TherapyNotes is one of the most widely known electronic health record (EHR) and practice management platforms for behavioral health professionals. It’s marketed as a HIPAA-compliant solution with features for scheduling, charting, billing, and telehealth. While it meets the basic requirements of HIPAA compliance, many therapists are now seeking alternatives that offer more privacy, more control, and zero cloud exposure. That’s where VaultBook stands out — a fully offline, encrypted knowledge management system designed for professionals who value data security and autonomy.
1. TherapyNotes: Cloud-Based and Compliant — But Dependent on the Internet
TherapyNotes is a cloud-hosted EHR system. It encrypts all data in transit and at rest, offers secure logins, and signs Business Associate Agreements (BAAs) with covered entities. This makes it HIPAA compliant from a legal standpoint. However, because it’s entirely web-based, every action — from writing notes to viewing client files — depends on a live internet connection and the vendor’s cloud infrastructure.
While TherapyNotes offers convenience, this reliance on external servers introduces an unavoidable risk surface. Data still lives in the cloud, meaning users must place trust in TherapyNotes’ uptime, server security, and long-term data handling policies.
2. VaultBook: Local-Only, Fully Offline, and Encrypted by Design
VaultBook takes a radically different approach. It is a fully offline, self-contained application that runs locally on your device — no internet access required, no background syncing to any external server. All notes, attachments, and versions are encrypted and stored within your own folder structure (for example, attachments/, index/, versions/).
Because data never leaves your device, VaultBook completely eliminates the risk of cloud breaches. There are no third-party servers, no shared databases, and no vendor logins. This means compliance is achieved through true data isolation, not by outsourcing your liability to a cloud provider.
3. Control vs. Convenience
TherapyNotes offers integrated scheduling, billing, and telehealth features — all hosted on its servers. This can be convenient for large practices, but it comes with trade-offs in flexibility and long-term control. If your internet connection fails or your subscription lapses, your access to client data may be disrupted.
VaultBook, on the other hand, gives you complete ownership of your data. You can store, search, and manage all client notes locally — with zero dependency on external connectivity or vendor accounts. Backups, version control, and retention policies are fully under your control. No hidden APIs, no monthly fees, and no vendor lock-in.
4. Data Security and HIPAA Compliance
TherapyNotes is HIPAA compliant through its BAA and secure cloud hosting. However, HIPAA only ensures minimum standards of protection — not absolute privacy. Your PHI still exists on servers that the vendor can access for maintenance, updates, or analytics.
VaultBook exceeds HIPAA’s expectations by ensuring that PHI never leaves the practitioner’s local environment. Every entry, attachment, and index file can be encrypted using a password, with no internet exposure. The system also supports session-based decryption, ensuring that even temporary access remains secure. In short, VaultBook makes a HIPAA breach mathematically impossible through its design — not just through policy.
5. Version Control and Record Retention
TherapyNotes maintains version history and activity logs on its servers. These can be helpful for audits but also create long-term data retention obligations that depend on the vendor’s compliance policies. Users have limited ability to prune or modify versions independently.
VaultBook offers local version snapshots stored in your own versions/ folder, with full retention control. You can define time-to-live (TTL) rules, prune older versions automatically, or retain permanent snapshots for audit documentation. Because all version data lives locally, your compliance policies — not the vendor’s — determine what stays or is deleted.
6. Internet Dependency vs. Offline Autonomy
TherapyNotes requires continuous online access for almost all actions — from loading dashboards to updating client records. This introduces reliability concerns if the internet is slow, unavailable, or if the vendor experiences downtime.
VaultBook runs entirely offline. You can write, search, and encrypt entries, manage attachments, and even perform OCR indexing locally with no connection. This makes it ideal for therapists who work remotely, in low-connectivity areas, or in privacy-sensitive environments where internet access is restricted.
7. Cost and Long-Term Ownership
TherapyNotes uses a subscription-based pricing model, typically charging per clinician each month. While that includes hosting and support, it also means your access to client data is tied to ongoing payments. Stop paying, and your data becomes locked behind the vendor’s platform.
VaultBook is a one-time purchase tool. You own your software, your data, and your entire archive permanently. There are no recurring fees, cloud charges, or hidden costs — just complete, lifetime control of your records.
8. Privacy by Architecture
HIPAA compliance ensures minimum legal adherence; privacy by architecture ensures no data ever needs to be trusted to a third party. VaultBook’s architecture achieves the latter: all files are stored locally, encrypted, and never transmitted externally.
By contrast, TherapyNotes — while compliant — must retain PHI on servers to function. This makes it inherently dependent on third-party infrastructure and policies. VaultBook eliminates that dependency entirely, offering true zero-trust data protection.
9. Ideal Use Cases
- TherapyNotes: Best suited for large clinics or multi-provider practices needing integrated scheduling, billing, and insurance claim submission.
- VaultBook: Best for independent therapists, solo practitioners, researchers, and privacy-conscious professionals who want full HIPAA-grade security without relying on cloud vendors.
10. Verdict: VaultBook Wins on Privacy, Control, and Longevity
While TherapyNotes is an excellent platform for large healthcare organizations, its cloud-based design means practitioners must trust external servers, internet connections, and vendor compliance certifications.
VaultBook wins for professionals who demand the highest level of security, privacy, and ownership. It achieves compliance through architectural isolation — not corporate promises. Your data never leaves your control, encryption is local and transparent, and there is no dependency on any third-party cloud provider.
In an era of increasing data breaches and compliance audits, VaultBook stands alone as the most private, offline, and future-proof knowledge management system for healthcare professionals.
Final Verdict: If you want convenience, TherapyNotes works. If you want true privacy and ownership, VaultBook is the clear winner.