Last updated on May 19th, 2023
The medical care industry is one of the most successful and essential parts of the world economy. As a result of Covid-19, there are now a lot of healthcare institutes, online support platforms, and mobile-building healthcare apps.
With a huge database and millions of users, it’s hard but necessary to protect the privacy of each user. HIPAA-compliant mobile apps are the new trend because they ensure the user’s privacy isn’t broken.
Users and developers can be sure that the HIPAA-compliant mobile app is safe and follows standard operating procedures.
Let’s talk about the HIPAA Act and what you need to know about making mobile apps that are HIPAA compliant.
What does the HIPAA Act mean?
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, is a law Congress passed in 1996. The goal of HIPAA is to protect PHI from being illegally and unintentionally shared with the public. By saying this, we can know that without HIPAA, our healthcare system would fall apart because millions of people’s private information would be made public, which would cause chaos.
Protected Health Information (PHI) is information about a patient’s health that is kept private. This information gives patients several rights. The HIPAA Privacy Rule says that the federal government protects personal health information.
Why is it Important to Follow HIPAA?
PHI (Protected Health Information)Since HIPAA affects everyone, including patients, hospitals, and institutions, the people who make software need to know about it. Everything is going mobile, and building a healthcare app is new. This means that all apps must be HIPAA-compliant to protect the safety of both patients and app developers.
1. Patients and the HIPAA
- Under HIPAA compliance, the information of patients can’t be shared without permission. Only the healthcare professional can share the information with the people who need to know about healthcare operations.
- The people who do billing and sell prescriptions must keep the patient’s data safe.
- HIPAA makes it easy for multiple healthcare institutions to share information by giving patients complete control over their medical information.
2. HIPAA for Hospitals
The hospitals need to follow the HIPAA compliance rules because they will get fined a lot of money if they don’t. A single data breach case can lead to a fine of $100 to $50,000.
Now that you know how important HIPAA is for patients and hospitals let’s talk about how to make mobile apps that follow HIPAA rules.
How to Make Mobile Apps That Are HIPAA-Compliant?
Before building a healthcare app for users that is HIPAA-compliant, you should first figure out what information you need. You need to know what information you will store and send with the mobile healthcare app.
Most applications that follow HIPAA store or send two kinds of information.
1. PHI (Protected Health Information)
The PHI includes bills from a healthcare provider, emails, test results, scans, and other types of medical information.
2. CHI (Consumer Health Information)
It talks about the everyday information that a fitness tracker gives you. This includes your heart rate, the number of steps you took, how many calories you burned, and your SpO2 level.
Some examples of healthcare apps that are in line with HIPAA are:
- On-demand and medicine apps like Netmeds
- Apps for health care based on conditions
Some apps don’t have to follow HIPAA.
- Apps for fitness
- Diet apps
- Apps for fitness
- Blog about making apps
How to Make Apps That Are HIPAA Compliant
To build a healthcare app industry, you must ensure it is HIPAA-compliant. Developing an app should be done in steps. This will help you make an app that works well for you and those who use it. Here are some steps you should take when making an app that is in line with HIPAA:
Step 1: Find a mobile app developer who is HIPAA-compliant
Let’s say you don’t know much or anything at all about the HIPAA requirements. In this case, it would be best to work with HIPAA-compliant mobile app development experts who can help you make an app. They can help you with consultations and give expert advice when it comes to development.
Step 2: Look at the application’s data
As was already said, not every app needs to be HIPAA-compliant. Determine the information you will get from your users and see if any of it is protected health information (PHI) that needs to be HIPAA-compliant and safe.
Step 3: Encrypt the data being sent and stored
Make sure you have security measures in place to protect your patients’ private information and that there are no security breaches. You can also encrypt the data you store to prevent it from leaking.
Step 4: Test the app and keep it up to date
To keep the app’s integrity, it must always be dynamically and statistically tested, especially after every update. This will help you keep your app in good shape and safe.
Key Elements of a HIPAA-Compliant App
When building a healthcare app, you need to know that each one serves a different purpose and that the features can differ. But here are some things that all healthcare apps have in common.
User Login: There should be a way for users to log in quickly, and the OTP feature can be added to make it more secure.
Access to the app: When working with health apps, it’s normal to deal with emergencies. In these situations, it is important to have a rule that can fix the problem as soon as possible.
Application Encryption: When you use services like Google Cloud or AWS, you automatically get end-to-end encryption because they run on TLS (Transport Layer Security) 1.2. But make sure that all the information being sent is encrypted.
Related Article: Step-By-Step Guide on Mobile App HIPAA Compliance
The steps that it takes to make an app that is HIPAA-compliant
We are the best app development partner of HIPAA-compliant for you because we follow all the rules that help us make a great healthcare app.
1. Encryption for Transport
We use HTTP protocols and SSL to encrypt data whenever we send or receive data. When the information is received, it is first encrypted by the sender and then decrypted by the receiver.
2. Backup
We know how important it is to keep your data safe, so we work with the best hosting companies that offer recovery and backup services to ensure your data doesn’t get lost.
3. Authorization
Our expert app developers will make a mobile app for you that is authorized by HIPAA and is well-protected. We control who has access and keep an eye on them all the time. We offer secure logins that only the right people can use.
4. Integrity
We make sure that the infrastructure makes it safe to collect, store, and send information and that it can’t be changed on purpose or by accident.
5. Encryption for storage
Our strong encryption algorithms and keys ensure that only the right people can access all the information, including the data, files, and logs.
6. Getting rid of Data
Getting rid of data is just as important as storing it and gathering it. So, we ensure that all of our backed-up and archived information is permanently deleted and can’t be retrieved unless necessary.
Why should you make sure to follow these HIPAA rules for Building Healthcare apps?
Patients might benefit the most from HIPAA. HIPAA is important because it requires healthcare providers, health plans,, and the business connections of HIPAA-covered businesses to set up a number of safeguards to protect sensitive information both personal and health.
Even though no healthcare organization wants health information to be leaked or stolen, healthcare firms have no obligation to keep data safe. If they don’t, there are no consequences.
HIPAA made laws that say healthcare institutions have to control who has access to health data. This means that only certain people can see health information, and only certain people can share it. HIPAA rights ensure that any information given to healthcare providers and health plans, as well as any information they create, send, or keep, is subject to strict security measures. Patients can also choose who gets their information and who shares it.
Patients who want to be more involved in their health care and get copies of their medical records must fill out a HIPAA form. Even if healthcare companies are very careful, they can make mistakes when they record health information. If patients get copies, they can look for problems and make sure they are fixed.
Related Article: Entrepreneur’s Guide on How to Develop a HIPAA act Compliant Mobile Application
Do You Want to Implement HIPPA Compliant Checklist in Your Healthcare App?
After the Covid-19 pandemic, all entrepreneurs and investors have realized how important the healthcare industry is and how important it is to develop mobile apps that are HIPAA compliant. We are in a time when digital transformation will rule the healthcare industry, and HIPAA compliance will be the most important thing to worry about.
If you want your mobile app to be HIPAA-compliant, now is the time to talk to experts in mobile app development. You’ll find a team of developers who have been screened, know everything there is to know about HIPAA compliance, and have been making great apps for the healthcare industry for years.
Get in touch with us today to get a successful healthcare app that complies with HIPAA.
