HIPAA-compliant software development
When an application creates, receives, stores, or transmits protected health information, compliance is an engineering problem as much as a legal one. We design systems where the HIPAA Security Rule’s safeguards are part of the architecture — and we can explain every one of them to your compliance officer.
Technical safeguards we build in
Mapped to the HIPAA Security Rule and applied from the first sprint:
- Unique user identification and role-based access control
- Multi-factor authentication and automatic session timeout
- Encryption in transit (TLS 1.2+) and at rest (AES-256)
- Tamper-evident audit logs for PHI access and changes
- Integrity controls, backups, and tested disaster recovery
- Data minimization and PHI-free logs, analytics, and error reports
The contracts and infrastructure behind it
Compliance extends to every vendor that touches PHI. We sign Business Associate Agreements, host on HIPAA-eligible cloud services covered by the provider’s BAA, and vet third-party tools (email, SMS, analytics, support) for BAA availability before they go into the stack.
Documentation for audits and risk assessments
We deliver architecture diagrams, data-flow maps showing where PHI lives, access-control matrices, and incident-response runbooks that feed directly into your HIPAA risk analysis.
A note on responsibility: compliance is shared between your organization, your vendors, and your development partner. We engineer and document the technical safeguards; we are not a law firm or a qualified security assessor, and we’re glad to work alongside yours.
HIPAA-Compliant Development: common questions
Don’t see your question? Ask a senior engineer directly.
Is there such a thing as HIPAA-certified software?
No. There is no official HIPAA certification for software. What matters is that the application implements the required safeguards and is operated under proper policies and BAAs. Be cautious of vendors claiming certification.
Does my app need to be HIPAA compliant?
If you are a covered entity (a provider, health plan, or clearinghouse) or a business associate handling PHI on their behalf, yes. Many consumer wellness apps that don’t work with covered entities fall outside HIPAA but may still be subject to FTC health-data rules and state privacy laws.
Which cloud providers support HIPAA workloads?
Major providers including AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure offer BAAs covering a defined list of HIPAA-eligible services. Only those listed services should be used to process PHI.
Can you text or email patients from a HIPAA-compliant app?
Yes, with care. We use messaging providers that sign BAAs, limit PHI in message content, and follow patient communication preferences and consent.
Have a project that needs to be built right?
Tell us what you’re working on. You’ll talk directly with a senior engineer — no sales script, no obligation.