Body
Environment
Windows, Mac
Issue
How do I know what assistive technologies are approved for use with PHI?
Resolution
The table below has a list of common assistive technologies and what we know about their PHI/HIPAA compliance. We will continue to update it as we find out more information.
As of this writing, we have not been able to find any text-to-speech programs for individual neurodivergent users that demonstrate compliance. ReadSpeaker only provides compliance in its enterprise version.
Assistive Technology PHI/HIPAA Information
| Product Type |
Product Name |
Compliant? |
URL and other notes |
| Screen reader |
JAWS (Windows) |
See notes |
Per 9/19/2026 email from vendor: "Our products function primarily as local accessibility tools, operating on the end-user's computer to process and present information. While our software does include optional cloud-based features, such as PictureSmart AI for image description and anonymous usage telemetry, these services can be centrally disabled by an IT administrator. Disabling these features does not impact the overriding purpose of our software. The core functionality—which does not access, store, maintain, or transmit PHI—remains fully intact." |
| Screen reader |
NVDA (Windows) |
Yes |
NVDA Corporate and Government: Collected Data/GDPR/HIPAA |
| Screen reader |
Narrator (Windows OS) |
Yes |
Is Windows 11 HIPAA Compliant? |
| Screen reader |
VoiceOver (Mac OS) |
Dependent on setup |
Is mac OS HIPAA-compliant? |
| Speech-to-text |
Dragon NaturallySpeaking (Windows) |
Unclear |
Michigan Medicine treats Dragon as non-compliant |
| Speech-to-text |
Willow (Windows and Mac) |
Business Associate Agreement required |
Enable HIPAA Support in Willow
Product has dictation only; no mouse emulation
|
| Speech-to-text |
Voice Access (Windows OS) |
See notes for Narrator above |
|
| Speech-to-text |
Voice Control (Mac OS) |
See notes for VoiceOver above |
|
| Grammar checker |
Grammarly |
Only for enterprise version |
Is Grammarly HIPAA-compliant? |
| Grammar checker |
U-M GPT |
Yes |
U-M GPT In Depth (see AI Model Descriptions section)
In addition to compliance, our testing has found that U-M GPT provides superior results when compared to third-party products.
|
| Screen magnifier |
ZoomText (Windows) |
See notes for JAWS above |
|
| Screen magnifier |
Fusion (Windows) |
See notes for JAWS above |
|
| Transcription |
Otter AI |
Yes |
HIPAA | Otter AI |
| Literacy toolkit |
Read&Write |
Business Associate Agreement required |
Per email communication with vendor 5/22/2023 |
Additional Information
Need additional information or assistance? Contact the ITS Service Center.