HIPAA compliance

HIPAA COMPLIANCE

When You Don’t Need to Build a HIPAA Compliant Application?

What is HIPAA?

HIPAA is a set of guidelines that govern the proper and secure handling of patient healthcare information throughout the healthcare space. In the technology space, HIPAA ensures that there are no anomalies with handling and storage of patient data. Further, it includes information sharing, billing, and health insurance coverage for the citizens. PHI or Protected Health Information comprises every aspect of patient information. If this information is used, stored, maintained, or shared by any entity then it falls under this act.

If you choose to build a HIPAA compliant software application, it should run and operate per the PHI guidelines. Developing an application under these conditions is significantly more involved than a standard build. This is because PHI does not only comprise the current and past data about the patients, it also takes into account the future data collection from them. This includes spoken information, physical and electronic records.

Not only sharing of documents is under scrutiny. In the process of HIPAA compliant application development, information transmission is very essential to create a valuable platform.

Does Your Platform Need to Be HIPAA Compliant or Not?

Suppose, as a healthcare industry organization, you want to have a mobile app developed. If so, you will need to aim to keep track of the patient’s personal information and depending on the sharing and storing of this information will determine the need for you to be HIPAA compliant. Suppose you want to track the food and exercise habits of patients. This information can be exchanged between you and the patient, via auto-generated notification or messaging, but this would have to be HIPAA compliant.

When You Don’t Need to Build a HIPAA Compliant Application?

Suppose you wish to develop a health-based fitness application to help the user enter data like height, weight, age, and name, etc. If these readings are coming from a “home-based medical device,” and if the details you are capturing are limited and with explicit permission as “self reported” data from the customer, you may not need to be HIPAA compliant. This is mainly because there is no covered entity gaining access to this information. These readings are simply for the user’s reference. However, should you treat this data with the highest levels of security, absolutely. Data security should always be at the top of the priority list.

How Can OPG Help You?

OPG has years of experience with HIPAA Compliant software platforms and application builds. OPG is well practiced in HIPAA Compliance and has worked with many clients to apply all HIPAA standards to the technology layer of their platforms. Whether it be the collection of data, compilation of aggregates for analysis, or parsing the information to help a client determine the best way to evaluate and breakdown Insurance provided data, OPG has the skill set to accommodate our clients needs. As PHP Healthcare developers we are very versed in healthcare data aggregation, the collection, searching, and summarizing of the collected data, and can help you with any HIPAA compliant software solutions necessary when it comes to your requirements and needs.

To find out how we can help with your HIPAA software development needs, give us a call at 800-897-5709 or request a quote. Or, if you aren’t yet sure, use our live chat at the bottom of this page to talk to us right this second!

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