Introduction: HIPAA Compliant Application
If you are an entity in the healthcare domain and have a mobile application that deals with protected health information (PHI), then chances are that you would have to be HIPAA compliant.Healthcare entities like hospitals, clinics, insurance companies, etc. or even business firms who have developed mHealths or EHealth applications revolving around PHI fall under the ambit of HIPAA – Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act.
Well, collecting information does not require you to be compliant, but sharing the information requires you to be.
Importance: HIPAA Compliant App Development in 2019
So, if you are thinking about mobile application development that involves PHI, make sure that it is a HIPAA app.When your application is HIPPA-compliant, it simply means that you meet the standards set by US Health & Human Services, and user data that you hold is also secured.Most entities into practice management system in healthcare that collect and share patient information are concerned about HIPAA since non-compliance can turn to be a costly affair.
Hospitals & companies violating HIPAA compliance attract a heavy fine that could even run into millions of dollars – there are several cases of hospitals being levied a heavy penalty for violations of a data breach.
The HIPAA Compliance & Its Costs
If you are seeking mobile application development services already or contemplating it, then you need to evaluate what levels of HIPAA compliance you need. This will depend on the PHI (data) you hold and the amount of the data you are sharing. Lesser the sharing, lesser the compliance.If you are getting the app developed through a mobile application development company, then the app development company should be informed about HIPAA right in the development stage because they have to work on privacy & security rules.
HIPAA compliant app development cost generally depend on factors like
- Type of Organization
- Size of Organization
- Organization Culture
- Geographic Location
- Number of Business Associates
For a small covered entity (covered entity: doctors, hospitals, insurance companies, clinics, etc.),
HIPAA compliant app development cost
would be somewhere around: $4,000 to $12,000.
This cost includes a Risk Management & Management Plan, Remediation, and Training & Development Policy.
For medium or a largely covered entity, the cost of HIPAA would be somewhere around: $50,000 and above.
This cost includes Remediation, Risk Analysis & Management Plan, Penetration Testing, Training, and Policy Development and Vulnerability Scans.
Alternative:
If the application development costs seem way too higher, the other option available is resorting to a cloud service provider, which is already HIPAA-compliant.
While choosing a cloud-based service provider, you must also bear in mind if that service provider will minimize the risk of data breach, and whether the service provider is ready to serve you.
Although the costs of developing a mobile application that is HIPAA-compliant seem higher, it is always better to be on the safer side to avoid paying large penalties. These compliance errors are apparently too costly to be made.
Conclusion:
The penalties are heavy due to the nature of the data that is being dealt with. Patient information is very sensitive in nature as it contains medical history. In 2017, IBM & Ponemon conducted research that gave away some interesting facts.
They found out that on an average, a single data breach costs $380 per record, which is 250% more than the data breach across other industries around the globe.
HIPAA compliance brings confidence in patients because they believe that their information will be secure. Therefore, the healthcare industry has been able to see the other side of the story; it is more than just the costs.
