Is Klara HIPAA compliant, and do I need a Business Associate Agreement?

Klara is built for healthcare and secure patient messaging, but compliance is a shared responsibility. HIPAA is the federal law that protects patient health information. Before any patient data goes into the tool, get a signed Business Associate Agreement, which is the contract that lets a vendor handle patient data under HIPAA, and have your compliance or IT lead review the vendor's current data-handling terms in writing.

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Klara: secure patient messaging that moves your phones to text

Q: What does Klara actually do for a practice?

Klara handles patient communication. It offers secure two-way texting between the practice and patients, call-to-text that lets a phone call move to a text thread, automated appointment reminders, and digital intake, which means patients fill out forms on their phone before a visit. The goal is to cut no-shows and move phone volume to text so the front desk spends less time on the phone.

Our take: Klara is a patient communication tool for medical practices. It gives you secure two-way texting with patients, call-to-text so a phone call can turn into a text thread, automated appointment reminders, and digital intake. Practices use it to cut no-shows and take pressure off the front desk. One thing to know up front: Klara is now sold as ModMed Patient Engagement, powered by Klara. The klara.com site redirects to modmed.com. Pricing is by quote, so there is no public price. You schedule a demo, and the vendor gives you a number.

The short version:

What it is: a patient messaging and communication platform. Secure two-way texting, call-to-text, appointment reminders, and digital intake in one place.
What it does for you: moves phone volume to text and helps cut no-shows. A no-show is a booked visit where the patient does not show up.
The name change: Klara is now sold as ModMed Patient Engagement, powered by Klara. You may see either name. The klara.com website redirects to modmed.com.
What it costs: by quote. There is no published price. You schedule a demo and get a number based on your practice size and the features you want.
First step before you buy: get a signed Business Associate Agreement (BAA) and a data-handling review. More on that below.

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Klara is a patient messaging platform for medical practices: secure two-way texting, call-to-text, appointment reminders, and digital intake. It is now sold as ModMed Patient Engagement, powered by Klara. Pricing is by quote.

What does Klara actually do?

Klara sits between your practice and your patients and handles the back-and-forth. Here is what that looks like day to day.

Secure two-way texting. Your staff and your patients text through Klara instead of trading voicemails. It runs on a platform built for healthcare, so the messages are meant to be secure rather than plain phone texts.

Call-to-text. When someone calls and the line is busy, Klara can move that call into a text thread. The patient gets a text, replies when they can, and your front desk works through messages instead of holding people on the phone.

Appointment reminders. Klara sends automated reminders so patients remember to show up, confirm, or reschedule. This is the piece most tied to cutting no-shows.

Digital intake. Digital intake means patients fill out their forms on their phone before the visit, instead of on a clipboard in the waiting room. That saves front-desk time and gets the chart started sooner.

Put together, the aim is simple. Move the phone load to text, and make it easy for patients to confirm or reschedule so fewer of them no-show.

One thing to know: the ModMed name change

Klara is now sold as ModMed Patient Engagement, powered by Klara. ModMed acquired Klara, and the klara.com website now redirects to modmed.com. The product is the same idea, but the name and where you buy it have changed. If you go looking for pricing or a demo, you will likely end up on ModMed's site. When you talk with a rep, make sure you are pricing the patient engagement product and not a different bundle.

What does it cost?

Klara does not publish a price. Pricing is quote-based, so you schedule a demo and the vendor gives you a number. That number depends on your practice size, how many providers use it, and which features you turn on.

Because there is no public rate card, do two things before you sign. Ask for the price in writing, broken out by what you are actually paying for. And ask what it costs to add providers later, so a growing practice does not get surprised. We do not have a verified price to share here, and we will not guess one.

What about patient privacy and HIPAA?

Privacy note: patient messages and intake forms carry protected health information, which is patient data the law protects. HIPAA is the federal law that covers it. Before Klara touches any of that, get a signed Business Associate Agreement (BAA). A BAA is the contract that lets a vendor handle patient data under HIPAA. If a vendor will not sign one, do not let the tool touch patient information. Have your compliance or IT lead review the vendor's current data-handling terms in writing. We screen and review tools for this guide. We do not endorse or certify any vendor, and nothing here is legal, compliance, or medical advice.

Who is it a good fit for?

Worth a look if…

Your front desk spends too much of the day on the phone, and you want to move that traffic to text.
No-shows are a real cost, and reminders plus easy texting could help patients confirm or reschedule.
You want patients to complete intake forms on their phone before they arrive.
You are open to a quote-based tool and will get a BAA and a data-handling review in place first.

Maybe not if…

Your main drain is writing notes after visits. That is a job for an ambient scribe, not a messaging tool.
You need a published price before you will start a sales conversation.
Your bottleneck is intake and prior authorization more than patient texting. Look at Notable for that.
You want an AI voice agent to answer the phones outright, not move calls to text. That is closer to Hyro.

How Klara fits with other tools

Klara covers patient communication. Most practices pair it with tools that cover other jobs. If you also run practice management and billing, Tebra bundles an electronic health record (the digital chart) with practice management and AI features. If your bigger problem is intake and prior authorization drafted from the chart, Notable is built for that. And if you want a voice agent that answers routine calls instead of moving them to text, look at Hyro. You can see how these line up on our guide to AI tools for doctors.

Common questions

How much does Klara cost per month?

Klara does not publish a price. It is quote-based, so you get a number after you schedule a demo and talk with the vendor. The real figure depends on your practice size, how many providers use it, and which features you turn on. Ask for the price in writing, and confirm a signed BAA before any patient information goes in.

Is Klara the same as ModMed Patient Engagement?

Yes. Klara is now sold as ModMed Patient Engagement, powered by Klara, after ModMed acquired it. The klara.com website redirects to modmed.com. You may see either name, but it is the same product line.

What does Klara actually do for a practice?

It handles patient communication: secure two-way texting, call-to-text that moves a phone call to a text thread, automated appointment reminders, and digital intake, which lets patients fill out forms on their phone before a visit. The goal is to cut no-shows and move phone volume to text.

Can Klara help cut no-shows?

That is one of its main uses. Automated reminders and easy two-way texting make it simpler for patients to confirm, reschedule, or ask a quick question instead of missing an appointment. How much it helps depends on your patients and setup, so measure it in your own practice rather than expecting a fixed number.

Is Klara HIPAA compliant, and do I need a BAA?

Klara is built for healthcare and secure patient messaging, but compliance is shared. Before any patient data goes in, get a signed Business Associate Agreement (BAA) and have your compliance or IT lead review the vendor's current data-handling terms in writing.

Last reviewed: 2026-08-06. Nothing on this page is legal, compliance, tax, or medical advice, or a recommendation to hire any provider. Verify pricing, features, and HIPAA terms with the vendor and your own compliance lead.

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