Mobile application app development industry is booming like no other industry is. Apps are increasing every minute and improving the quality of a user’s life. The number of mHealth apps are increasing by the minute and this has led to increasing in the demand for Hipaa Compliant app development services. Before we proceed, let’s learn what HIPAA compliance is all about. It would serve as an introduction for novices and a refresher for professionals.

● What is HIPAA?

HIPAA stands for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. Enforced in 1996, this act lays down the rules and regulations that must be followed while working on medical or health app development. It controls the management, storage, and sharing of U.S citizen’s Protected Health Information (PHI) electronically.

It aims to protect patient’s medical data, bring down healthcare expenses, and provide health insurance coverage to citizens who have lost or changed their jobs. Almost all companies building a HIPAA compliant mobile app are aware of these rules and regulations.

● What is the Privacy Rule in HIPAA?

As per the HIPAA privacy rule, U.S citizens have the right to control how their health information is being used. Issued by the US Department of Health and Human Services, the rule restricts the use and disclosure of private health information by covered entities.

Under HIPAA compliance, only healthcare professionals have the right to share critical patient information with the patient’s consent. Under the PHI, stakeholders catering to healthcare operations are covered. This act guarantees the highest levels of privacy and confidentiality.

Let’s look at the various parties involved in this act or may have a role.

1. Covered Entity: A covered entity may be

• a healthcare provider/ organization
• a health plan
• a healthcare clearing house that manages protected health information

• Patient names
• Prescription information
• Identification numbers

And so on..

• Lawyers
• IT professionals
• Accountants
• Billing providers
• Email encryption services
• Anyone who works on behalf of a CE and handles PHI

If you are a company building a HIPAA compliant mobile app, then you are a business associate.

HIPAA is not only beneficial for patients but it also presents certain advantages for entities. It makes it easy for hospitals to store and maintain patients’ medical histories. As all the healthcare entities follow the same process to store and record patient-related information, the probability of errors and misinformation gets reduced.

● How To Know if an App needs to be HIPAA Compliant?

A number of entities looking for Hipaa Compliant App development services are perplexed if their app needs to be HIPAA compliant or not.

Should my app be HIPAA Compliant? The Big Question answered

If the mobile app you are developing shares personal health information of the patients with doctors or any other covered entities, then it comes under PHI and your app needs to be HIPAA compliant. If the information is confined to the app, then your app need not be HIPAA compliant.

Simply put, if your app stores or transmits PHI on behalf of a covered entity then you are a business associate and your app needs to be HIPAA compliant.

The following image will give you a clear idea about the requirement of HIPAA compliance for your app.

It is very important both for the entities and app developers, providing HIPAA compliant app development services, to check if the app needs HIPAA compliance before building such an app.

● Can I get a certificate stating that the app is HIPAA compliant?

Although there is no certification for HIPAA compliance for a mobile app, it is the onus of the organization creating the app to ensure that the healthcare app is completely HIPAA compliant.

● HIPAA Compliance for Mobile App Developers

App developers building a HIPAA compliant mobile app should be wary about HIPAA guidelines while creating HIPAA compliant apps. The following requirements must be kept under consideration.

1. Knowledge: The first and foremost step to be taken before building a HIPAA compliant app is the mobile app developers involved in the process should possess complete knowledge about various aspects of HIPAA as well as the mobile app development process. Developing such an app is a complex process.

   The app developer should have complete information about any aspect that comes under the purview of PHI. The US Department of Health and Human services states a total of 18 types of information under the PHI.

   Hence, if the app works with any type of information, present in these 18 types, then the developer must proceed with offering HIPAA compliant app development services.

2. Data Protection: The app developer has to ensure that the data transmission occurs in a secure way which leaves no room for data leakage. It is important to check the security of data transfer networks and backend support systems. Device integrations should also be checked upon. The app developer, building a HIPAA compliant mobile app, should take all the steps necessary for the protection of ePHI. The app must share only the required information across different platforms. The use and distribution of PHI must be restricted to the basic level.

3. App Access: Information Access Management is highly essential to ensure that the data is accessed only by the concerned person. It is not safe to let users log in using email. You should use other much secure ways such as Smart Key or card or Biometric identification for safe login. You can also apply features like fingerprint authentication or face scanning. Simultaneously, you must also ensure that the app is user-friendly.

4. Data Encryption: This involves the establishment of unique user identification. Here, it is important to consider emergency app access procedures and log out sequences. Consider using services like AWS or Google Cloud which implement Transport Layer Security 1.2. With this, you can ensure that the data is encrypted, thus safe, during transmission.

   The app developer involved in building a HIPAA compliant mobile app should make sure that the device, on which the app is installed, receives no PHI data notifications. This is highly essential for protecting patient health information.

5. Data Disposal: It is important that data is purged at frequent intervals implying that too much data should not get accumulated at any stage. App developers, providing HIPAA compliant app development services, should take measures to archive and backup data which has expired. There should be processes laid out to dispose of unused data in a secure way.

Creating a HIPAA compliant app is easier said than done. It has a number of aspects to be taken into consideration right from the outset. You can hire an in-house developer who is adept with HIPAA rules and regulations to create a HIPAA compliant app. However, if you want to ensure that your app is truly HIPAA compliant it is indispensable to contact a company experienced and expert in HIPAA compliant app development services.

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