HIPAA Compliance – Top Priority in Medical Software Development

HIPPA compliance is a burning issue in the health care industry. It is an absolute necessity for any software application and website in the health industry to be compliant with HIPPA. It is to make sure that all the eHealth technologies in the market are safe for both the doctors and the patients.

What is HIPPA?

HIPPA stands for health insurance portability and accountability act. It is a legal policy that healthcare institutions, industries and software providers need to comply to. The main goal of HIPPA is to protect the sensitive information of patients. This act establishes rules which set a criteria for the software programs in hospitals to manage and store protected health information. 

Why Does HIPPA Matter?

There is a lot of responsibility on people who develop health technology startups. Because if there is even a small amount of weakness in the equipment such as Internet of Things implants then it could be very dangerous. If there is a software that is used for storing the sensitive patient information it is very important for the app to be secure. Otherwise if it gets hacked it could cause damage to the reputation of the patient and the software provider. HIPPA can save you from that. 

If a software development company or an app violates the terms of HIPPA it could lead to fines and other significant penalties. 

Here is an informative article on whether to choose custom ERP software or generic ERP solution. You can also read more about how in three ways you can save money in the software development process here. 

Main HIPPA Requirements

If you are developing an app in the health care industry then you need to protect the patient from three sides, which are:

• Technical
• Administrative
• Physical

The following are the man provisions of HIPPA.

SSL Certification

When the app or website you make has SSL protection then there would be trust between the users and the service provider. It is a classic way of protecting the data. If your website is not protected the user will get a notification that the website they are on is not safe. They wouldn’t want to be in a place where their information is at risk.

Data Encryption

This is another strategy that is used in cloud to protect data. The data is encrypted and the employees are allotted a unique key. The permission level should be varied according to the authority of the employee. They should only be able to access the data that they need to work on.

Data Backup

Some information like the protected health information (PIH) should be copied and stored in a place that has even higher security. 

Deletion of Data

When there is need for data deletion it should be also done in a safe manner. If there is a deceased or cured patient whose records you no longer require then that information should be deleted without the possibility of restoration. Otherwise it could be used for making fake identities. 

Final Words

Compliance with HIPPA is a legal requirement in many countries in the healthcare industry. It is to only make sure that the patient’s information is stored and managed in a safe manner. Software development firms who make apps for healthcare industry need to develop a HIPPA compliant environment where all the safeguards are in place. Because violation of HIPPA could seriously harm your image and the trust of your customers.