HIPAA-Compliant Software Development Checklist for 2024

Data Security is a buzzword these days, especially, when it comes to healthcare. HIPPA, which stands for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, is a big deal in healthcare because it’s all about keeping patient info safe and private. HIPAA shook things up by setting new rules for how organizations handle sensitive data. It’s not just for doctors and insurance companies; it covers anyone connected to them, too

If you’re trying to make your healthcare product follow HIPAA rules or starting fresh with a new app or website, we’ve got you covered. Our guide spills all the tea from our years of experience with HIPAA. We’ll help you figure out what to focus on for your project.

During HIPPA software development, there are specific criteria you’ve got to meet. But don’t worry, we’ve got a handy checklist for you. Just follow these steps, and you’ll be well on your way to making your app HIPAA compliant in no time!

1. Transport Encryption

First off, any electronic health info needs to be encrypted before it’s sent anywhere. HIPAA-compliant software makes sure all that sensitive data stays scrambled when it’s being transmitted. To start, you need to secure it using SSL and HTTPS protocols. Your cloud provider should let you set up SSL properly to make sure the encryption is strong, following HIPAA guidelines.

SSL protects pages where you enter health data and login pages. There shouldn’t be any unsecured versions of these pages floating around.Make sure HTTPS is set up right and that there are no outdated or weak encryption methods. Passwords can be kept safe by turning them into hash values. Along with using strong, hard-to-guess passwords, this adds an extra layer of security to prevent any breaches.

2. Backup and storage encryption

Hosting providers often offer backup services to prevent data loss in emergencies. This means your data is saved securely and can only be accessed by authorized people.

When you’re dealing with sensitive info, like PHI (Protected Health Information), it’s crucial that only the right people can get to it. This includes all the data stored in your system, like databases, backups, and logs. Sometimes this data might be stored in places you can’t control, like on a shared server with other customers. If something goes wrong with that server, your data needs to stay encrypted and safe.

To make sure of this, we use strong encryption methods like AES and RSA, with really long keys. We might also use special database managers that have encryption features built-in.

We often go for managed databases in public clouds, like Amazon RDS or Cloud SQL in Google Cloud Platform, because they come with encryption features too.

3. Identity and Access Management

Keeping user accounts safe and secure is super important for HIPAA compliance. That means no sharing passwords or IDs among employees. HIPAA has strict rules to make sure user data stays private and protected.

It’s also crucial to keep track of who’s accessing what. So, the system should keep logs of logins and any changes made to sensitive info.

To make sure only the right people can get into the system, we use Two-Factor Authentication (2FA). This means you need more than just a password to log in — maybe a code sent to your phone too.

But we still need to make sure people can get to the data they need fast. That’s where cool new tech like biometrics and Single Sign-On (SSO) come in.

SSO lets you sign in once and then access lots of different apps without needing to sign in again. This is handy for healthcare workers who use a bunch of different apps but need to keep data private.

Biometrics uses unique things like fingerprints or faces to confirm someone’s identity. But we’ve got to be careful — we need to use smart tricks to stop hackers from faking these biometrics. That’s where “liveness detection” comes in, to check if the biometric data is coming from a real person.

We can also use a mix of different ways to confirm someone’s identity, like using both a fingerprint and a face scan. This makes it even harder for hackers to break in and keeps things super secure.

And finally, there’s something called Attribute-Based Access Control, which helps manage who can access what. Instead of just giving people roles like “doctor” or “nurse,” we can set rules based on things like their job or location. This makes it more flexible and helps solve problems that pop up with traditional access control systems.

1. Integrity

It’s super important to keep your data safe from any kind of tampering — whether it’s on purpose or by accident. One way to do this is by making sure your system can spot any changes to the data right away, even tiny ones. In website development, we do this by digitally signing and checking every piece of data using tools like PGP or SSL.

But it’s not just about spotting changes — we’ve got to stop unauthorized people from getting into the data in the first place. That means using things like backups, encryption, and giving the right people access with proper roles and permissions. We also need to make sure no one can physically mess with the system. All of these steps are key to making sure your medical software follows HIPAA rules and keeps patient info safe.

1. Disposal

It’s crucial to remember that backed-up and archived data can’t hang around forever. Once it’s served its purpose, it needs to be properly disposed of. This includes getting rid of any decryption keys too.

You’ve got to think about all the places where your data might end up, like if it’s being backed up or copied somewhere else. And if you’re done with a server or not using it anymore, make sure to get rid of the data on it properly. This is essential for healthcare data security and staying compliant with HIPAA rules.

Apart from these the last important thing to keep your software HIPAA-compliant: If you’re storing ePHI (electronic Protected Health Information), make sure it’s on servers owned by a company you’ve signed a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with. If not, then host it on your own secure servers in-house.

But here’s the tricky part: Many hosting providers aren’t familiar with HIPAA rules. They might be hesitant to sign a BAA because it could mess with their own business setup.

Why do we need HIPPA

There are two main reasons why HIPAA compliance is crucial:

1. Protects Patient Privacy: HIPAA safeguards sensitive patient health information (PHI) by establishing rules on how healthcare providers and organizations handle this data. This includes things like who can access it, how it can be used, and how it must be secured. HIPAA gives patients control over their medical records and ensures their privacy isn’t violated.
2. Strengthens Security: HIPAA sets national security standards for protecting electronic health information (ePHI). This includes measures to prevent unauthorized access, data breaches, and identity theft. By requiring strong security practices, HIPAA helps to ensure that patient information remains confidential.

Conclusion

When it comes to HIPAA compliance, developers of healthcare apps need to stick to all the rules and guidelines to keep patient data super secure. The best approach is to follow clear steps in designing, developing, testing, and rolling out these apps.

At Ailoitte, we’re experts in custom healthcare software development that meets all HIPAA requirements. With over 10 years of experience in this field, we specialize in crafting and managing medical software across the healthcare industry. If you need help making sure your software is HIPAA-compliant, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. We’re here to answer any questions you have.