'Alexa, Are You HIPAA Compliant?'

Boston Children’s Hospital is pioneering the use of Amazon’s Alexa voice assist technology in the healthcare sector. John Brownstein, the hospital’s chief innovation officer, discusses the security measures involved.

Amazon recently announced that as part of a pilot program, its skills kit - or application programming interfaces and other development tools - can enable HIPAA covered entities and business associates to build so-called “HIPAA eligible” healthcare applications. These will enable Alexa technology to transmit and receive protected health information.

Boston Children’s is experimenting with a “HIPAA compliant” voice application - or what Amazon calls Alexa “skills” - designed to help parents and caregivers of children who have recently undergone heart surgery, Brownstein explains in an interview with Information Security Media Group.