Some noteworthy Performance Tips to enhance User Experience in React Native apps

Being a top app development company , we know that mobile apps have become as regular as clockwork in the lives of people. And as a mobile application developer, it is your duty to allow every user a great user interface and performance experience.

User experience is the marquee thing that everyone is aware of. The more hassle-free and effortless experience of using apps, the more famous they become. Being user friendly as well as interactive is very crucial to making the user experience smooth and seamless.

To make such highly performant apps, the market is flooded with resources and tools which react native developers can leverage. From big tech companies to new budding unicorn companies, everybody needs a solution provider who can solve the problems of users to make them useful. React Native is one such framework widely used and marquee thing that developers talk about.

What is React Native?

It is the framework you can use for the development of natively rendering mobile apps for iOS and Android. Meta Platforms Inc. has successfully developed many applications and Real Native is one of them. Facebook launches it in March 2015. It's an open-source UI software network meaning Facebook has its rights and allows it to change, use and study.

Many businesses stumble over the platform to use to build their application. Whether to go for React Native or any other Cross Platform Mobile App Development frameworks like Ionic, PhoneGap, Xamarin, etc? Each has its uniqueness and advantages. But React Native is unique as it allows comparatively better User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX).

React Native apps have multiple advantages. They are user friendly and super-fast with their user experience. But along with that, you need to be aware of the fact that a few simple tips can help you improve the user interface multi-folds. This article gives you a deeper insight on some of the lesser known performance tips to improve the User experience in React Native apps.

1. Memory leaks in lists

A very commonly hated and yet very often seen problem is memory leaks in android. You can see many options from which these memory leaks can be introduced in your react native app. For Example, if the application is a hybrid video player, then scrolling down the list of video songs through your playlist can face issues. Imagine you are surfing and scrolling up to the third or fourth page and suddenly the application freezes. This freezing of RAM takes the application down. It does not just hamper the performance but also the application standards.

But with careful ways, this problem can be eliminated. You can change the views option. The Flatview or Virtualized List view is the best option. Also, a section list is a very astonishing option to avoid this kind of blunder.

2. Navigation

A random scroll through the play store or AppStore may lead you to highlight one comment that the app has glitches and has slow navigation. It is the reason that many applications has less following. For a seemingly seamless and effortless transition, React Native Navigation component can be used to resolve these issues.

With many components on the screen, sometimes user may notice some delay between the time users chose the option and the actual transition of the new screen. It depends on the library of navigation.

There are a few ways which developers can use to accomplish this.

• setTimeout: This is the kind of hack you provide the application. It allows the animation to get some frames. The standout option is that it allows better control over time.
• InteractionManager: It allows an option of a callback that is fired after all animations are done.
• didFocus: It differs from interaction manager in that it provides a callback for when the screen is focused. So it also allows the transition to be completed.

3. Application size and its performance

You may have heard that the bigger the better when it comes to fortunes. But while building the android application, this may not be true at all. A bigger sized application is not just a catastrophe but also a disaster when it comes to its performance.

If the application is a third-party application or hybrid application, or it is using multiple pages or screens and libraries this might be a consistently occurring problem. The more resources and tools you load into the application, the more time lag and sluggishness it might develop. These loaded resources have a direct impact on the application performance

To optimize the application size of a react native application, you should:

• Minimize the application size as much as possible.
• Create compact APK files. Specific APK files for CPU architectures can help you better the performance. This reduces the requirement to have JSCore binaries.
• Compress resources like videos, graphics and images.
• Increase native libraries which automatically accommodate more and increase performance.

4. Data Storage

To toe, the line of performance, the storage in the app must be sufficient. We already know that, when you save huge data files, it makes the application a lot slower. Saving real-time data is required many a times. Using debounce is the really better option. Debounce can delay calling of save function for some predetermined time from the time it was called. It queues up what needs to be saved and then saves it all when the application is free to do it. If you use React Persist, this just makes the performance effortless.

We tried to address a few problems in the React Native application and various ways by which you can handle these problems. With this, you can go the extra mile without working hard.

We at Biz4Solutions, know how to push buttons and get your business going. As a renowned mobile app development company in USA and India, we can help you create such amazing applications for mobile devices. From blockchain and IoT to healthcare, we have successfully brought a smile on many faces with our quality services. We are pioneering mobile app developers and bring not just the conventional solution but also offer smart ways to upgrade your business and increase the productivity of your business. It’s your time to say YES! Help us help you with Digital transformation, robotic process automation, IoT, cloud solution, mobile apps and many more state-of-the-art services. Drop your email in the comment box and relax, our experts will get in touch with you shortly.

Expert Tips on Picking the Most Suitable Healthcare App Development Company!

In an era when digital transformation is the buzzword, healthcare mobile apps and solutions are the most viable tools for service providers to elevate their business operations to the next level and deliver an unmatched user experience to patients and doctors. Healthcare solutions enable healthcare providers to offer competent and advanced services to patients, boost profitability, optimize costs, streamline workflow, and obtain interoperability.

However, designing an impeccable medical solution and integrating it successfully with other hospital systems and devices requires proficiency, technical skillsets, and thorough experience. As such, most medical providers, these days, prefer hiring professional app development services to stay competitive and avoid any unwanted glitches. Nevertheless, one must be able to identify the right expertise as there are numerous healthcare development services available around the globe.

This post provides all-inclusive guidance on hiring healthcare app development service assistance. A quick read will help you to identify and pick a development company that best suits your goals and project requirements.

Pick the Best Suited Healthcare App development Company: Factors to Consider

Clearly Define your Healthcare App Development Requirements

Before you move on to hire professional assistance for healthcare app development in healthcare, define your business objectives, targeted audience, and your expectation from healthcare developers. Identify your competitors and their profitable strategies; then decide on the strategies you would like to adopt. Also, determine your maximum budget for product development.

The aforesaid practices will put you in a better position to compare the offerings by different software development vendors, make the right selection based on your needs and the project cost, and finally, convey your project requirements clearly to your app development partner.

Understand the Healthcare App Market Requirements

Analyze and research the market requirements of the healthcare sector. If you are a novice in this arena, it is advisable to seek professional help from app development specialists for comprehending the basic needs of healthcare app development, understand how these apps function within a healthcare environment, and gain insights on the programming languages commonly used for crafting such applications. This way, you will be able to look for the right skillset in healthcare app developers and know what you are going to pay for. Also, do not forget to review the existing software development payment models and the average hourly developer rates in different outsourcing destinations. This information will help you in identifying the best-suited option for your healthcare app development project.

Check the Domain-specific Experience and Competency of the Agency

Unlike e-commerce or gaming apps, healthcare apps need to adhere to multiple standards like healthcare interoperability, API integration, etc., and maintain certain security compliance protocols like HIS, HIPAA, etc. Hence, the development team should have extensive experience in handling similar projects and possess domain-specific skillsets for handling complex healthcare app development projects. Healthcare development professionals should also have sound knowledge of API integration processes for building apps pertaining to telemedicine services, clinical assistance, life-sustaining systems, medical information, and so on.

Skilled and experienced developers will understand your business goals as well as the product’s roadmap, suggest the most productive feature-set for your app based on the target audience, know how to effectively integrate the required functionalities, standards, & compliances into your application, and confidently sail through any project-related challenge.

For validating the competence and experience of the healthcare app development agency, you need to check their portfolio, case studies of previous projects, customer reviews & ratings, and awards & recognitions on their website and at renowned business listing portals like GoodFirms, Mobile App Daily, Clutch, etc. Also, verify their market reputation & reach, the kind of healthcare solutions they’ve built in the past, and the technologies they work with. It’ll be even better if you are able to find out the company’s previous track record – whether the firm was able to fulfill client requirements and whether or not the developers have adhered to project delivery deadlines in the past.

Check the Design Principles, Technologies, Tools, and Methodologies proposed for your Project

The design plays a crucial role in defining the user experience of a healthcare application. So, check the previous healthcare products built by the healthcare app development company to understand whether they are capable of creating visually attractive, user-friendly, and intuitive apps.

Also, ensure that your technology partner will be using the latest technologies, tools, effective development methodologies, and best practices for your project. An ideal app development company in healthcare in USA will conduct an initial analysis to gauge the project requirements; create an architectural roadmap based on the app’s structural requirements; possess expertise in programming languages like PHP or Java; and employ advanced technologies & frameworks suitable for healthcare development like Xamarin, React Native, React, Laravel, Swift, Vue, etc.

UI/UX is a driving factor for the success of any healthcare application. So, make sure that the healthcare app development company uses modern tools for building an exceptional and user-friendly UI/UX; and performs exhaustive testing during various phases to guarantee a sound app performance.

Compliance with Security Practices

Sensitive patient data is vulnerable to security breaches and so, most countries have mandated certain regulations on how healthcare data has to be handled by medical service providers. For instance, US medical organizations must comply with HIPAA guidelines. And, if there’s any data breach due to non-compliance with standard regulations, healthcare organizations will damage their reputation, will be fined heavily, and may even face legal charges in case of severe data leaks/breaches ending up losing their license. Hence, a healthcare solution without proper security measures is a threat to patients’ safety and privacy and will cause legal repercussions for providers.

Therefore, the healthcare app development firm should implement the necessary security measures within the app; using software tools such as Auth0 which is standard practice for ensuring healthcare data security and complying with HIPAA regulations.

Validate the Leadership Skills of the Company 

If the healthcare app development agency is managed by experienced leadership, the company will be able to provide better clarity and suggestions. Moreover, the firm will have a better understanding of the clinical and administrative workflows of a healthcare organization and be able to devise the best-suited strategies for your facility. Furthermore, the firm will ensure adherence to delivery deadlines and be able to identify and pick talented healthcare developers who are the right fit for your project. An experienced development agency and proficient healthcare app developers can make a huge difference in enhancing the end-product quality, particularly when you intend to build a custom app for your medical services.

Information on the Project Cost, Resources, and Processes

Project cost is an important factor in the entire product development process. So, you must have a tentative budget in your mind before approaching a healthcare app development agency, for project discussion. Communicate your budget to them and clarify which expenses will be incurred by you and what the cost-quality ratio would be like.

Understand the proposed processes and resources allocated for your project to form an idea about the quality of services you’ll get. The standard steps executed by partner IT firms for custom product development include analyzing the requirement, freezing the scope, prototyping the software product, developing the product, QA& testing, deployment, and support maintenance post-deployment. And, the minimum requirement for software professionals include a project manager, UI/UX designer, requirement analyst, app developers, and QA testers.

Make an informed decision only after obtaining full clarity on the aforesaid factors.

Gain Insights on Project Management Process

The app development methodologies adopted by different healthcare software development vendors for building a customized product may vary. As such, ensure that you gather in-depth clear insights on the project management process offered by your vendor. The different processes include agile, scrum, waterfall, and Kanban. Agile means breaking projects into smaller iterative periods, making room for adaptive and simultaneous workflows. Contrarily, the Waterfall method is used for completing projects in a linear way, without any room for going back to the starting phase. Kanban deals with process improvements while Scrum involves speedy development. Your technology partner must explain to you each method in detail so that you are able to pick the most befitting approach that aligns with your product development objectives.

Today, most clients prefer picking a healthcare app development company that will follow an agile development methodology and manage the workflow in scrums. This way, the development teams will gain a better understanding of the uniqueness of your product and will provide flexible methodologies to accommodate the development cycle as per your project requirements. Also, medical end-products need to be scalable enough to meet the ever-changing demands of the healthcare sector. So take clarity on this aspect, at the project discussion stage itself.

Check out the Engagement Models offered and pick the Best Suited One

Check out the engagement models offered by the healthcare app development firm and select the one that suits you best. The prevalent engagement models include the dedicated resource hiring model, fixed price model, and the time & material-based model.

According to the dedicated resource hiring model, clients hire dedicated developers and pay as per the number of hours spent by resources on the project. This model is beneficial if you intend to extend your in-house team, need project flexibility, or there isn’t any clear requirement from your end.

Under the fixed price model, clients put forth their project requirements and the vendor provides a fixed-price quote for such services. Such a model befits projects that have a clearly-defined scope, are of short duration, and projects that involve hiring developers to perform the tasks.

However, if a client requires flexible product development cycles, the client’s requirement is unclear and subject to change, or it’s a long-duration project with dynamic costs, it is advisable to go with the time & material-based model. This model allows clients to hire as per the time taken and the material involved. Here, both parties agree on a mutually decided hourly rate that needs to be paid for the time spent by resources on different project-related tasks.

NDA for maintaining Confidentiality

It is important for you to choose a healthcare app development partner who will sign an NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) as this will prevent your product idea to be shared outside the company. So NDA ensures the confidentiality of your project and also enables you to own the code.

Maintenance and Support post-launch

Choose a healthcare app development firm that offers end-to-end product development with maintenance and support post-launch. This is because healthcare software needs to be updated periodically as per the latest software development trends, mobile OS updations, and changing market requirements. Otherwise, an outstanding app today may become outdated next year. Moreover, bugs are likely to crop up post product deployment and the app might encounter runtime snags at any time. For resolving such issues, you need experienced and technically sound software programmers.

Discuss the bug fixing policies to be adopted by your technology partner and the approximate cost of rolling out new updates. Also, make sure that the maintenance policy is transparent from the very beginning of the product lifecycle and they provide formal service and maintenance agreements for the same.

Concluding Lines:

I hope you have gained clear insights on the right processes to follow and the necessary factors to consider while picking the best-suited app development services for your upcoming healthcare app development project. Remember to avoid mistakes like choosing the cheapest vendor available; the product quality is often compromised in such cases. And, you won’t like your healthcare solution to be rated below average or faulty, isn’t it? Also, ensure that you optimize your product for the app store and make adequate preparations well in advance for the app launch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What are the Key Challenges encountered by the Healthcare Sector in 2022 and how to address them?

The healthcare industry is ever-evolving to meet the dynamic and demanding requirements of changing times. Factors like emerging technologies, rising patient expectations, the latest healthcare trends, and the discovery of new avenues of clinical treatment are the major driving forces behind the need for transformation. However, this transformative journey brings in loads of bottlenecks that healthcare providers struggle to deal with.

I have penned down the major issues prevalent in the healthcare industry as well as effective measures to address those roadblocks. Here we go!

Key Healthcare Industry Challenges and Remedial Measures

Demanding Patient Expectations

The healthcare service expectations of modern-era patients are sky-high and demanding indeed. The most popular demand that was fuelled up by the Covid19 pandemic is a healthcare service that combines both models – virtual and in-person doctor consultations – depending on the requirement/urgency of patients’ medical conditions. Today, most medical facilities offer the option of virtual consultation in real-time via video calling; but effectively integrating in-person and virtual services is quite challenging. The reason is healthcare professionals find it difficult to decide as to which patients need an in-person visit and which patients can be managed by virtual consultations.

Patients, these days, have got accustomed to the convenience of an elevated experience offered by other industries, particularly the retail sector. Needless to say, they crave a similar customer experience from their healthcare provider as well. Telehealth and telemedicine experiences are the most sought-after healthcare models. Patients prefer a streamlined experience including services like ePrescriptions, online prescription refilling, downloading lab results/immunization records, online appointment booking/rescheduling/cancellation, timely reminders via push notifications, online bill payment with multiple available options, checking of insurance status or account status digitally, etc.

Lastly, patients expect fast and flawless services from the practitioners as well as front-desk staff.

Remedial measures

Healthcare organizations need to employ patient-friendly and effective telemedicine/telehealth mobile apps and also integrate secure and HIPAA compliant software solutions/systems to record patient data and provide access to authorized users as and when needed. For this reason, it is advisable to create a centralized portal that consolidates all patients’ information and clinical data. The patient history should be updated regularly, and the portal must be made accessible to all medical staff to avoid unnecessary delays, clinical setbacks, and fatal diagnoses/treatment errors.

Appropriate Handling of Big Data

The digital tools and software solutions that are adopted by medical practices to record and process patient information and clinical data; generate humungous volumes of handy data known as Big Data. This data can be leveraged by the medical facility in the form of data analytics to obtain amazing patient outcomes – like-saving processes, epidemic control, etc. – and reduce operational expenses. Some of the implementations of Big Data in healthcare include EHR integration, predictive analysis, strategic planning, receiving real-time alerts during emergencies, integrated and personalized communication, advanced patient care/treatment, reducing fraudulent practices, and tightening data security. Big Data can bring a lot to the table for medical companies and provide them with a competitive edge.

But, most healthcare service providers are not able to fully utilize this brilliant strategy. It becomes challenging to capture and use Big Data due to the absence of productive methods for data governance. The data needs to be precise, clean, and formatted properly for effective usage. The hospital body needs to create a conducive infrastructure that allows effective data integration and collaboration amongst data providers. And, all these processes are not easy to implement.

Remedial Measures

In order to reap the benefits of data-oriented decision making and analysis, healthcare Services need to implement an online reporting software. The usage of Artificial Intelligence algorithms and Machine Learning methodologies including neural networks is also a highly workable option for the healthcare industry to handle huge volumes of data and gain fruitful outcomes out of it. For this, you need appropriate hardware and software support and technical professionals to drive the processes. This support system can be either built in-house or outsourced from a reliable and experienced vendor offering healthcare app development services.

Cybersecurity Threats posed by Smart Healthcare Systems

Today, the healthcare ecosystem of hospital spaces has become all the more complex and prone to cybercrimes due to the adoption of a technology-infused digital approach powered by automation, data analytics, and interoperability. Dealing with cybersecurity woes has become one of the key challenges in healthcare.

Check out these alarming data breach statistics as reported by the online portal techjury.net:

• Healthcare providers invest only 6% of their budget in implementing cybersecurity practices.
• 24% of the practitioners were not able to identify the commonest signs of malware attacks.
• 39% of healthcare firms came to know about the data breach several months after its occurrence.
• 60-80% of healthcare data breaches are not reported at all.
• The penalty for data breaches in healthcare is approximately $ 408 for each record which is much higher compared to other industries.

Modern hospitals integrate various third-party systems and different types of connected devices into their environment like IoT-powered wristbands for remote tracking, software tools for crash cart tracking, vital-sign monitors, portable X-ray machines, ventilators, etc. These systems and devices interact with the entire network of the medical facility to generate valuable medical data and patient information to be stored in the EHRs. This data helps in patients’ life sustenance, clinical decision making, data analysis, research, and so on.

But every integrated device makes the hospital infrastructure vulnerable to cyber-attacks and data breaches. Such incidents pose a big threat to patients’ health/safety and the security of sensitive healthcare data and medical systems. Take a look at the type of cyberattacks existing in the healthcare sector and their grave consequences.

Different kinds of Cybers Attacks

• Malware: Attackers block a network, service, or system.
• DoS (Denial of Service) DDOS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks: The healthcare devices or systems become unavailable for use.
• Ransomware: Hackers encrypt data and demand a hefty amount as a ransom for reviving the data.
• Phishing Attacks: Phishing links or websites are used for misleading the targeted user; if the user clicks on malicious attachments/links, confidential information can be accessed.
• Cloud Storage Breach: Attackers can access insecure APIs and improperly encrypted PHI and PII data stored on the cloud; they can even misconfigure cloud storage altogether.

The Consequence of Cyber Attacks

Cyber-attacks can lock patient care as well as back-office systems and stop their functioning for a certain period. Whenever any life-sustaining equipment is tampered with, the lives of patients are endangered and can even lead to the death of critical patients. Moreover, hackers can invade information networks and access medical research & clinical trial data, patients’ health information, billing details, etc. This data is then sold on the darknet for carrying out fraudulent practices. Medical facilities can be heavily penalized or fined for security breaches and healthcare information leaks, specifically if they have violated the standard regulatory compliances mandated for the healthcare sector. Such incidents tarnish the reputation of healthcare brands, and they start losing customers.

Remedial Measures

Healthcare Providers must secure their infrastructure, databases, networks, and endpoints and protect the private and financial data of patients. So, make sure that every third-party technology integrated into your system is secured and is HITRUST certified, adhere to all regulatory compliances including HIPAA, encrypt data, restrict access to systems without proper authorization and authentication, follow a multi-factor authentication procedure, and implement a strong password policy. Also, regularly update systems to patch security threats, train hospital staff about cybersecurity risks, strictly monitor digitally connected devices to identify intrusions, and be equipped to promptly resolve security breaches. Practices like duplicate encryption, network fragmentation, firewall, risk scans login testing, etc. are also highly effective in maintaining data security.

Issues in Processing Invoices, Payments, and Insurance Claims

The healthcare industry is struggling to streamline payment processing; several medical providers still follow time-consuming and error-prone manual processing cycles. This leads to late payments, missed payments, added operational expenses, and claim denials by insurance firms due to minor errors. Patients also miss the chance to use digital payment alternatives such as virtual cards that enables them to avail of cashback discounts.

Remedial Measures

Healthcare providers need to automate and streamline the entire invoice and claims processing system. Automated capturing of data and coding will speed up the process, minimize errors, lessen claim rejections, and reduce the workload of medical staff.

A feature-rich billing system built in collaboration with the billing firms will ease things for patients. A patient-centric billing system usually comes with handy functions like an online patients’ portal, a flexible dashboard for managing invoices, separate queue screens for IP and OP billing, eStatements, multiple payment alternatives, latest payment processes like text-to-pay, etc. An efficient mobile solution will also send auto payment reminders to patients through push notifications.

EndNote:

Automation and technological innovations in healthcare are a double-edged sword. While technology and digitalization are a boon to the healthcare sector and can solve endless roadblocks, it is challenging to integrate such solutions, and myriad bottlenecks crop up if this software is not properly implemented.

Does that mean that healthcare providers should stay away from digital transformation and lag behind competitors? The answer is a big “no.” Medical service providers must embrace a technological approach, but follow the best practices, regulatory compliances, and security measures to eliminate challenges.

Does your Mobile App require HIPAA Compliance?

Healthcare data has always been vulnerable to threats like data leaks, security breaches, unauthorized access, etc. The emergence of healthcare mobile apps and the current trend of digital healthcare record maintenance and data transfer; have worsened this possibility. Despite offering advantages like convenience, speed, and accuracy; digital healthcare data is prone to cyber-attacks.

Hence, the governing authorities across the globe have established rigorous standards for all medical entities that collect, process, and store patient data. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, commonly known as HIPAA, is one such compliance regulation mandated for US-based healthcare bodies that utilize healthcare software solutions.

Developing a HIPAA compliant app involves additional costs as extra security layers need to be integrated within the app. And, data breaches due to HIPAA violations may result in hefty fines or even criminal charges depending upon the severity of the breach. Hence, medical bodies and app development services must be well versed with the specific guidelines that determine whether a particular healthcare mobile app or software needs to comply with HIPAA regulations. This post has consolidated all relevant HIPAA-related information to guide you through HIPAA standards and also mentions which entities are covered under the HIPAA rule. Read along to know whether your healthcare mobile app falls under the category of applications that require HIPAA compliance.

HIPAA: Inception and Governance

The HIPAA act was rolled out on 21^st August 1996 and had been updated several times since then. The most noteworthy update was the one declared on 14^th April 2003.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) regulates the HIPAA rule and the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) enforces this rule. OCRs provides routine guidance on new issues cropping up in the healthcare industry and investigates the common instances of HIPAA violations.

Why is HIPAA Compliance Important?

HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) is a set of interlocking regulatory standards that establish how businesses should use, store, and disclose patients’ data while maintaining the privacy and security of that data.

The prime objective of HIPAA is to prevent the unauthorized and unlawful exposure of sensitive patient information. As such, HIPAA confers patients certain rights regarding their healthcare data. It also offers federal protection to this data by defining rules concerning administrative setups of medical facilities and the technical safeguards to be used by them. The reason is that if confidential patient data is leaked, there would be absolute chaos resulting in the failure of the entire healthcare system. Therefore, all medical organizations handling PHI (protected health information) must adhere to HIPAA guidelines for protecting the privacy & integrity of patient data and ensuring data security.

How does HIPAA Function and what are its Offerings?

HIPAA defines and controls how a patient’s PHI is collected, stored, and managed by doctors, healthcare facilities, and other stakeholders of the healthcare sector. This PHI can be physical records or electronic records maintained by a healthcare application. HIPAA regulates physical and electronic standards for protecting the privacy of an individual’s data.

Coming to offerings, HIPAA focuses on the confidentiality and privacy of healthcare data. The most notable offerings are providing insurance portability to citizens, setting standards for handling medical data, maintaining the efficiency of healthcare data-related operations, and ensuring data security.

HIPAA Regulations: Categories

HIPAA Privacy Rule

The HIPAA privacy rule determines which data is considered PHI and which entities will ensure whether the PHI is disclosed lawfully or not.

HIPAA Security Rule

The HIPAA security rule deals with electronic information and establishes guidelines to be followed for maintaining the privacy and security of the PHI. This rule categorizes the data protection methodologies into three different segments – physical, administrative, and technical. Physical security standards cater to actual devices, administrative standards deal with training & access control, while the technical category revolves around data.

HIPAA Omnibus Rule

The HIPAA Omnibus rule was added to apply HIPAA compliance for business associates of covered entities. The rule also mandates the rules pertaining to BAAs. BAAs or Business Associate Agreements are contractual agreements that must be signed and agreed upon before sharing or transferring any data containing PHI or ePHI. Such an agreement is executed either between any covered entity and a business associate or between two business associates.

HIPAA Breach Notification Rule

This rule defines standards to be followed by covered entities and business associates in an event of a data breach involving the ePHI or PHI. The rule states various requirements related to breach reporting. Data breach incidents must be promptly reported to HHS OCR. The breach reporting protocols are defined as per the magnitude and the type of the data breach.

Which Elements of the Healthcare Industry are covered under HIPAA Compliance?

PHI (Personal Health Information)

As defined by the US law authorities, all personal or health-related information of a patient that was created, disclosed, or used during the course of diagnoses or treatment; falls under PHI. PHI includes the data used/stored by a healthcare facility, covered entity, or a business associate of a covered entity for identifying a patient’s identity, and determining their present medical condition, payment transaction data, or provisions of medical care. PHI contains a patient’s demographic details like name, address, contact number, date of birth, geographical location, facial pictures, social security number, insurance information, financial details, and healthcare records like medical bills/e-mails, lab test/scan results, pharmaceutical prescriptions, etc.

In a nutshell, PHI is personally identifiable information that is present in a patient’s healthcare records and the treatment-related data interactions happening between doctors and healthcare professionals. The fact that a patient has received services from a covered entity and the date on which the medical service was availed is also considered PHI.

Covered Entities

According to the Department for Health & Human Services (HHS), covered entities include healthcare clearinghouses, health plans, and the healthcare service providers that electronically transmit any kind of transaction-related medical information.

Business Associates

Any establishment/individual that collects, maintains, stores, or transmits PHI on behalf of a covered entity falls under the category of business associates even if they do not directly deal with healthcare. A business associate that works along with a covered entity also needs HIPAA compliance. Determining whether your mobile app is a business associate or not; may become tricky at times. So, it is advisable for you to consult a legal expert if you have the slightest confusion.

Does your Healthcare Mobile App require HIPAA Compliance?

Now comes the million-dollar question; “Does my healthcare mobile app need to be HIPAA compliant?” Let’s explore!

Identifiable and non-identifiable data

The process of determining whether or not your mobile app needs to comply with HIPAA rules is quite tricky. This is because data like a person’s DOB or zip code may seem least likely to be misused, but such data can be utilized by resourceful hackers for causing harm to individuals because these are identifiable data. As such, app owners must be able to distinguish between identifiable data and non-identifiable data.

For instance, popular fitness applications like Fitbit, Wahoo Fitness, Runkeeper, MyFitnessPal, etc. do not need HIPAA compliance because they track & handle non-identifiable data like heart rate, calories burnt, diet consumed, blood glucose levels, distance covered, steps climbed, BMI, and weight changes. Such data, if stolen cannot be used for carrying out malicious practices. So, this type of data is categorized under consumer health information, and not PHI. Furthermore, the aforesaid apps do not share the stored data with any third-party provider like doctors, medical professionals, or insurance agencies. And, since this data is not being transmitted, app owners do not require encrypting data by adding layers like cipher suites or TLS (Transport Layer Security).

mHealth and telemedicine apps have to be HIPAA compliant as they collect and transmit identifiable patient data. These apps connect patients with doctors for consultation, diagnoses, and treatment. For instance, mHealth/telemedicine app users are asked a plethora of questions concerning their health for narrowing down the symptoms, and then this information is used for finding the most suitable doctor who can begin their treatment. Moreover, patients receive treatment through remote monitoring via video conference calls, text messages, virtual doctor visits, and discussion forums. Therefore, such apps need to store and transmit data like e-prescription, personal identification data, treatment history, appointment information, etc.

Healthcare e-mails and Push Notifications

Generally, e-mails are non-compliant as they are usually unable to encrypt the contents. However, e-mailing information that contains PHI is a HIPAA violation. Hence, if PHI-related information has to be sent through e-mails, you must choose a HIPAA-compliant e-mail service provider for such communications.

Push notifications sent to users via mobile apps may violate HIPAA regulations. This is because, the content sent may be visible publicly on the screen, even when the smartphone device is locked. So, it’s advisable to avoid including any PHI-related data in the push notification content.

API and Database Calls

If your app depends on the data from the covered entity like a practitioner’s office and isn’t HIPAA compliant, then these covered entities will not be allowed to grant access to your app to execute API or database calls. Also it will not be able to read any information contained in the database. This will limit the app’s functionality considerably.

Concluding Lines:

If your healthcare mobile app needs to be HIPAA compliant, every element of the app including external tools or sensors has to comply with HIPAA rules. HIPPA compliance adds multiple security layers to your mobile app like administrative safeguards, technical safeguards, physical safety measures, documentation safety measures, and breach notification regulations. This increases the complexity of mobile app development and chances of misses are likely.

So, it would be a great idea to seek technical assistance and partner with experienced healthcare app development services. These companies can help you build the most robust HIPAA-compliant apps that function without any operational glitches.

How Blockchain and IoT are Improving the Food Supply Chain?

Blockchain and IoT are the state of the art technologies that have set the wheel of INDUSTRY 4.0 on a roll. They involve multiple stakeholders and bring digital transactions, big data storage, and cryptographic security to the table. These smart practices and technologies have the capability to transform the food industry to make it more robust and sustainable. This article will give you an insight on how Blockchain and IoT are impacting Food Supply Chain.

What is blockchain?

Do you remember Skywalker from Star Wars keeping a record of things using ‘force’? Blockchain is the skywalker of the digital age which can help you to keep the track of things using digital systems. Blockchain is used to store data or keep records using technology. 

Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) means a digital decentralised database that helps to keep check against data theft. Blockchain is a type of DLT, which is a digital system for recording digital transactions. Its super strength lies in the fact that it can keep a tap on transactions and related data in multiple places at the same time. Can you imagine a huge chain of boxes linked together? Blockchain stores data in blocks that are digitally chained together and computers in this system are connected to a peer-to-peer network instead of a central computer like in traditional databases.

So, Blockchain technology is preferred over conventional databases in how it stores and manages information. These days, the whole world is getting digitized and so cyber security is the new basic need of industries and people. Blockchain is designed to make it impossible to hack the system making it secure and immutable. Hence, Blockchain technology is getting more traction and it is being wide used by many businesses.

How blockchain is used by food supply companies?

Three years ago the world experienced something unimaginable. Many businessmen skipped their heartbeat and many companies left to face the inevitable. The COVID-19 disaster cut opened the existing fault lines in the supply chain. The nature of the food industry is such that it is vulnerable to timing, delivery and safety. If the food supply chain perishes, the whole human race perishes. Hence, to conquer such uncertainty, blockchain offers an amazing solution. Let’s take a deeper dive into the Blockchain and understand the impact it’s having on the food industry.

1) Blockchain ensures food safety. It can trace the food supplies from suppliers to buyers.

2) While of course, among the other benefits, balancing market pricing is one of them. It establishes a ledger in the network and adds value to the current market.

3) Blockchain is thoroughgoing. It helps by giving information about the entire value chain.

4) It is effortlessly easy to use for the participants. Access the records in your comfort without any hustle. It may help to give you an idea about the universal and total outline of supply and demand.

5) The blockchain apps for trades might upscale traditional commodity trading and hedging as well.

6) If transparency is something you are looking for in a business, then Blockchain is a big YES for you. It enables verified transactions to be safely shared with all players in the supply chain, creating a marketplace with immense transparency.

Food supply chain companies use blockchain to track and trace items as they move through the supply chain. The government and various industries are using blockchain as the basis for smart contracts and other mechanisms for transferring and protecting intellectual property rights. Many industries that want to revolutionise their business strategies are now exploring blockchain-based applications as a secure and cost-effective way to create and manage a distributed database and maintain records for digital transactions of all types.

Hence, blockchain is being considered as a viable solution for securely tracking and sharing data between multiple business entities. Along with blockchain, a few other technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT) is also contributing to the blossoming future of businesses. 

What is the Internet of Things?

Do you want to turn on and turn off the car in your garage without moving a foot and enjoying soda sitting on your sofa or do you want to save energy and switch off lights in your house? You can do all this without moving a foot and with just your single command with IoT. 

Internet of Things refers to the combined network of linked devices and the technology that facilitates communication between devices and the cloud, as well as between the devices themselves. With the 21st century, the internet went on to reach everywhere. But more soothing than this was the advent of super-cheap computer chips and high bandwidth telecommunication which enabled billions of devices to connect to the internet. So from smaller devices like the table lamp to the bigger devices and things like cars, houses can use sensors to collect and store data and respond intelligently to users.

The Internet of Things incorporates everyday “things” with the internet. This has offered tremendous space for food supply chains to explore the area. The major drawback of the food supply chain was the irregular interconnection. IoT, thus indulging the interconnection between the various stakeholders of the supply chain helps to create an effortless and effective system. 

As computing devices also underwent a revolution, they were reduced in size, these chips also became smaller, faster, and smarter over time.

Multiple benefits that IoT offers to the Food supply chain industry 

So, let’s look deeper into IoT and the impacts it is having on the food industry

• It is cost-effective

The cost of syncing computer devices with other objects has now been reduced handsomely. It has opened a new avenue for the food supply chain industry as B2B businesses always look to reduce the investment and increase profits. Though costs of IoT are allied, they effectively increase the main course and profits.

• It soothes the process

The food industry can’t endure staying behind. Globally, the population has been booming and so the onus lies on the supply chain to balance the needs of the human race. The food industry, hence, has revolutionised itself with a focus on pouring our storehouses, businesses, and offices with IoT devices. These smart devices can automatically transmit and record data to and from the Internet. Which eases the surveillance burden of the contractors. 

• It makes tracking easier

The Internet of Things is everywhere. From manufacturer to retailer's market to consumers while they shop, IoT devices can help to track the food supply movement. In the food supply chain, data is used by companies to track and trace products movements, analyze trends of their usage, easily communicate with people, automated machinery, and many more endless uses. So IoT makes the hustle free tracking of every stakeholder of the food supply chain.

• Readjustment with the global trends

COVID 19 had skipped two good years from the lives of the people. Globalisation has reduced the boundaries and borders and brought the world closer to each other. But when disasters like COVID struck the world, it was nearly impossible for the world to avoid them. But with the IoT, these kinds of readjustments are now way much easier.

The IoT is made up of sensor-embedded devices that captures the data and then transmits volumes of data from all types of IoT devices to the Internet, machines, people, and beyond. So, by analysing the trends at any end of the supply chain, we can easily readjust the whole food supply chain cycle.

• It can spread awareness and make monitoring serene.

While the IoT offers novel uses in the food industry, it can replace the long used tracking practice of logistics. Gone are the days when it was difficult to keep track of the ordered products. Now companies can use smart labels to give consumers full visibility into their supply chain. Customers can simply scan the package’s QR code, and learn if the package has left the factory or when, and how each ingredient made its way into that particular product. This way, IoT is helping the companies to be aware of the purity and elevating food safety practices.    

• It can upscale the management of warehouses.

It is not just the food production, but the storage in the warehouses is also a huge task for food manufacturers. Manufacturers install sensors for timely monitoring, quality control, leveraging real-time analytics to streamline production, measure worker productivity, and calculate labour costs. IoT with real-time maintenance capabilities could automatically fix its own malfunctions before they occur.

According to the Food Industry Executive Report, researchers predict that more than 34 billion Internet-connected devices will be in use by 2020, 40 per cent of which will be used for business-related purposes. In the supply chain, the IoT enables real-time monitoring, transparency, huge data collection, and more effective and automated problem solving than conventional methods. To prepare for the future of demands, stakeholders of the supply chain must indulge the practice of IoT and effectively start to include the smart practices in the business. 

The pantheon of the INDUSTRY 4.0 is being led by smart practices like the blockchain and IoT and we at Biz4solutions are working hard to upcycle your business dreams. We bring not just the conventional solution but also offer smart ways to upgrade your business and increase the productivity of your business. It’s your time to say YES! Allow us to help you with Digital transformation, robotic process automation, IoT, blockchain app development, cloud solution, mobile apps and many more state-of-the-art services. Drop your email in the comment box and relax, our experts will get in touch with you shortly.

Essential Features to include in your Pharmacy Management System!

Digitalization has made its mark in every sub-domain of the healthcare sector, and the pharmacy industry is no exception. The advent of smart Pharmacy management systems has eased countless operational woes for pharmacy business owners. So, what is a pharmacy management system? Well, it’s a software system that has been programmed for carrying out various functions that are needed to operate a pharmacy business.

Versatile pharmacy software works wonders for pharmacy owners as well as consumers. A sound pharmacy solution automates and simplifies pharmaceutical functions like medication dispensing, identifying drug over-usage, etc. resulting in smart pharmacy management, reduced errors, and enhanced patient services.

Now the question that arises in your mind is; “What features to include in sound Pharmacy software?” This post provides you with detailed insights on the essential features to integrate within a modern-day pharmacy management software system. Let’s get started!

Pharmacy Management System: Essential Features

A Centralized Database for Data Storage

 

Data plays an important role in the pharmacy sector. Hence, a pharmacy business must ensure the safe and secure storage of data as well as a productive data processing mechanism. A pharmacy management system offers a centralized database for storing medicine-related data securely so that data is never lost and can be retrieved easily whenever needed. The system software also manages transaction records.

This feature adds to the patient’s convenience as it simplifies data search, ensures secure data access, and facilitates information collection about medicine availability. Providers reap the advantages of auto-generated drug reports, the need for a lesser workforce, improved communication between the pharmacy staff, real-time visibility into inventory and sales through advanced data analytics, and enhanced decision-making. The best part is that this centralized database is highly effective for businesses with small databases as well.

e-Prescription Generation

The usage of e-Prescriptions or electronic prescriptions is gaining momentum these days. Here’s how the process of e-prescribing functions?

A prescription is created electronically and then, transmitted from the prescriber to the pharmacy. Usually, a CPOE (computerized provider order entry) system like an EHR is employed for this purpose. The doctor creates a medication order using a CPOE system and sends it to the patient’s pharmacy through a secured connection. Once, the e-Prescription is generated, the pharmacy tracks the order and communicates whether that order was received and filled. Such communication between two systems is made possible with the usage of SCRIPT, a special XML-based standard. However, any type of prescription creation software needs to be Surescripts certified. So, healthcare entities generating ePrescriptions have to either get their system certified or pick pharmacy app development services that support Surescripts certification.

The e-Prescription feature saves paperwork, reduces the chances of human errors, and rules out the possibility of the prescription being lost or stolen. Moreover, as doctors can send medication refills directly to the pharmacy, medicines are speedily dispensed. Furthermore, patients availing of e-Prescription enjoy benefits like getting notified if they had missed picking up their order, creating order renewal requests with just a few clicks, and many more.

Synchronization with Real-time Information

An ideal pharmacy management system need to consider situations like technical glitches and system crashes where the data can get lost in a split of a second. For this reason, the system must synchronize with real-time data including price-related updates, inventory updates, and auto-program updates. This feature promotes real-time interaction and hence, allows pharmacists to help patients with insurance forms as well.

Analytics & Report Generation

Pharmacies interact with countless patients daily. This data concerning patient interaction is immensely beneficial as it helps pharmacy businesses in understanding the requirement, planning the future course of action, and improving business strategies. This data can also be useful while carrying out audits, inspections, or certification processes in the future.

A pharmacy app records data of each patient interaction, stores it in the pharmacy information system, and generates classified sales reports that are organized product-wise and category-wise. These reports calculate the factors that determine medication sales and provide crucial insights into the business activities of a pharmacy service. Service providers can effortlessly identify purchase patterns like which consumers frequently visit the pharmacy for medicine refills and what kind of medicines they order, which medicines are in demand at a particular season, etc. This way, pharmacy wholesalers/vendors can stock medicines as per the consumer requirement, be sufficiently equipped to handle the demand surge for specific drugs during a particular season like the flu season, and devise profitable marketing strategies.

Implementing an ERP system will help in handling monitoring & analysis activities and statutory audit checks.

Reports reveal a great deal about the current performance metrics of a pharmacy, the areas of improvement for boosting the ROI, and the budgeting roadmap that need to be followed. Data analytics reports also help pharmacy owners to detect suspicious patterns and check anomalies within their operations. Overall, reports lead to more informed decisions and increased revenues.

Necessary Integrations

An effective pharmacy management system must be able to integrate with other healthcare systems to facilitate the seamless flow and consistency of medical data. Let’s take a look at the commonest integrations needed. Interaction with a medical facility’s EHR enables the pharmacy solution to access the treatment records, as well as the medical history of patients, and integration with the logistics system helps in timely medicine distribution. Pharmacy software also needs to integrate with billing systems, hospital management systems (HMS), relevant external platforms, etc.

Dashboard

An in-built dashboard that provides actionable insights is of prime importance in a complex pharmacy management system. The presence of a dashboard helps pharmacy providers track the amount of medicines that are produced and the amount of wastage as well. Dashboards offer KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) through focused charts and reports. The KPI reports are based on the service provider’s key goals and display only those pieces of data that the pharmacy owner requires to fulfill a specific objective they have set. Therefore, this data not only boosts data analysis but also enhances business productivity and collaboration.

Support for SMS Alerts and Multi-store/Multi-location Management

The feature supporting SMS and notification allows pharmacists to get intimated whenever any patient’s medication is about to expire and they need a refill. Pharmacy staff then notifies patients via text messages before their prescriptions run out and patients can inform the pharmacist that they need a refill by just responding to the message received. Also, pharmacists can continuously stay in touch with consumers through status updates, thereby elevating the patient experience.

If pharmacy software offers multi-store and multi-location support, owners can manage the functioning of several stores at different locations. Pharmacy providers can view the exchange of electronic data concerning sales, returns, stock levels, etc., and also calculate the profits made by the entire pharmacy chain.

Medication Order Management

A pharmacy management system makes use of reordering points or the pharmacy-defined par levels for generating automatic orders. Thereafter, it calculates the number of items required for raising the stock level; it then adds the required quantity of items to the order. An EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) methodology is used for delivering the orders.

Managing Medication Expiries

Pharmacies suffer losses on account of expired drugs. Since pharmacies buy medication from whole sellers in bulk, every medicine has a different expiry date and MRP. Therefore, it becomes challenging for pharmacists to keep track of the expiry dates of each medicine. As a result, several drugs get expired while lying on the shelves of pharmacies without the knowledge of pharmacists and the pharmacy owners come to know about it only after the date of expiry, leading to medication wastage.

A pharmacy management system having the expiry management functionality notifies the owners about the expiry dates of medicines well in advance. This provides pharmacy owners the option to either sell those medicines to customers or return them back to the supplier. This way, wastage of medicines and financial losses can be avoided.

Management of Medication Re-ordering

The medication re-orders management feature provides critical insights that help pharmacists to stay informed and organized. Right from establishing re-order points, to finding out when to replenish the stock, and determining which product fares better in the inventory, this functionality does it all.

Pharmacists have to pre-define the maximum and minimum stock level margins, and then feed this data into the system. Now, the system alerts them whenever the stock level goes below the minimum point prompting them to reorder. It also suggests the best purchase option to the user, as per the programs offered by nearby suppliers, and recommends purchase schemes that offer super-saving options.

Module for User Management

A user management module helps pharmacy providers effortlessly set access-related preferences for different groups of users in order to reserve certain features for specific users. This includes restricting access to certain features for different audiences. The functions of this module can be segregated into two categories – Administrator User and Administrator Authentication User.

The Administrator User Module empowers the user to control the buying-selling process and carry out actions like viewing the medication stock available in the pharmacy; enlisting the medicines they need, tracking the pharmacy map, etc. This category of user management regulates the daily processing of stocks and sales.

The Administrator Authentication User Module allows the authenticated users to view every process including the transactions, sales reports, etc., manipulate the medication lists as well as stocks, track their everyday activities, and generate daily accounts using the multi-site software.

Inventory Management

The module for managing stocks in the inventory proves very handy to pharma owners. This feature integrates an EDI or APIs to order data. The offerings include classification of inventory products based on their categories, receiving as well as generating automatic orders, drug dispensing, managing out-of-stock products, and providing inventory counts and print labels. The software generates inventory reports that enable the suppliers and pharmacists to identify the best-selling products and figure out which drugs are affecting the distribution and ordering processes.

Sales Management Modules

Billing and accounting tasks in a pharmacy are often prone to errors. Nevertheless, an efficient pharmacy management system offering the sales management feature can optimize such tasks and eliminate the chances of errors. Here, the system automates the tasks of receiving orders, executing payments, and generating receipts; then add these tasks in reports.

The sales management module correctly matches the product codes to formulate their accurate prices, resulting in error-free billing. POS or point-of-sales module offers patients a wide range of options for making payments and completing returns.

Some billing modules offer electronic signatures and options for managing patient data and loyalties. And, if patient data is connected with billing histories, smart analytics utilizes this data for creating real-time financial reports and provides recommendations on improving patient experience.

Managing Prescriptions and Doctor Commissions

Difficulty in reading prescriptions by the patients and pharmacists has always been the source of confusion and errors in drug dispensing. The usage of a competent pharmacy management system resolves such woes as the data is directly entered by the doctor and electronically stored within the system.

The system also tracks pharmaceutical transactions to identify which practitioner has created a particular prescription or which medical representative is involved in a specific transaction with the pharmacy regarding medication sales. Such software instantly calculates the doctor/MR commission generated by the pharmacy for each medicine sold out and each prescription involved.

Compliance with Standard Regulations

Compliance with standard regulations mandated by authorities is essential for any pharmaceutical practice. So, a pharmacy management system must be compliant with the latest security practices and evaluation parameters mandated for activities like e-prescription generation, medication ordering, medicine refill, etc.

For instance, DSCSA (Drug Supply Chain Security Act) prohibits US pharmacies to dispense fake medicines and thus protects the citizens from counterfeit medication. Canadian pharmacies have to comply with the regulations defined by NAPRA and European pharma stores need to verify the authenticity of each medicine by employing a point-of-dispense validation system.

Bottomline:

I hope this post was informative and has given you a clear idea of which features to add while executing the pharmacy app development process. However, you need to pick the features as per your requirement and business objectives.

If you are a novice in the software development arena, it would be advisable to team up with skilled healthcare app developers or a reliable IT firm that has extensive experience in pharmacy app development. Your partner will take care of your pharmacy software development project right from app ideation to deployment.