Part 1 - Putting Apple’s Live Translation to the Test 

While Apple’s new Live Translation feature is an exciting piece of consumer technology, a critical question for professionals is whether it can be used in sensitive environments like healthcare. The short answer is: No, it is not a viable option for use in healthcare.

The HIPAA Compliance Barrier

While Apple clearly states that all the processing for Live Translation happens locally on the phone, meaning that there is no transmission of protected health information (PHI) and thus is not subject to HIPAA, that is not true for Apple Intelligence more broadly (which is required for Live Translation).

Per Apple’s data processing policy:

• Local Processing (when possible): Apple Intelligence preferentially runs locally on the phone; however, that is not guaranteed, especially for more complicated requests.
• Private Cloud Processing (for complicated requests): Apple Intelligence may send data to their Private Cloud for processing. If this data contains PHI, this would constitute transmission of PHI and therefore would be subject to HIPAA.

No BAA: Unfortunately, there is no mechanism to sign a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with Apple that covers the use of your phone in this capacity. A BAA is a required legal contract under HIPAA for any vendor that handles the transmission of PHI. Without a BAA, any transmission of PHI would constitute a violation of HIPAA regulations.

So while it is technically possible to use Live Translation without transmitting PHI, the act of turning on Apple Intelligence automatically enables it for all of your other applications, which don’t have the same local processing guarantees, which constitutes a real risk.

A Broader Warning for Apple Intelligence Users

If you are a covered entity or business associate using an iPhone to handle PHI, you should be extremely thoughtful about whether or not to turn on Apple Intelligence. The potential for PHI to be transmitted to Apple’s cloud services for processing, even on a complicated request basis, creates an unacceptable risk from a compliance standpoint.

About Jaide Health

Jaide Health is a technology company developing AI-powered healthcare-specific, foreign language interpretation and translation services. Leveraging recent advances in large language models, Jaide Health enables healthcare organizations to improve the overall experience for patients with Limited English Proficiency. Led by “techy clinicians” and security/privacy experts, Jaide Health is venture backed by Inovia Capital, Flare Capital, and Innovation Global. Follow us on LinkedIn and visit www.jaide-health.com to learn more.

Connect with Jaide Health

Follow us on LinkedIn and visit www.jaide-health.com to learn more.