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Therapists regularly discuss appointments, symptoms, treatment plans, medication, and payment information over the phone.
However, any message containing identifiable health information can bring HIPAA duties into the conversation.
A personal number can expose private contact details, invite calls outside business hours, and mix clinical messages with personal communication. Standard SMS can also leave sensitive details in an unprotected inbox.
A HIPAA-compliant phone app for therapists creates a protected business channel. The apps in this roundup perform different jobs. Some manage calls and texts. Others manage video sessions, intake, notes, or billing.
We compared five leading options based on their stated HIPAA safeguards and value to a therapy practice.
iPlum ranks first because it provides a dedicated number, encrypted communication, secure voicemail, and a Business Associate Agreement that therapists need for mobile client communication.
Table of Contents
1.Best HIPAA-compliant apps for therapists at a glance
2. What makes a phone app HIPAA compliant?
4. HIPAA-compliant phone app for therapists FAQs
5. Protect therapist-client communication with iPlum
Best HIPAA-compliant apps for therapists at a glance
The table below gives a quick overview of how the apps compare:
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What makes a phone app HIPAA compliant?
HIPAA compliance does not rest on encryption alone. The app must protect electronic protected health information during transmission, storage, and access. The therapy practice must also configure and use the service correctly.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services states that a HIPAA-covered practice must enter a Business Associate Agreement with a cloud vendor that creates, receives, maintains, or transmits electronic protected health information on its behalf.
Therefore, therapists should examine:
- Business Associate Agreement: The vendor should provide a BAA for the exact plan and service that processes protected health information.
- Encryption: Calls, messages, files, voicemail, and stored records require suitable protection.
- Access controls: Unique user accounts, secure passwords, device protection, and account permissions restrict unauthorized access.
- Administrative safeguards: The practice needs written communication policies, user training, incident procedures, and regular account reviews.
- Data ownership: The practice should know who owns the phone number, records, and exported data.
In addition, they should consider account removal, as administrators need the ability to revoke access after a departure, a role change, or a lost device.
Best HIPAA-compliant apps
1. iPlum: best for HIPAA-compliant calling and texting
iPlum is the best HIPAA-compliant phone app for therapists who communicate with clients through calls, texts, and voicemail. It adds a separate business number to an existing smartphone and places client communication under a protected practice account.
Therapists can select a new local or toll-free number or port an established number. With iPlum, your practice can retain the number listed on its website, in directories, in referral materials, and in client records.
Key features
- Separate business number: An iPlum second line has its own screen, caller ID, ringtone, notifications, text inbox, and voicemail.
- Dual-mode calling: Therapists can place calls via their carrier voice network or over a data connection using Wi-Fi or mobile data.
- HIPAA communication: Eligible subscriptions protect calling, texting, and voicemail under HIPAA account settings.
- Business Associate Agreement: iPlum provides a BAA for qualifying HIPAA subscriptions. According to iPlum, every HIPAA number receives its own agreement.
- Secure texting: Therapists can invite clients to an encrypted channel via a free mobile app or an app-less web portal.
- Business voicemail: Missed calls are routed to a mailbox separate from the therapist's personal voicemail.
- Business hours: Therapists can set non-business hours, silence selected notifications, route calls to voicemail, and send automatic text replies.
- Phone tree: Group practices can add an auto-attendant and extensions for scheduling, billing, or individual therapists.
- Practice administration: Administrators can create subaccounts, assign lines or extensions, and revoke user access after a departure, lost device, or role change.
Pros
- Personal number privacy: Clients see the iPlum caller ID rather than the therapist’s private number.
- Existing smartphone use: Therapists receive a second line on the device they already carry.
- Professional identity: The practice can publish and retain a dedicated client-facing number.
- Client access: Clients can enter secure text channels through the iPlum app or a browser portal.
- Solo and group use: The service works for an individual therapist and can be extended to include routing and several authorized users.
- Communication purpose: Calling and texting form iPlum's primary function, unlike the EHR and video platforms listed below.
Cons
- iPlum doesn't support video yet
Pricing
iPlum pricing starts at $8.99 per user monthly with annual billing for the Standard plan. However, therapists processing protected health information require the Professional plan at $14.99 per user per month, with annual billing.
It comes with HIPAA compliance, a BAA, encrypted texting, voicemail transcription, web calling, and one year of text archiving.
The Enterprise plan costs $25.99 per user monthly with annual billing. It adds call recording, consent announcements for recordings, and 10-year archives of recorded calls and text messages.
2. SimplePractice: best for client intake and billing
SimplePractice is a mobile EHR and practice management app for intake, scheduling, records, and billing. Therapists can send paperwork, view appointment histories, sign progress notes, create invoices, bill sessions, and access client records from a phone or tablet.
Key features
- Digital intake: Send consent forms, questionnaires, privacy notices, and other paperwork before the first appointment.
- Client portal: Clients can complete forms, request appointments, exchange secure messages, and make payments.
- Billing: Create invoices, superbills, card payments, and electronic insurance claims.
Pros
- Administrative range: Intake, scheduling, records, and billing work together within the EHR.
- Mobile access: Clinicians can sign notes and bill completed sessions from a phone or tablet.
Cons
- No business number: SimplePractice does not provide a standalone number for regular client calls, caller ID, or separate business voicemail.
- Additional charges: Insurance claims, extra clinicians, and optional add-ons can increase the monthly cost.
Pricing
SimplePractice plans start at $49 per month for Starter, $79 per month for Essential, and $99/month for Plus. Claim fees, additional clinicians, and optional features can add to the subscription price.
3. Doxy.me: best for HIPAA-compliant teletherapy
Doxy.me provides browser-based video sessions for therapists and other healthcare practitioners. A therapist sends a virtual-room link, and the client checks into the waiting room before the appointment begins.
Key features
- Browser access: Clients can join from a computer, phone, or tablet with no downloaded app or client account.
- Encrypted sessions: Doxy.me states that audio and video are encrypted, and call data is not stored.
- Virtual waiting room: Therapists can see when a client checks in and begin the appointment from the dashboard.
- Business Associate Agreement: Doxy.me provides a free BAA to account holders.
Pros
- Free entry plan: Solo therapists can begin with the free version.
Cons
- Video purpose: Doxy.me does not provide a separate business number, ordinary incoming calls, SMS, or business voicemail.
- Paid additions: HD video, group calls, screen sharing, and expanded tools require a paid plan.
Pricing
Doxy.me pricing has a free tier. The Professional plan costs $35 per month or $29 per user per month with annual billing. Clinic pricing varies according to account requirements.
4. Upheal: best for clinical notes and treatment plans
Upheal is a therapy EHR designed around clinical documentation. It prepares progress notes from session audio recordings, dictation, or written summaries and allows therapists to review, edit, and sign the final record.
Key features
- Clinical notes: Create structured progress notes in common therapy formats.
- Treatment plans: Prepare plans linked to clinical information and treatment objectives.
- Practice functions: Use scheduling, forms, telehealth, client billing, invoices, and superbills.
- Privacy safeguards: Upheal states that it encrypts data in transit and at rest and provides a BAA for every account.
Pros
- Documentation range: Therapists can prepare notes, treatment plans, intake records, and related clinical documents.
Cons
- No business phone line: Upheal does not provide a new or ported number, mobile caller ID, ordinary calling, or separate voicemail.
- Insurance claims: Full insurance claim submission and ERA reconciliation remain under development as of August 2026.
Pricing
Upheal pricing is $1 per completed session for individual clinicians, capped at $69 monthly. A free plan provides access to selected documentation and telehealth features. Group and enterprise accounts receive custom pricing.
5. TherapyNotes: best for behavioral health billing and insurance claims
TherapyNotes is a behavioral health EHR for billing, scheduling, clinical documentation, payments, secure messaging, telehealth, and client portal access. Its insurance tools make it relevant to practices with substantial claim volume.
Key features
- Electronic claims: Submit in-network, out-of-network, primary, and secondary insurance claims.
- Claim management: Review warnings, monitor claim status, and post insurance payments.
- Client billing: Create superbills, record balances, and process card payments.
- Clinical records: Prepare progress notes, treatment plans, assessments, and other behavioral health documentation.
- Mobile app: Access schedules, client details, secure messages, and telehealth sessions.
Pros
- Insurance depth: The platform provides extensive claim submission and payment tools.
Cons
- No standalone phone number: TherapyNotes does not provide a separate number for ordinary client calls and texts.
- Mobile limitations: The native app does not yet provide the full billing functionality available through the web platform.
- Optional fees: Electronic claims and selected optional services cost extra.
Pricing
TherapyNotes pricing is $69 monthly for a solo clinician. Group accounts cost $79 per month for the first clinician and $50 per month for each additional clinician. A 30-day free trial is available.
HIPAA-compliant phone app for therapists FAQs
What is the best HIPAA-compliant phone app for therapists?
iPlum is the best option for HIPAA-compliant calling and texting. It provides a separate business number, encrypted communication, secure voicemail, account permissions, and a Business Associate Agreement for eligible plans.
Do therapists need a HIPAA-compliant phone app?
Therapists need a HIPAA-compliant app when calls, texts, video sessions, notes, or stored records contain protected health information and the app processes that information for the therapy practice or clinic.
Can therapists text clients under HIPAA?
Yes. Therapists can text clients, but messages containing protected health information require appropriate safeguards. A secure channel, access controls, written policies, and an applicable BAA address those requirements under HIPAA.
Can therapists use a personal phone number for client communication?
Yes, but using a personal number can expose private contact details and mix clinical messages with personal communication. A separate business line establishes professional boundaries and practice ownership over communications.
Does every HIPAA-compliant app provide a Business Associate Agreement?
A vendor must provide a BAA when it creates, receives, maintains, or transmits protected health information for your HIPAA-covered practice. Confirm coverage for your exact subscription before use with clients.
Protect therapist-client communication with iPlum
Calls and texts remain central to scheduling, intake, follow-ups, and ongoing client communication.
iPlum gives therapists a separate business number on an existing smartphone, along with encrypted communication, secure voicemail, a BAA, business hours, and account permissions.
Solo therapists can protect their personal numbers. Meanwhile, group practices can add extensions and routing under a practice-owned account.
Choose iPlum to establish a professional phone channel built for HIPAA-regulated communication.
Disclaimer: This article is intended for general informational purposes and may not reflect the most current features or capabilities of the products or companies mentioned. For the most accurate and up-to-date information, please refer to the official sources of each company.
