Electronic and mobile healthcare technologies have continued to evolve rapidly since 2019. Collecting, analyzing, and sharing patient data has become even more streamlined, benefiting all stakeholders, including patients and healthcare providers. Yet, many healthtech startups still face challenges in handling this highly sensitive data appropriately.
Thorgate's agile team has partnered with numerous international healthtech innovators, steering projects that enhance patient care and attract significant investment. Healthtech, or digital health, leverages technology—such as databases, apps, and wearables—to enhance care delivery and support pharmaceutical development. Venture funding in the healthtech sector remains robust worldwide, fostering the development of innovative products that move away from traditional, inefficient healthcare methods.
Understanding HIPAA in Today's Tech Landscape
Modern communication platforms like email and instant messaging have revolutionized productivity by facilitating rapid information exchange. While these tools are widely used across many industries, the healthcare sector requires specialized solutions to meet stringent compliance regulations.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996's Privacy Rule in the U.S. mandates how healthcare organizations must handle personal health information. This includes provisions for cloud services, messaging platforms, email providers, and any digital platforms handling sensitive patient data.
When building health tech apps, Thorgate has relied on React Native, which has recently blossomed as the go-to way of building mobile applications. In a nutshell, React Native allows one to write code in just one language (Javascript) and port that code over to multiple platforms. That’s quite an improvement from the traditional way of building mobile apps, which entails creating two different apps for iOS and Android smartphones from scratch
Benefits of React Native for App Development:
- Reusability: It utilizes native components that compile directly to the device’s own machine language.
- Efficiency: Development speed is enhanced through integration with third-party plugins that utilize device functionality like accelerometers and gyroscopes.
- Community Support: React Native benefits from robust JavaScript community engagement and open-source collaboration.
TXP Chat™ — Enhancing Organ Transplant Communications
The critical period between an organ's donation and transplantation is vital. Surprisingly, over the past few years, more than 60% of donated hearts and lungs were not used. Meanwhile, approximately 17 people die each day waiting for transplants—a slight improvement from 20 in 2018.
TXP Chat™ by OmniLife, a secure mobile messaging app designed specifically for organ transplant communications, was developed with Thorgate's expertise. This app has been instrumental in saving lives by streamlining the complex communications involved in organ referrals and transplantation.
Project Management Excellence with Thorgate
In collaboration with clients like TXP Chat™, Thorgate ensures meticulous attention to HIPAA compliance and app security, focusing on:
- Data Security: No personal data is logged, and all information is encrypted.
- Data Management: Data is securely erased upon app uninstallation.
- User Security: Automatic logout after periods of inactivity, now set to 4 hours to enhance security.
- Secure Storage: Media files are stored on AWS S3 and accessed via secure authorization proxies.
HealX — Streamlining Drug Repurposing for Rare Diseases
The process of validating drugs for rare diseases remains lengthy and costly, often exceeding a decade and $2 billion in expenses. HealX, a Cambridge-based startup, collaborates with Thorgate to harness automated data analysis in identifying potential drug repurposing opportunities, thus accelerating treatment availability for rare disease patients.
Thorgate's comprehensive approach—from initial scoping with stakeholders to producing detailed user flow designs—ensures that each project phase is executed flawlessly, significantly reducing the need for manual intervention and enhancing data quality for treatment discovery.
Thorgate remains committed to supporting health tech startups at every development stage, providing deep industry knowledge and technical expertise. Contact us today to discover how our solutions can address your specific needs in the evolving healthcare landscape.
For more details or to schedule an e-meeting, reach out to us at hi@thorgate.eu. Whether you're exploring health tech solutions or starting with an MVP, our team is ready to assist you.
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