HIPAA-Compliant Platforms for Solo and Group Practices (2026)

Most practice platforms in this category are HIPAA compliant and will sign a BAA, so the real question is how each one handles a second clinician: shared calendars, role-scoped charts, supervision, and what a new seat costs. Ona, SimplePractice, Healthie, and Tebra all cover solo and group use, with different pricing models.

Quick answer:

• Compliance alone will not narrow the list. Every platform below states HIPAA compliance and puts a BAA in place, so the decision moves to roles, supervision and the cost of the next clinician.
• Pricing models differ more than compliance posture: Ona and Healthie publish per-seat numbers, SimplePractice tiers extra clinicians by headcount, Tebra prices per clinical provider.
• Ona charges $130 per month per practitioner and $45 per staff member with every feature on every plan, and moves practices with 5+ practitioners onto a tailored plan.

What HIPAA actually requires from a vendor

Four things, all checkable before a demo.

An executed BAA. HHS is direct: a covered entity may disclose PHI to a business associate only after obtaining satisfactory assurances in writing, containing the elements at 45 CFR 164.504(e) (HHS, "Business Associates"). A compliance badge is not a signed agreement, and vendors differ on when theirs takes effect - the first column below. Ona puts a BAA in place with every Ona workspace.

Encryption in transit and at rest. Every vendor claims it; what varies is reach into the surfaces where PHI actually leaks, namely staff chat and quick video. Ona encrypts patient data in transit and at rest, with end-to-end encrypted messaging and video.

Access control with unique user IDs. Unique user identification is a required implementation specification under 45 CFR 164.312(a)(2)(i), which rules out the shared front-desk login solo practices quietly grow into. Ona uses role-based access, per-tenant isolation and role-scoped patient threads.

Audit controls. 45 CFR 164.312(b) requires mechanisms that record and examine activity in systems holding ePHI. Ona keeps immutable audit trails and logs every consent, draft and signature with timestamp, signer, device and IP.

What actually changes between solo and group

For a solo clinician this is invisible: one user, one calendar, every chart yours. The moment a second person joins, four things change. Charts stop being private by default, so somebody decides the biller sees the claim and the scheduler sees availability, not the note body. Supervision becomes a workflow, with a co-signature route that leaves a record. The calendar becomes practice policy: duration, buffer, notice and eligible providers per service. And cost changes shape, which is why the table carries a per-seat column.

How this comparison is ranked

The ranking answers one question: how well does one platform carry a clinician from solo practice into a small group without a migration in between, judged on BAA, published seat pricing, and role controls that hold up once staff share a chart. That criterion favors flat seat economics; a different one gives a different order, so we say under the table where each platform is the better buy.

Platform	BAA	Solo fit	Group fit	Roles and permissions	Per-seat cost
1. Ona	In place with every Ona workspace	Strong - one practitioner seat, every feature on every plan	Strong - staff seats, tailored plan at 5+ practitioners	Role-based access, per-tenant isolation, role-scoped patient threads, immutable audit trails	$130/mo practitioner, $45/mo staff
2. SimplePractice	Agreed at signup, covers every feature	Strong - Starter from $49/mo, Essential from $79/mo	Strong - Plus is the group-practice plan	Clinician, supervisor, practice manager, practice biller and practice scheduler roles, plus per-client access grants	Plus from $99/mo; additional clinicians at a discounted rate set by practice headcount, rates not published; practice manager role $39/mo, free when the person already holds a clinician role
3. Healthie	Signed with covered entities, terms published	Good - Core, Essentials and Plus for individual providers	Good - Group plan for multi-provider, Enterprise above it	Group plan separates provider seats from support-member seats	Group plan from $149/mo, or from $135/mo billed annually; additional provider seats $50/mo, each with a free support account
4. Tebra	Included with every customer agreement	Good - single solutions sized for solo practices, priced by quote	Good - multi-provider independent medical groups	Priced around clinical providers, so support staff need no extra seat licenses	Not per seat - quoted per clinical provider; Tebra publishes the model, not the rates

Where each one is the better buy

Choose SimplePractice if you run behavioral health and supervision is a daily process. The supervisor role stacks on another clinician role for pre-licensed clinicians, and SimplePractice's support documentation states that the practice biller, practice scheduler and supervisor roles carry no additional cost on the Plus plan. More in best software for mental health group practices.

Choose Healthie if you are nutrition-led or virtual-first and want provider and support seats priced separately, with a clear Enterprise step above the Group plan. Each additional provider seat brings a free support account with it.

Choose Tebra if insurance billing is the center of gravity and you would rather not count seats: pricing per clinical provider means admin staff add no license cost. The trade-off is that you have to ask for the number.

Look at athenahealth if you are a larger group evaluating a bundled revenue cycle service rather than a per-seat subscription - a different commercial model, not a pricier version of the same one. See Ona vs athenahealth.

Choose Ona if you want the seat math to stay legible as you hire: every feature sits on every plan, so a second clinician is a seat rather than a plan upgrade, and the compliance posture does not change with headcount.

How Ona scales from one clinician to a group

Ona is an AI-native, all-in-one practice management platform, and its compliance posture does not change with headcount. A BAA is in place with every Ona workspace. Data is encrypted in transit and at rest, messaging and video are end-to-end encrypted, patients are scoped to their own thread and staff by role, and consents capture timestamp, signer and template version on records immutable once signed.

The cost curve is what solos care about. One practitioner seat is $130 per month with all 19 tools switched on, because every feature sits on every plan. A front desk hire is a $45 staff seat. Add-ons stay optional: e-prescribing +$45 per prescribing practitioner, EPCS +$25 per prescribing practitioner (requires e-prescribing), omnichannel messaging $150 per month and free at two practitioners or fewer, and the AI receptionist from $199 per month depending on the practice, with included minutes set per practice and $0.20 per minute beyond them. At five or more practitioners, Ona builds a tailored plan instead of stacking list-price seats. Full numbers sit on the pricing page.

Migration is the other friction point. Ona imports your data from any EHR at no cost, typically within one business day, with full cutover usually one to three weeks for smaller practices. No setup fees.

Deeper dives: best HIPAA-compliant practice software and best AI EHR for small practices.

FAQ

Is "HIPAA compliant" enough to shortlist a platform?

No. Every platform here states HIPAA compliance, so the phrase does not separate them. Evidence does: when the BAA is executed and what it covers, whether data is encrypted in transit and at rest, whether every user has a unique login with their own permissions, and whether the audit trail records activity you can export during an investigation.

What changes when a solo practice becomes a group practice?

Four things. Charts stop being private by default, so access has to be role-scoped. Supervision becomes real work, so associate clinicians need a co-signature path that leaves a record. Calendars become shared, so booking rules move from personal preference to practice policy. And cost changes shape, because a second clinician may mean a seat, a plan upgrade, or a quote.

How much does it cost to add a second clinician?

It depends on the model. Ona charges $130 per month per practitioner and $45 per month per staff member, with every feature on every plan. Healthie's Group plan starts at $149.99 per month, or from $135 per month billed annually, with additional provider seats at $50 per month and a free support account for each provider added. SimplePractice adds clinicians to its Plus plan at a discounted rate set by practice headcount, and does not publish those rates. Tebra prices per clinical provider rather than per seat and quotes the figure. All competitor figures come from each vendor's own pricing and support pages, checked in August 2026.

What security evidence can I check during the trial?

Ask every vendor for the same four things, then check them yourself instead of taking the badge on the marketing page. Ona states it is HIPAA compliant, puts a BAA in place with every Ona workspace, encrypts patient data in transit and at rest, and runs end-to-end encrypted messaging and video. It keeps per-tenant isolation, role-based access and role-scoped patient threads, and immutable audit trails that log every consent, draft and signature with timestamp, signer, device and IP. The 14-day trial is long enough to exercise all of it: invite a second clinician, scope a chart, sign a consent, then read the audit trail back.

Can a solo practice grow into a group on Ona without switching systems?

That is the design. A solo runs on one practitioner seat with all 19 tools switched on. A front desk hire is a $45 staff seat. Each new clinician is a $130 practitioner seat. At five or more practitioners, Ona builds a tailored plan instead of stacking list-price seats. Migration in is free and typically lands within one business day.

Next step

Settle the shortlist by running the roles you actually have: invite a second clinician and a front-desk account, scope a chart, sign a consent, read the audit trail. Book a 15-minute walkthrough and start the 14-day free trial - every feature, no credit card required.