September 9, 2021 HIPAA-Compliant Healthcare Management Software

A multibillion-dollar U.S. healthcare company required a HIPAA-compliant, cross-platform, mobile/web system for patient-doctor interactions.

The system is fully integrated with the electronic health record (EHR) database and maintains verifiable HIPAA compliance. The MobiDev solution offers speed and compatibility. The system features have a native-like feel. There is live chat and integration with HealthKit/GoogleHealth. This complex system manages and analyses hospital facility information at scale.

Cross-Platform App Development Benefits

The advantages of cross-platform app development include:

• Cost-Effective: It is less costly to develop a cross-platform app that can run on any device.
• Easier Deployment and Maintenance: It is easier to deploy one app and maintain it.
• Code Reusability: The code is reused instead of having to write new code for every platform.
• Cloud Integration: Integration with cloud services is easy using plug-ins.
• Easier to Customize: It is easier to transform an application by making changes in a single code.
• Faster Time-To-Market: Easier development processes shorten the development time.
• Design Uniformity: Developers can make a uniform UX that the app users like.
• Stability: Having an app that always works for critical functions is a vital feature since downtime can cost millions of dollars for a large enterprise.
• New Device Inclusion: As innovative devices are released, the system can more easily accommodate them.

Applied Technology

Here are the technological tools and methods used for this project:

• NativeScript
• Angular
• Amazon HIPAA Compliant Services: Encrypted RDS, Encrypted ElastiCache, Elastic Cloud (EC2), and Elastic Container Service (ECS).
• PostgreSQL
• Oauth2/JWT
• Python-Based Automated Testing
• CI/CD
• UI/UX Design
• Agile Management Framework
• Integration with the Client’s Corporate Processes

Solutions Summary

The MobiDev development team worked closely with the in-house IT department of the healthcare organization on the integration needs and secure database management. The MobiDev developers’ tasks were to deliver a feature-rich patient/doctor portal. Additionally, the project needed executive management models with in-depth analytics.

It was necessary to integrate these two major initiatives perfectly with all hospital database functions while maintaining HIPAA compliance in accessing, handling, and storing the patients’ EHRs. The development used test data that was anonymized to protect patient confidentiality. The IT staff of the healthcare organization produced the needed internal bridging and supplied the MobiDev developers with the data structure to integrate.

A key factor in the success of this project was the synchronization of the two teams, the internal IT staff, and the external MobiDev software developers. This close collaboration allowed the teams to create a project with reliable, compliant use of the patients’ EHRs.

Protecting Sensitive Healthcare Data

Failure of a healthcare system to comply with HIPAA regulations may result in huge multi-million dollar fines, so this was a key security concern for this project.

The project benefited by using the cloud services offered by Amazon that are certified to be HIPAA-compliant. Amazon cloud services provided the optimal solution except for hospitals that wanted to operate their database on local servers. For those instances, the MobiDev development team worked closely with each hospital’s internal IT department on HIPAA compliance issues.

Amazon data security came from using encrypted RDS. Additional security measures protected data in transit and provided secure event management. Encrypted ElastiCache provided some protection. Other security measures applied on the front-end prevented a browser from caching personal data, such as x-rays. Browsers cannot store search histories that access patients’ records, names, email addresses, or other identifiers.

Achieving secure user authentication came from using JSON Web Token (JWT) and Oauth2 standards.

Processes for Management of the Project’s Deliverables

A well-managed, flexible process that included automation and deployment with transparent delivery was crucial for this successful, enterprise-level healthcare organization’s system upgrade. Test automation checked the newly-developed components, including the APIs, UI’s, and unit testing. The project advanced smoothly by using continuous integration and delivery (CI/CD).

For this project, MobiDev developers made significant efforts to integrate the project’s management framework and the development pipeline in collaboration with the healthcare organization’s internal IT team.

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