence record.

How DeployOpen delivers and supports HIPAA-aligned team chat

DeployOpen plans, implements, hardens, documents and supports self-hosted open-source chat inside your own cloud accounts, data centers or air-gapped networks. For clinical messaging, the work starts with the Security Rule controls your organization must evaluate, then turns them into configured settings, tested evidence and an operating runbook.

How we scope

Written scope lists the chat platform, edition, user groups, clinical and staff channels, and which Security Rule standards the work supports
Scope names the transmission security, audit logging and automatic logoff settings to be configured and tested
Scope states which compliance evidence DeployOpen prepares and which parts remain your organization's responsibility
Engagements are fixed-scope, with deliverables and timelines agreed in writing before work begins

How we build

Deploy the chosen platform with TLS in transit, encryption at rest and directory-based sign-in in your environment
Configure audit logging for user, message, file and session activity, and confirm where those records are stored
Set session inactivity timeouts and mobile push settings that avoid exposing message content on lock screens
Test access controls, log review workflows and high availability failover before the go-live decision

How we hand over

Documentation covers configuration baselines, the audit and activity review policy, and standard operating procedures
Runbooks describe log review, user provisioning, backup and restore, and incident response for the chat platform
Handover includes a walkthrough with administrators and a record of tests, findings and remediation
Written evidence maps each configured control to the Security Rule standard it supports, for your assessors to review

How we support

Ongoing support, upgrades and continuous testing are available as retainers after handover
Retained upgrades track the platform's release and support windows, so the deployment stays on supported versions
Periodic reviews re-test audit controls and session settings after changes to users, integrations or infrastructure
DeployOpen prepares evidence for compliance assessments, but independent auditors and certification bodies issue any reports or attestations

Self-hosted team chat for HIPAA