HIPAA Policies Healthcare Services Provider Must Know For Telehealth App Development

The future will be technology driven, we all will become entirely dependent upon the use of technology. People use mobile phones for everyday tasks. This is why it is important to develop enough mobile applications for everyone to use in every sector.

The healthcare sector is not very far behind in this development. The development for telehealth software with HIPAA policies will give your organization a layout. The first time these policies were introduced was in the US, in the year 1996. Under this act it has been stated to keep the information and medical reports of patients confidential. 

The definition of HIPAA stands for, health insurance portability and accountability act. This act has rights for people who come under medical insurance. With the use of these, privacy breaches of a patient’s medical reports become null. If you plan to develop telemedicine applications, then you need to learn about all the HIPAA guidelines so that there are no issues in the future.

If you act irresponsible with the use of these, your organization can face huge losses or worse get closed down. The medical details of a patient are extremely important and confidential. No unauthorized people should ever be able to access these. 

With telehealth app development, you need to apply strict and strong privacy policies. Because if your application is not able to abide by the rules and regulation of HIPAA, it will not be considered legal. 

In this blog, we have stated everything you need to know about HIPAA and why it should be necessary to use while developing telehealth applications.

HIPAA policies for Telehealth App Development

Whenever we share something private, we make use of it to share it with someone trustworthy. Even the tiniest detail can lead to something big and far worse for use. This is the same when a patient enters any detail in a telehealth application. If HIPAA policies are not placed in right, they can lead to digital crimes. This is why extra security policies need to be used. 

HIPAA policies make sure that under any circumstance, the patient’s medical details will not be shared with someone other than their healthcare provider. If any data breach does happen, the company or the organization will be taken under custody. By HIPAA rules and regulations, if someone does not follow this principle, then they can not put their application to use and the entire plan will collapse even before it starts. If one needs to use a patient’s medical information, then they first need to take permission from them. 

Mobile telehealth solutions need to look at the different factors and understand how to apply them to their application, because HIPAA policies are very important to keep under consideration. Before launching the applications, providers will need to properly plan the privacy information of the patient. If they do not do so, then the developers of the company will face serious legal charges. Once all the privacy policies are done, you can start the main app development process. 

1. Keep your focus on HIPAA privacy policy guidelines - It should be kept in mind that to create a good telehealth application, the entire privacy policies need to be used in the application. HIPAA policies have some very strict rules that need to be followed, or else the application will be forbidden from using. 

The getaway for login and logouts needs to be safe. The reports and prescription section needs to have a secure OTP or some sort of coding system in it, so that patients can open them as soon as they receive it. Do not forget about using these even if they take time. 

2. Simple Apps - When you develop a telehealth software system, try to keep it simple. Do not experiment with colors or different fonts. Using a simple format and font size that is easily visible will be good enough. Try using a font that is noticeable by any age group. Go with light shades of color. Don't make the application very complex, keep it user friendly. Only then it will be accessible by any age group of people. 

3. Easily available on different devices - If you want to develop that is used by a larger audience and is also their first choice, then make it for every system. Whether you choose an android or iOS system, make sure to keep its functions running smoothly for any sort of software system. 

For this, you will have to invest a lot in the app development but the end product will be much appreciated. But make sure to develop the software system with HIPAA policies to ensure full safety of medical data. 

4. Functions and features - You will be adding some basic functions in your application. But to add other features, make sure to keep a good budget for it.

5. Maintenance and marketing budgets -  When it comes to creating a budget for the application and advertising it for the future, you need to spend some money at this point as well. If you need to add future updates in the application, then you will need to keep a budget for that as well.

What is the sudden need of Telehealth Applications?

We all are  extremely dependent on the use of technology. Clicking on the internet is easier nowadays than going out. This is the same when it comes to our health, we want to get the simplest solutions from home only. Everybody’s first choice is to attend everything from their home. Any kind of problem can be searched online. This is why the telehealth app development services have come into place. There are lot of reasons for using these applications - 

1. Time saving option - Telehealth applications can save our time. Healthcare providers and patients no longer have to go to a hospital. The app has a login section, from there online consultations can be helped with doctor. Many times patients do not want to go all the way to a hospital, in times like these they can easily book an online meeting with their provider. This gives providers and patients both a lot of independence. 

2. Preservation of medical reports - A lot of the time, patients can lose their prescriptions or any other information given to them by their healthcare provider. But with the use of a telehealth application, these details are saved on their devices as well as the app. The saved history has information of every interaction between doctors and patients. Helping medical providers understand the condition more thoroughly. Users no longer need to keep track or manage their medical records for medicine or prescriptions. 

3. Online ordering - The best telehealth software systems let you order medicines online and receive digital prescriptions. These digital prescriptions have the dosage and expiry date of the medicine mentioned. The covid-19 pandemic had everyone stay in their homes and the issue of daily medicines for patients with chronic illnesses had increased. But due to telehealth applications, this concern was gone. 

4. Easy prescriptions at home - If a patient is too ill or does not want to go to the hospital, they can connect with their healthcare provider online and explain to them about their symptoms. After the consultation is over, an online prescription is sent to the patient. 

5. Payment modes - With the use of telehealth applications, online payments can be made using payment gateways. These applications also have reduced prices on selected medicine, making it easier for everyone to afford them.

Conclusion

Telehealth has become one of the most flourishing sectors in the entire healthcare industry. The market will only continue to grow because of the ease it has brought for patients and providers worldwide. Therefore, investing in this sector will give you lots of benefits in the future.