On this page
- Start with the BAA, not the features
- AI receptionists by BAA availability
- Which AI medical receptionist is the best?
- What it costs on a BAA plan
- Practice software and booking
- Human answering services with HIPAA options
- How to set it up safely
- Recording consent
- Questions to ask the vendor
- Frequently asked questions
Start with the BAA, not the features
Under HIPAA, a company that creates, receives, maintains or transmits protected health information for a practice is a business associate. The practice may share that information only after obtaining "satisfactory assurances, in the form of a contract or other written arrangement" (HHS). HHS's sample provisions say the written contract must "establish the permitted and required uses and disclosures of protected health information" and "require the business associate to implement appropriate safeguards" (HHS business associate contracts).
An AI receptionist that hears a patient's name, date of birth and reason for a visit is handling protected health information. So the first filter is simple: will the vendor sign a BAA, and on which plan?
AI receptionists by BAA availability
| AI receptionist | What its own site says | Plan needed | Cheapest price with a BAA | Cost at 150 calls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| My AI Front Desk | Claims signed BAAs: "Handle sensitive conversations with signed BAAs, encryption in transit and at rest" | No plan restriction stated | $99 a month | $161.50 |
| Goodcall | "To use Goodcall with protected health information, choose the Scale plan or Enterprise and sign our Business Associate Agreement" | Scale or Enterprise | $299 a month (Scale) | $299 (Scale covers 2,000 unique callers) |
| Upfirst | Business Associate Agreements for HIPAA-regulated businesses | Custom plan only | Not published | Not published |
| Bland | HIPAA with a signed BAA; BAA marked unavailable on Start and Build | Enterprise | Not published | Not published |
| Synthflow | Claims HIPAA certification; BAA wording not confirmed on its pages | Enterprise | From $30,000 a year | Contract |
| RingCentral AIR | "Designed to support HIPAA compliance"; no BAA mentioned | Not stated | n/a | from $224 |
| Smith.ai, Dialzara, Rosie, NextPhone | No HIPAA or BAA claim found on their pages | n/a | n/a | n/a |
Quotes are from each company's own pricing page, FAQ or homepage, checked October 22, 2026. "No claim found" means we read the homepage, pricing and feature pages and found no HIPAA or BAA statement.
Which AI medical receptionist is the best?
There is no single winner, because the right choice depends on budget, volume and software. Based on published plans:
$99 a month for 200 minutes plus chat, SMS and forms. Integration pages for SimplePractice, TherapyNotes, Jane App and CentralReach suit therapy practices.
Details$299 a month for 2,000 unique callers with minutes never metered, so long patient calls do not raise the bill. English only.
DetailsCustom contracts with security review. Synthflow lists AthenaOne and Dentrix integrations; confirm BAA terms in the contract.
DetailsWhat it costs on a BAA plan
Practice call volumes vary widely. Here is what the two BAA plans with published prices cost as calls grow (3-minute average; Goodcall assumes every call is a different patient, though repeat callers count once a month):
| Plan with a BAA | 150 calls | 300 calls | 500 calls | 1,000 calls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| My AI Front Desk ($99 plan) | $161.50 | $274 | $424 | $799 |
| Goodcall Scale (BAA plan) | $299 | $299 | $299 | $299 |
My AI Front Desk is cheaper below about 334 calls a month at 3 minutes; above that, Goodcall Scale's flat $299 wins. Longer calls move the crossover lower, because My AI Front Desk bills $0.25 for every minute past 200.
Practice software and booking
Most AI receptionists book into a calendar (Google, Outlook, Calendly), not into an electronic health record. Integrations named on vendors' own pages:
| AI receptionist | Healthcare-relevant integrations |
|---|---|
| My AI Front Desk | SimplePractice, TherapyNotes, Jane App, CentralReach (therapy); Google, Outlook and Calendly calendars |
| Synthflow | AthenaOne ("Healthcare CRM") and Dentrix, listed as vertical CRMs; enterprise contracts only |
| Goodcall | Google Calendar, Google Sheets, HighLevel, or anything with an API or MCP server |
| Upfirst | Google, Outlook, Calendly, Acuity Scheduling, Square; BAA on Custom only |
If your scheduling lives in an EHR that is not listed, plan on the AI taking a request and your staff confirming the slot, or ask the vendor whether a custom integration is in scope.
Human answering services with HIPAA options
If no AI plan with a BAA fits, live services are the alternative. Ruby lists "HIPAA-compliant services" on all plans (100 minutes for $395 a month), and Abby Connect offers "HIPAA compliance options (human only)" (100 Abby Minutes for $329). See answering services compared.
How to set it up safely
- Sign the BAA before forwarding a single patient call, and keep a copy.
- Keep it administrative. Instruct it to book, reschedule, take messages and answer office questions, and never to give clinical advice.
- Write an emergency rule. Callers describing an emergency should be told to hang up and call 911, and urgent clinical calls should transfer to on-call staff.
- Collect only what you need. Name, callback number and reason for the call are usually enough for a message.
- Check retention and access. Know who can see recordings and transcripts and how long they are kept.
- Announce the AI and the recording in the greeting (see below).
Recording consent
Most of the products we compared record calls by default: Goodcall, Smith.ai and Dialzara each say every call is recorded and transcribed, and My AI Front Desk says every call is "recorded, transcribed, and summarized". Recording a phone call is governed by federal and state law, and the rules differ by state.
One-party consent (federal rule)
Federal law allows a recording when the person recording is a party to the call or "one of the parties to the communication has given prior consent" (18 U.S.C. 2511(2)(d)).
All-party consent (some states)
Some states require everyone on the call to agree. Florida allows interception only "when all of the parties to the communication have given prior consent" (Fla. Stat. 934.03(2)(d)), and Washington requires "the consent of all the participants" (RCW 9.73.030).
The practical step is the same everywhere: have the greeting say the call is answered by an AI assistant and may be recorded. Products such as Rosie and Dialzara list a custom greeting or custom AI voice; ask your vendor how to add the notice. This is general information, not legal advice; check your own state's statute if your callers are in an all-party state.
Questions to ask the vendor
- Will you sign our BAA, or only yours, and on which plan?
- Where are recordings and transcripts stored, encrypted and for how long?
- Which subcontractors (speech, AI model, telephony) handle our calls, and are they covered?
- Can we export or delete call data when we leave?
- How do transfers to on-call staff work after hours?
Frequently asked questions
Which AI medical receptionist is the best?
Pick from the ones that publish a BAA option, then compare price and software. My AI Front Desk claims signed BAAs on its $99 self-serve plan; Goodcall includes a BAA on its $299 Scale plan; Upfirst offers BAAs on its Custom plan; Bland and Synthflow sell enterprise contracts.
Is an AI receptionist HIPAA compliant?
Only if the vendor signs a Business Associate Agreement with your practice and you configure it carefully. Four of the ten products we compared publish a BAA option; we found no HIPAA or BAA claim on Smith.ai, Dialzara, Rosie or NextPhone.
Does signing a BAA make the AI receptionist compliant?
A BAA is required before sharing patient information, but it is not the whole job. You still decide what the AI collects, who sees transcripts and how long recordings are kept.
How much does a HIPAA-ready AI receptionist cost?
The lowest published price we found is My AI Front Desk at $99 a month ($161.50 at 150 calls). Goodcall's Scale plan with a BAA is $299. Upfirst's Custom plan and Bland's Enterprise plan are priced on request.
Can an AI receptionist book into my EHR?
Usually not directly. Most book into Google Calendar, Outlook or Calendly. Synthflow lists AthenaOne and Dentrix integrations on enterprise contracts, and My AI Front Desk has integration pages for SimplePractice, TherapyNotes and Jane App.
What about RingCentral AI Receptionist for healthcare?
RingCentral says AIR is "designed to support HIPAA compliance, with built-in encryption, access controls, and audit logging". Its pricing page does not mention a BAA, so ask RingCentral directly before using it with patient information.
Do patients have to agree to call recording?
It depends on the state. Federal law allows recording with one party's consent, but states such as Florida and Washington require all parties to consent. Announcing the recording in the greeting is the safe default.