If you’re a Functional Medicine doctor or clinic owner, your website is more than a digital business card—it’s often the first interaction a patient has with your practice. From appointment requests to new patient intake, many of those interactions happen through online forms.
But here’s the problem: if your forms aren’t HIPAA compliant, you’re putting your practice—and your patients—at legal and financial risk.
In this guide, we’ll explore:
✅ What makes a form HIPAA compliant
🛠️ Tools and services you should be using
🚫 What to avoid (even if it seems convenient)
💡 Best practices for integrating secure forms on your site
🔒 How HIPAA compliance builds patient trust and credibility
Let’s protect your patients and your practice.
HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) is a federal law designed to protect Protected Health Information (PHI). If your online form collects, stores, or transmits anything related to a patient’s health, identity, or payment, it’s handling PHI.
To be HIPAA compliant, your website form must ensure:
Encryption in transit and at rest
Access controls
Secure storage
Audit trails
Business Associate Agreement (BAA)
Even if your form is technically secure, it’s not HIPAA compliant unless these elements are in place — especially the BAA.
🔗 Related reading: Essential Elements Every Functional Medicine Website Must Have
Here are trusted tools you can rely on:
Easy drag-and-drop builder, secure file uploads, and BAA included. Works seamlessly with WordPress.
Perfect for practices needing advanced logic and CRM integrations. Comes with full HIPAA compliance and automation capabilities.
If you use these platforms for patient management, their embedded forms are a safe and easy option.
A great standalone solution for high-sensitivity medical data. Includes encrypted email notifications and full audit logs.
🔗 Related reading: How to Structure a Functional Medicine Practice for Long-Term Growth
These tools are commonly misused in healthcare websites:
Not HIPAA compliant—even if you’re using Google Workspace.
Popular WordPress plugins but not secure enough for PHI unless heavily customized and hosted correctly.
No BAA = no legal protection = huge risk.
🔗 Related reading: 5 Website Mistakes That Are Costing Functional Medicine Doctors New Patients
Here’s how to ensure your form setup is fully compliant:
Use SSL across your entire site
Only collect necessary data
Avoid storing PHI in your WordPress database
Display a privacy disclaimer near the form
Ensure a BAA is in place
Set auto-delete rules for submissions
In Functional Medicine, trust is essential. When patients feel safe sharing information, they’re more likely to follow through, refer others, and return for care.
A HIPAA compliant forms website tells visitors:
You take their privacy seriously
You’re up-to-date and professional
They can trust you with their personal story
🔗 Related reading: How Functional Medicine Doctors Can Use Patient Testimonials to Build Trust
We recently helped a clinic that was unknowingly using a non-secure contact form for new patient intakes. Their hosting wasn’t encrypted, no BAA was in place, and the form stored data in their database. We stepped in, set up HIPAA-secure Jotforms, cleaned up their storage setup, and re-secured their site.
We specialize in HIPAA secure WordPress websites for Functional Medicine clinics. We can:
Recommend the best HIPAA-compliant form service
Properly embed and configure your form
Secure your hosting, SSL, and access permissions
Audit your current forms for risks
📅 Book a Free HIPAA Website Review – no pressure, just clear answers.
🔗 Related reading: How to Add a Booking Calendar That Actually Converts
