A recent issue of The Coding Institute’s Health Information Compliance Alert addressed the question of HIPAA compliance among the ever-increasing number of apps being used more and more in the healthcare industry, aiding in such areas as clinical decision making and drug prescribing.
Whether a software application must comply with HIPAA guidelines or other federal privacy laws hinges on a number of factors. Perhaps, most importantly, most (if not all) of the health information being imported, accessed, and stored on Smart Phones and other electronic devices is sensitive information requiring careful handling. Thankfully, there is a user-friendly tool in place to aid in handling this information safely and securely.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently issued a list of 10 questions to help determine which healthcare apps must comply with HIPAA guidelines:
- Does the app create, receive, maintain, or transmit identifiable health information?
- Is the app developer a healthcare provider or health plan?
- Do consumers need a prescription to access the app?
- Did the developer create the app on behalf of a HIPAA-covered entity?
- Is the app intended for use in the diagnosis of disease or other conditions, or in the cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease?
- Does the app pose “minimal risk” to a user?
- Is the app a “mobile medical app”?
- Is the app developer a nonprofit organization?
- Did the developer create the app as a covered entity?
- Does the developer offer health records directly to consumers, or does the developer interact with or offer services to someone who does?
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