Guide to Building HIPAA Compliant Health Apps

October 27, 2020 | Sakshi Sharma

When it comes to a HIPAA-compliant app, the process of app development is unique. Just like every other industry, the healthcare industry also needs to have digital maturity. For digital maturity, a mobile-based app is quite important. The reason is simple; the medical data is most likely to cost at least 12 times more than the credit card’s data.

You should always follow the HIPAA compliant guidelines to prevent any fraud.

What is HIPAA?

When you choose HIPAA, you can be sure of the fact that there will be no anomalies with the handling and storage of the patient’s data. Additionally, it also integrates the patient’s information regarding billing, sharing, and health insurance coverage. The health insurance portability and accountability act are also known as HIPAA came into action way back in 1996.

Thus, it is mandatory to work with HIPAA security rules. One of the main objectives of HIPAA is to ensure insurance coverage and maintenance. It also features domains like administrative tasks and simplification. Under medical expenses, HIPAA also tends to cater to various tax-related provisions. Thus, if you are considering mobile app development, you need to follow the HIPAA rules.

Everything to Know About HIPAA Compliance

Your health app design in the medical industry has to be HIPAA compliant. The compliance mainly relies on two rules; that is, the information must remain confidential, and maintenance needs to be a top priority. Before you develop a healthcare app, you need to understand what it means for both patients and hospitals.

Public Health Information

All of the aspects of the patient’s information, comprise PHI. This information is mainly used or maintained by any entity that falls under this act. If you have any HIPAA-compliant app, then it must run as per the PHI guidelines. However, it is challenging to develop a healthcare app under these conditions, but with the help of professionals like SDI, it can reduce your work by 70%.

Consumer Health Information

One of the significant differences between PHI and CHI is that the data is not sent to covered entities under the later one. For example, healthcare mobile apps, including Fitbit and Google Health. Additionally, such information doesn’t cover the purview of HIPAA compliance.

What Will Happen If HIPAA Compliant App Gets Violated?

Almost all digital health apps have to follow HIPAA rules. Just in case the compliance gets violated, then the hospitals have to pay some penalties, and HIPAA fines tend to be quite expensive. The amount of penalties mainly depends on the inattention level, and it can range somewhere between $100 to $50000. The maximum amount any healthcare industry has to pay in a year is $1.5 million. In some instances, violations might also include criminal charges, which might put the associated healthcare industry in prison.

Features of HIPAA Compliant Apps for Patients

Chat and Messaging

As per the latest healthcare technology trends, all healthcare app features need to ensure that both doctors and nurses can communicate easily with the patients. It might not be feasible right away for the patients to see the doctor. However, HIPAA compliant mobile app ensures smooth conversion between patients and medical professionals.

Reminder Updates

Not everyone is a pro at remembering everything. The inbuilt reminder ensures that the patient receives a timely reminder of every appointment with the health professional. Even if the doctors or nurses are not available in the hospital, that information can be conveyed to the patient quickly without any hassle through the HIPAA compliant app.

Schedule Appointments

One of the primary healthcare app development services is to help patients schedule appointments. With HIPAA-compliant apps, patients can easily schedule their appointments with medical professionals. The best part about this feature is that patients can choose a slot as per their needs. All they need to do is check the doctor’s availability on the app.

Features of HIPAA Compliant Apps for Healthcare Institutions

Secure Data Sharing

The only thing a healthcare institution needs is proper means to communicate with the patients, and with HIPAA-compliant apps, you can do that.

Store Patient’s Information

Digital doctors currently require more time to treat patients than looking at their medical history. A healthcare app must allow easy options to store the data and transfer the files, including images and reports, to transfer the patient’s data.

Thus, if you want to develop a healthcare app, then the SDI team is always there to help you and provide you with the best app development services. Moreover, the price of building HIPAA compliant health apps is affordable as it lies within $6000 to $8000, and the delivery timeline ranges from about 2-4 months. All you need to do is contact us at team@sdi.la or call at 408.621.8481.

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