Yes, Power BI cloud service is included on Microsoft’s HIPAA/HITECH in-scope services list and is covered by a Business Associate Agreement through Microsoft’s Data Protection Addendum. However, HIPAA compliance depends on how your organization configures identity, access, sharing, encryption, and audit controls.
Microsoft states that using its services alone does not make an organization HIPAA compliant. Healthcare teams must implement administrative, technical, and physical safeguards required under the HIPAA Security Rule.
Quick Summary (TL;DR)
- Power BI cloud service is on Microsoft’s official HIPAA in-scope services list, and Microsoft includes a BAA through its Online Services Data Protection Addendum by default.
- A signed BAA does not equal HIPAA compliance. Your organization must configure identity controls, sharing policies, encryption, audit logging, and document a risk analysis.
- Copilot for Power BI sends prompts and grounding data to Azure OpenAI Service. Microsoft states no data is cached, but healthcare teams must assess this flow under their PHI policies.
- Microsoft Fabric is covered under Microsoft’s HIPAA BAA as of April 2025, while Power BI Report Server shifts compliance responsibility fully to the customer.
- For healthcare teams needing on-prem AI that keeps PHI fully inside their environment, alternatives like Knowi offer Private AI with no external LLM calls and native NoSQL connectivity without ETL.
Table of Contents
- What the BAA Covers and Does Not Cover
- Power BI Deployment Options for Healthcare
- HIPAA Security Configuration Checklist for Power BI
- Power BI Pricing for Healthcare Teams in 2026
- 2026 HIPAA Regulatory Changes Affecting BI Tools
- Power BI vs Tableau vs Qlik vs Knowi for HIPAA Healthcare
- When Power BI Is the Right Choice and When It Is Not
- Related Resources
- Frequently Asked Questions
What the BAA Covers and Does Not Cover
Microsoft’s HIPAA BAA applies to the Power BI cloud service, either standalone or as part of eligible Microsoft 365 plans. The BAA is included in the Microsoft Online Services Data Protection Addendum by default. Is Tableau HIPAA compliant? covers Salesforce’s platform in detail.
- Covered: Power BI Service (cloud), Microsoft Fabric as of April 2025
- Not explicitly covered on the in-scope cloud list: Power BI Report Server (on-premises), where compliance controls are fully customer-managed
- Important: Most customers activate the BAA by accepting Microsoft’s Product Terms and DPA rather than signing a separate agreement
Power BI Deployment Options for Healthcare
Healthcare teams must understand how each Power BI deployment model affects PHI handling, AI access, and compliance scope. Feature availability and BAA coverage vary by deployment.
Power BI Service (Cloud)
This is the standard deployment covered under Microsoft’s HIPAA BAA. Compliance depends on Entra ID configuration, Conditional Access, sensitivity labels, DLP policies, and audit logging. Copilot is available in this model with appropriate capacity licensing.
Power BI Report Server (On-Premises)
Report Server keeps PHI within your infrastructure. It is not on Microsoft’s HIPAA in-scope cloud list, so all safeguards must be implemented and documented by your organization. Feature parity with the cloud Service is limited, particularly for AI and refresh capabilities.
Power BI Embedded
Power BI Embedded requires dedicated capacity for production workloads. Copilot is not supported in Embedded license mode capacities, which affects healthcare SaaS products embedding analytics with AI functionality.
Microsoft Fabric and Copilot
Copilot requires Fabric capacity (F2 or higher) or Power BI Premium capacity (P1 or higher). Prompts and grounding data are processed by Azure OpenAI Service, and Microsoft states no data is cached in the model. Healthcare teams should document this data flow in their HIPAA risk analysis.
HIPAA Security Configuration Checklist for Power BI
Signing a BAA is only the starting point. The following controls align with HIPAA Security Rule safeguards and Microsoft’s published Power BI security baseline.
- Identity and access: Enforce MFA and least-privilege access through Entra ID Conditional Access.
- Sharing controls: Disable Publish to Web and restrict external guest sharing for PHI datasets.
- Sensitivity labels: Apply Purview Information Protection labels to classify PHI.
- Data Loss Prevention: Enable Purview DLP policies to detect and block PHI leakage.
- Audit logging: Enable unified audit logs and define retention policies appropriate for healthcare.
- Risk analysis: Document embedding models, sharing patterns, and AI usage in your formal HIPAA risk assessment.
Power BI Pricing for Healthcare Teams in 2026
As of April 2025, Power BI Pro costs $14 per user per month, and Premium Per User costs $24 per user per month. Premium Capacity starts at $4,995 per month for P1. Both creators and viewers require paid licenses unless Premium or qualifying Fabric capacity is purchased.
Copilot requires Fabric capacity starting at F2. Healthcare teams should include capacity costs and governance overhead in total cost calculations.
2026 HIPAA Regulatory Changes Affecting BI Tools
The HIPAA Security Rule Notice of Proposed Rulemaking issued in January 2025 proposes mandatory safeguards, annual risk assessments, and documented network maps showing ePHI flows. The final rule is expected in May 2026.
For BI teams, analytics sharing workflows, embed tokens, AI data flows, and refresh pipelines must be documented in the formal risk analysis process.
Power BI vs Tableau vs Qlik vs Knowi for HIPAA Healthcare
| Capability | Power BI | Tableau | Qlik | Knowi |
| HIPAA BAA | Included through Microsoft DPA for cloud services | Available via Salesforce BAA for Tableau Cloud | Available for Qlik Cloud under enterprise agreements | BAA signed for healthcare customers |
| NoSQL Querying | Requires connectors and flattened schemas | Requires warehouse or extract layer | Connector-based with modeling layer | Native MongoDB, Elasticsearch, Cassandra querying without ETL |
| AI Data Flow | Copilot processes prompts through Azure OpenAI | Einstein AI operates within Salesforce cloud | AI operates within Qlik Cloud environment | Private AI runs fully inside deployment, no external LLM calls |
| Embedded Analytics | Requires dedicated capacity, Copilot not supported in Embedded mode | Embedded analytics available with server licensing | OEM licensing available | White-label embedding with AI, NLQ, and row-level security |
| Best Fit | Microsoft-centric healthcare organizations with strong M365 governance | Teams with warehouse-centric data stacks | Organizations focused on associative analytics | PHI-sensitive AI, NoSQL-heavy stacks, embedded healthcare SaaS |
When Power BI Is the Right Choice and When It Is Not
Power BI fits when your healthcare organization is standardized on Microsoft 365 and Azure with mature governance controls. Integration with Entra ID and Purview simplifies policy enforcement.
Power BI is less optimal when your data resides primarily in MongoDB, Elasticsearch, or multiple APIs, or when PHI cannot leave your infrastructure for AI processing.
In those cases, Knowi provides native NoSQL querying without ETL, on-prem deployment via Docker or Kubernetes, and Private AI that keeps PHI inside your environment. It also supports embedded healthcare analytics with row-level security and AI capabilities.
Book a demo with Knowi to evaluate HIPAA-aligned analytics using your own healthcare datasets.
Related Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Power BI HIPAA compliant out of the box?
No. While the cloud service is listed as HIPAA in-scope by Microsoft and covered under a Business Associate Agreement (BAA), your organization must properly configure access controls, sharing policies, sensitivity labeling, audit logging, and formal risk documentation to maintain compliance.
Does Microsoft sign a HIPAA BAA for Power BI?
Yes. The HIPAA Business Associate Agreement (BAA) is included in Microsoft’s Online Services Data Protection Addendum (DPA) for eligible cloud services, including Power BI Service and Microsoft Fabric.
Is Power BI Copilot appropriate for PHI?
Power BI Copilot processes prompts through Azure OpenAI Service. Healthcare organizations must evaluate this architecture as part of their HIPAA risk analysis, including reviewing data flow, AI processing boundaries, and audit controls before using it with PHI.
Can Power BI connect to MongoDB or FHIR?
Power BI can connect to MongoDB using a BI Connector or ODBC layer. Microsoft also provides a FHIR connector through Power Query. However, for native nested JSON querying without flattening or schema restructuring, some platforms connect directly to MongoDB and REST APIs.
What analytics platforms offer on-prem AI for HIPAA use cases?
Some analytics platforms support fully on-prem deployment with private AI models that run entirely within the customer’s controlled environment. This deployment model is relevant when PHI cannot be sent to external AI services. For a broader comparison, see HIPAA-compliant analytics platforms compared.
How much does Power BI cost in 2026?
Power BI Pro costs $14 per user per month, and Premium Per User (PPU) costs $24 per user per month. Premium capacity and Microsoft Fabric capacity pricing apply for larger deployments and Copilot usage.