Hive markets itself as a productivity platform for teams that need project views, chat, and document collaboration. It was not designed for covered entities. If your clinic is evaluating Hive for patient onboarding tasks, referral tracking, or any work that touches PHI, the first question is not “does it have the features we want.” It is “will Hive sign a BAA that covers this work, and is the product actually built for PHI.”
The BAA Problem
Under 45 CFR 164.502(e), a covered entity must have a Business Associate Agreement in place with any vendor that creates, receives, maintains, or transmits PHI on its behalf. HHS explains the rule directly on its Business Associates guidance page.
Hive’s public pricing page does not describe a standard BAA offering. Public materials do not describe a BAA attached to self-serve plans. For a 12-person pediatrics office, that ambiguity alone is a reason to keep looking. You cannot store a task that says “call back patient X about lab result” in a tool you are not sure is covered.
What Changes With PHIGuard
PHIGuard is built for covered entities. The BAA is in scope at every tier, not gated behind an enterprise motion. You get:
- A signed BAA at signup, on every plan
- An immutable audit trail on every task action, scoped to 45 CFR 164.312(b) audit-control requirements
- PHI-aware task fields that keep clinical details out of notification emails and log exports
- Compliance program content: annual risk analysis, workforce training, policy review, and incident response templates
- Role-based access that maps to real clinic roles (front desk, clinical, billing, admin)
The point is not “Hive plus checkboxes.” It is a product whose default shape assumes PHI from the start.
Pricing Comparison
| Hive | PHIGuard | |
|---|---|---|
| BAA included | Public materials do not describe a BAA offering | Included on every plan |
| Pricing model | Per-user tiers; see Hive pricing | Per clinic: $99 / $249 / $499 per month |
| HIPAA audit trail | Not described publicly | Built in, immutable |
| Clinic compliance templates | Not described publicly | Included |
| Built for covered entities | No | Yes |
Per-user pricing is the category villain for small clinics. A 25-person clinic on a per-seat tool pays more as it hires, even though the compliance burden does not grow linearly with headcount. PHIGuard charges one per-clinic price regardless of seat count.
Who Should Use PHIGuard Instead of Hive
Choose PHIGuard if your clinic:
- Needs a signed BAA before storing the first task that references a patient
- Wants a HIPAA-specific compliance program instead of a generic productivity tool
- Has 3–50 staff and does not want per-user pricing to scale with hiring
- Needs an audit trail that a regulator, auditor, or malpractice carrier can inspect
Choose Hive if your clinic only needs a general productivity tool for work that never touches PHI. For everything else, use a tool built for the job. See our HIPAA compliance software comparison for a broader view.
FAQ
Does Hive sign a BAA? Hive’s public pricing and marketing pages do not describe a BAA as a standard part of its plans. If your clinic needs one, contact Hive directly and get the scope and terms in writing before storing any PHI.
Is per-user pricing actually a problem for small clinics? Yes. Compliance work does not scale per seat. A 10-person clinic pays a BAA vendor the same to store one policy document as a 50-person clinic. Per-clinic pricing matches how the compliance burden actually behaves.
What if we already use Hive for non-PHI work? You can keep Hive for marketing, operations, or anything that does not touch patient data. Use PHIGuard for the compliance program and any task that references patients. Separation of scope is itself a reasonable safeguard.
How do we verify PHIGuard’s claims? Read our guide on auditing vendor HIPAA claims and ask for the BAA, audit log sample, and policy documents before signing.