HIPAA Compliant Software Development

AES-256 encryption at rest for all PHI stored in databases, file storage, and backups. TLS 1.2+ for all data in transit -- no plaintext PHI transmission over any channel. Encrypted database connections, encrypted backup storage, and encryption key management using AWS KMS or GCP Cloud KMS. Application-level encryption for particularly sensitive data categories (psychiatric records, substance use treatment data, genetic information). Encryption that meets HIPAA Security Rule technical safeguard requirements for PHI storage and transmission.

Role-based access control (RBAC) with minimum necessary access principle -- users access only the PHI their role requires to perform their function. Unique user identification for all system users (no shared accounts). Multi-factor authentication for clinical and administrative users accessing PHI. Session timeout and automatic logout for unattended sessions. Emergency access procedures for critical situations with audit trail. Access control lists maintained and reviewed -- not just set during onboarding and forgotten.

Comprehensive audit logs capturing every PHI access event: user ID, timestamp, data accessed, action taken (view, create, modify, delete), and source IP address. Immutable audit logs that cannot be altered or deleted by application users. Log retention for minimum 6 years per HIPAA requirements. Automated alerts for anomalous access patterns (bulk downloads, after-hours access, access from unusual locations). Audit log export for security incident investigation and compliance review.

HIPAA requires Business Associate Agreements with all vendors who handle PHI on your behalf. We build on HIPAA Eligible Services: AWS (EC2, RDS, S3, Lambda, CloudWatch with BAA), Google Cloud Healthcare API and HIPAA-covered GCP services. Database services (RDS PostgreSQL, Aurora), file storage (S3 with server-side encryption), and container services (ECS, EKS) all covered under AWS BAA. Third-party integrations (EHR APIs, telehealth video providers, analytics) evaluated for BAA availability before inclusion in the architecture.

Minimum necessary standard applied to data collection -- we don't store PHI the application doesn't need. PHI de-identification where downstream use cases allow (analytics, reporting, ML training). Secure PHI deletion workflows for data retention compliance -- PHI deleted from all storage locations, not just the primary database. Data residency configuration for PHI that must stay within specific jurisdictions. PHI inventory mapping -- knowing what PHI you store, where, and why is the foundation of defensible compliance.

HIPAA compliance requires both technical and administrative safeguards. We provide: technical architecture documentation for your security risk assessment (mapping technical controls to HIPAA Security Rule requirements), data flow diagrams showing PHI movement through the system, access control specifications for your policies and procedures, and security incident response documentation for your breach notification procedures. We don't write your compliance policies -- that's your legal and compliance team's role -- but we give them the technical documentation they need.