Healthcare software
development company
$10.9M
average cost of a healthcare data breach (IBM, 2023)
Healthcare software development
Healthcare software development built to HIPAA from Sprint 1.
We build custom healthcare applications with HIPAA technical safeguards, HL7 FHIR integration, and EHR connectivity designed into the architecture before the first line of code. Never bolted on after launch.
Vitals MonitorICU Room 4B • Live
72
BPM
98%
SpO2
37.1
Temp C
120/80
BP
Jordan M. • DOB 04/15/1985
MRN: 284719 • Attending: Dr. A. Rivera
HIPAA Audit Log
PHI viewed: Rivera, A. (MD)authorized
Record updated: Vitals recordedlogged
HL7 FHIR export: Epic EHRsynced
HIPAAHL7 FHIR R4PHI EncryptedBAA Signed
The HIPAA architecture gap
Most healthcare software failures are not coding errors. They are architecture decisions made before anyone checked what HIPAA requires.
Typical non-compliant healthcare build
PHI stored in standard user table, unencrypted at rest
HIPAA requires encryption of all PHI at rest. Standard
database columns without transparent data encryption
violate 164.312(a)(2)(iv).
No audit log of who accessed patient records
HIPAA 164.312(b) requires hardware, software, and
procedural mechanisms to record and examine activity in
systems containing PHI.
API returns full patient records without minimum necessary
filtering
HIPAA minimum necessary standard requires limiting PHI
disclosures to what is needed for each specific purpose.
No Business Associate Agreement with development partner
Any developer accessing PHI or systems containing PHI is a
Business Associate under HIPAA. No Business Associate
Agreement means the covered entity is liable.
// WARNING: PHI stored unprotected
constgetPatient =
async (id) => {
// No access control check
// No audit logging
const patient =
await db.query(
'SELECT * FROM patients WHERE id = ?',
[id]
);
// Returns ALL PHI fields - no min necessary
return patient;
};
5 HIPAA violations in 12 lines
Redefine HIPAA-compliant architecture
PHI encrypted at rest using AES-256 and TDE
Transparent data encryption at the database level. PHI
fields additionally encrypted at the application layer.
Key management with AWS KMS or Azure Key Vault.
Immutable PHI access audit log on every request
Every read and write to PHI generates an immutable audit
record: user, timestamp, action, IP address, purpose.
CloudWatch Logs or equivalent with 7-year retention.
Minimum necessary PHI filtering at the API layer
Every endpoint specifies exactly which PHI fields it
requires. Role-based field masking ensures no endpoint
returns more data than its stated purpose requires.
BAA executed before any PHI or test data is accessed
We are a Business Associate under HIPAA. We sign the
Business Associate Agreement before project kickoff,
maintain it for the engagement duration, and provide a
subcontractor BAA for all third-party services that touch
PHI.
constgetPatient =
async (req, id) => {
// Access control: verify role + entitlement
await
assertHIPAAEntitlement(req.user, id);
// Audit log: immutable PHI access record
await
auditLog.phi(req.user,
'READ', id);
const patient =
await db.query(
// Minimum necessary fields only
'SELECT id, name, dob FROM patients WHERE id =
?',
[id]
);
return
decryptPHI(patient);
};
HIPAA 164.312 compliant
HIPAA compliance assessment
Check your current HIPAA posture. See exactly where your gaps are before you build.
This is the same checklist we run at project discovery. Check off what you already have in place and your compliance score updates in real time.
164.308 • Administrative Safeguards
Designated Security Officer assigned
164.308(a)(2) • A named individual responsible for HIPAA
policies and procedures
Annual workforce HIPAA training completed
164.308(a)(5) • All staff with PHI access trained and
documented
Risk analysis and risk management plan documented
164.308(a)(1) • Annual risk assessment identifying PHI
vulnerabilities
Contingency plan and disaster recovery procedures
164.308(a)(7) • Data backup, recovery, and emergency
operations documented
Information access management policy in place
164.308(a)(4) • Procedures for granting and modifying PHI
access
164.310 • Physical Safeguards
Physical access controls to server and data facilities
164.310(a)(1) • Locks, keycards, or equivalent access
restrictions to PHI infrastructure
Workstation use policy and screen lock enforcement
164.310(b) • Auto-lock policies on all devices that access
PHI
Device and media disposal procedure documented
164.310(d)(1) • Secure wipe or physical destruction before
disposal
Hardware inventory tracking active PHI systems
164.310(d)(2) • Register of all hardware and media that
store or process PHI
164.312 • Technical Safeguards
Access control: unique user IDs and role-based PHI access
164.312(a)(1) • No shared logins. Role-based access
controls limiting PHI to what each role requires
Audit controls: logging all PHI access with user and
timestamp
164.312(b) • Immutable audit trail for every read, write,
and delete operation on PHI
PHI encrypted in transit using TLS 1.2 or higher
164.312(e)(2)(ii) • All API calls and data transfers over
TLS. No unencrypted PHI transmission
PHI encrypted at rest using AES-256 or equivalent
164.312(a)(2)(iv) • Database-level and application-level
encryption for all PHI fields
Automatic session timeout on inactive PHI sessions
164.312(a)(2)(iii) • Auto-logoff after defined period of
inactivity for all PHI-accessible sessions
164.314 + 164.316 • Organizational Requirements
Business Associate Agreements with all PHI vendors
164.314(a)(1) • Business Associate Agreement executed with
every vendor that touches PHI including developers, cloud
providers, and analytics tools
Breach notification procedures documented and tested
164.400-414 • 60-day breach notification process to HHS
and affected individuals
HIPAA policies and procedures documented and current
164.316(a) • Written policies covering all HIPAA
safeguards, reviewed annually
Sanction policy for workforce HIPAA violations
164.308(a)(1)(ii)(C) • Documented consequences for staff
who violate HIPAA policies
High Risk
0 of 18 safeguards in place
High Risk0 to 40%
Partial40 to 70%
Mostly Compliant70 to 90%
Compliant90 to 100%
Identify your gaps
Check off each safeguard you already have in place to see
your current HIPAA posture.
Book HIPAA Architecture CallHealthcare software capabilities
The four systems that healthcare software companies need built and compliant.
01 • Patient portals
HIPAA-compliant patient portal with appointment scheduling and
secure messaging
Patient portals are protected health information systems from the moment they store a name and date of birth. We design the authentication layer (Sign in with Apple or Google for consumer-facing portals, single sign-on for enterprise), implement minimum necessary PHI access per role, and build the audit trail that documents every record view.
HIPAA PHI access controlSecure messaging encryptionAppointment and scheduling engine
Mobile app
development →
Jordan M.
Last login: today 9:14 AM • MFA active
Next appointment
Jun 12 • 2:30 PM
Unread messages
2 new
All sessions encrypted • PHI audit logging active
02 • EHR integration
HL7 FHIR R4 and SMART on FHIR integration with Epic and Cerner
FHIR integration requires understanding the resource model, handling pagination across large result sets, and implementing SMART on FHIR OAuth flows correctly. We have built FHIR integrations for healthcare applications and know where the edge cases are before your project encounters them.
HL7 FHIR R4SMART on FHIR OAuthEpic and Cerner APIs
API development
services →
GET /fhir/r4/Patient/284719
Authorization: Bearer smart-on-fhir-token
200 OK • 124ms • PHI logged
Sync Status: Epic EHR
Last sync: 14s ago • 2,847 resources
Patient(847)Observation(1240)Medication(760)
03 • Healthcare CMS and web platforms
HIPAA-compliant CMS with ADA accessibility and healthcare
content workflows
Hospital websites and healthcare platforms must meet ADA WCAG 2.1 accessibility standards, comply with healthcare content regulations, and handle appointment requests without storing PHI in the CMS itself. We built the custom CMS for Saratoga Hospital and understand the specific requirements of clinical web platforms.
ADA WCAG 2.1 complianceHealthcare content governanceLaravel and PHP
PHP and Laravel
development →
Recent Content
Cardiology Department
Pagepublished
Emergency Services
Updatereview
Patient Rights
Documentpublished
ADA WCAG 2.1 AA • All content accessibility-checked on
publish
04 • Healthcare data and analytics
De-identified healthcare analytics dashboards compliant with
HIPAA safe harbor
Healthcare analytics requires de-identifying PHI before it reaches any analytics pipeline. HIPAA Safe Harbor de-identification removes or generalizes 18 specific identifiers. We implement de-identification at the data extraction layer so your business intelligence dashboards never contain identifiable patient data.
HIPAA Safe Harbor de-identificationPopulation health analytics
Readmission Rate
8.4%
Avg Length of Stay
4.2d
HIPAA Safe Harbor de-identified • 18 identifiers removed •
Analytics-safe
Client result.
Saratoga Hospital: custom HIPAA-compliant CMS replacing fragmented manual workflows.
HealthcareHospital
Saratoga Hospital
A major regional hospital needing a centralized, secure, and
compliant content management system to replace fragmented
manual workflows and meet healthcare security standards.
Problem
Manual content updates, fragmented content management tools,
compliance gaps, and scalability limits that posed
performance and regulatory risk.
Result
0%
reduction in manual content update time after CMS deployment
Laravel CMSHIPAA CompliantADA Accessible
Project delivery timeline
Week 1 to 2
Discovery and compliance audit
HIPAA requirements mapped, existing content inventory
audited, CMS architecture and data model defined.
Week 3 to 6
Laravel CMS core build
PHP MVC architecture, custom API layer, content
workflows, role-based access for editorial and clinical
staff.
Week 7 to 9
Security and compliance implementation
HIPAA technical safeguards, ADA WCAG 2.1 accessibility
audit, performance optimization, third-party
integrations.
Week 10 to 11
QA, staff training, content migration
Full content migration from legacy system, clinical
staff training on new CMS workflows, user acceptance
testing sign-off.
Week 12
Production launch
CMS live on production. Manual content update time
reduced significantly. HIPAA compliant from day one.
Healthcare development comparison
Not every software agency has built inside HIPAA. The checklist to verify before you sign.
Healthcare capability
Generic agency
Healthcare specialist
Redefine
HIPAA architecture scoped at Sprint 0
Before any code is written
Rarely
Standard
Always
Business Associate Agreement
Required for all PHI access
Often refused
Standard
Day 1
HL7 FHIR R4 integration experience
Epic, Cerner, Health Gorilla
None
Varies
Delivered
PHI audit logging on every request
Immutable with 7-year retention
Not built
Sometimes
Standard
ADA WCAG 2.1 accessibility audit
Required for healthcare web
Extra cost
Included
Included
Post-launch HIPAA compliance monitoring
90-day maintenance coverage
Not offered
Extra fee
90d included
Common questions
What healthcare CTOs and product leads ask before an engagement.
HIPAA technical safeguards require four things from your software architecture: access controls that restrict who can read or modify PHI, audit controls that log every access with a timestamp and user identifier, integrity controls that detect unauthorized PHI modification, and transmission security that encrypts PHI in transit. These must be designed into the data model, authentication system, and API layer from Sprint 1. An application rebuilt for HIPAA compliance after launch costs 5 to 10 times more than one designed for it from the start. Use the HIPAA Assessment above to identify your current gaps.
Yes. We integrate with Epic and Cerner via their FHIR R4 APIs and SMART on FHIR authorization framework. For older electronic health record systems that expose HL7 v2 interfaces, we build message parsers and translation layers for ADT, ORM, and ORU messages. We also integrate with Health Gorilla and other health data aggregators for multi-EHR access.
A Business Associate Agreement is a contract required by HIPAA whenever a covered entity shares PHI with a vendor that processes, stores, or transmits that data. As a software development company building systems that handle PHI, Redefine is a Business Associate under HIPAA. We execute a Business Associate Agreement before accessing any PHI, including sample or test data. Any development partner who declines to sign a Business Associate Agreement is operating outside HIPAA requirements.
A HIPAA-compliant patient portal with authentication, appointment scheduling, secure messaging, and basic health record access takes 16 to 22 weeks. A clinical workflow application with EHR integration, role-based access, and audit logging takes 20 to 28 weeks. A healthcare content management system like the one we built for Saratoga Hospital takes 10 to 14 weeks. We scope before we quote.
We built the custom HIPAA-compliant content management system for Saratoga Hospital, a major regional hospital network, replacing fragmented manual workflows with a centralized Laravel-based platform with full security and compliance implementation. We have also built enterprise-grade school management systems for the education sector covering enrollment data compliance and secure data handling.
Book a healthcare architecture call
Tell us about your healthcare software project.
We respond within two business days. No commitment. No pitch.
Form
Submit brief → call within 48 hours → HIPAA-scoped proposal in 3 days → Sprint 1 starts week 2
Your team's time investment is 3 to 4 hours per week: one sprint review and async feedback. We handle HIPAA compliance, EHR integration, and clinical quality assurance.
48 hours
Response
BAA
Day 1
HIPAA
Sprint 0
HL7 FHIR
R4 native
Brief received.
We will review your healthcare project and send a HIPAA-scoped proposal within 3 business days.
