Tag: healthcare

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5 Security Best Practices for Mobile App Development

[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]While innovation and exceptional building experiences are the cruces of mobile app development, security should also be a main priority. The vulnerabilities of apps, such as the leaking of log-in credentials and damage caused by threat actors, have been well documented, showing that security still has a long way to go. 

CTOs seeking improved app development approaches and returns should focus more on compliance, data security, encryption, and other key security elements that optimize mobile app performance. Here are five best practices for mobile app security to consider, spanning multiple industries. 

 

Security Best Practices for Mobile App Development

 

A mobile app security application needs to be fully compliant for optimal functionality and to facilitate widespread adoption. A failure to fulfill compliance standards leads to data breaches triggering devastating financial losses and lost business opportunities. Plus, customers won’t use an app if it’s not compliant, with 84% of people factoring in security when deciding to install an app. 

In the financial services industry, PCI DSS compliance is crucial when developing mobile apps. This includes the securing of stored cardholder data, encryption, and key management. Cardholder data should not be stored until it’s fully necessary to meet business objectives, while sensitive authentication data should not be stored after authorization, even after being encrypted. 

Additionally, financial services apps should be compliant with SOC and SOC 2, setting up mobile apps equipped with a basic app monitoring system, centralized logging from a secure spot, and the identity of vulnerabilities. 

Alternatively, there is the important matter of achieving HIPAA compliance for healthcare apps, including for telemedicine apps to provide fool-proof patient security and condition-based apps preserving key medical information. HIPAA-compliant mobile apps like mobile scanning apps should adhere to confidentiality standards and the avoidance of fraud or discrimination, effectively preserving patient health information (PHI)

Source Code Encryption 

Because the code in many mobile apps, particularly native apps, is based on the client side, malware can easily track any source code and design vulnerabilities. For enhanced mobile app security, developers can include detection tools and ensure apps are robust enough to combat reverse engineering and prevent tampering. Encrypting source code makes it unreadable to cybercriminals and helps defend mobile apps against infiltration, while making your apps work harder for you.

High-Level Authentication

 

Security breaches typically occur due to a lack of high-level authentication practices. Standard password approval simply isn’t good enough in a digital world where hackers are becoming increasingly savvy when stealing information. 

As a result, developers should focus on improving mobile app security applications by creating apps that make use of strong alphanumeric passwords, two-factor authentication, or biometrics. Alternatively, businesses can mandate that clients and end-users change passwords frequently to keep potential attackers guessing. 

For highly sensitive apps, such as healthcare apps and financial apps that deal with a customer’s sensitive information, developers should explore passwordless solutions like biometric authentication, which require retina or fingerprint recognition to validate identity. 

Improving Backend Security 

Another major aspect of mobile app security is protecting the backend. For apps with client-server mechanisms, having security measures to safeguard against attacks on backend servers is vital to ensure premium functionality. 

A lot of developers make misleading assumptions that only an app that’s programmed to access application programming interfaces (APIs) can access the backend. Instead, developers should verify both the APIs and the individuals who access the servers. By doing so, you can secure the client-to-server data transfer.

Minimizing The Storage of Sensitive Data

Many developers prefer storing sensitive data in a device’s local memory. However, storing sensitive data for long periods increases security risks such as accidental deletion or unauthorized access. If developers have no choice but to do so, it’s best advised to use key chains or encrypted data containers that protect sensitive data against accidental or unauthorized access.

Security is one of the most important and difficult aspects, especially for apps–they’re literally in our pockets at all times. Mobile app development, therefore, needs to be at the forefront of security, not something to be tacked on as an afterthought. So, build exceptional experiences not just through great design and functionality but by building trust in the security of the apps you’re developing.

 

 

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Mobile Innovations in Healthcare

[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]Over 80% of the world’s population now own smartphones and it only makes sense those mobile phones continue to play a more integral role in our daily lives from shopping online to tracking our health and everything in between. The pandemic has certainly expedited the use case for telehealth solutions across all major areas as patients and doctors alike looked for ways to safely mitigate Covid 19 concerns while continuing to provide quality healthcare solutions and services.  

According to a 2021 study by Insider Intelligence, the trend of consumers using their phones for Telehealth services only stands to grow in the coming months and years and this spans multiple generations and age groups as technical capabilities continue to grow. The study shows that while the largest intentional users of Telehealth services are Millennials aged 25-40, every major age category showed that the majority of those polled are planning to use or continue to use these services moving forward.  

Telehealth, or mHealth, is showing exponential growth and innovation across a wide variety of use cases. Whether it is apps that help to track and monitor health functions, the ability to access mental health services via your mobile phone, medical students leveraging AR (Augmented Reality) and VR (Virtual Reality) technologies to develop essential skills or physicians looking to level the playing field and create health equity by providing healthcare virtually, mobile apps and telehealth solutions are completely disrupting the Healthcare industry.  

 

Improving Doctor Patient Relationships 

Perhaps the biggest influence of mobile technology within the healthcare industry is the relationship between doctors and patients and the overall improvements that will come with the introduction of technology in the field. Historically, patient care consisted of making an appointment with healthcare providers whenever a health issue arose, requests for prescription refills or for a yearly physical examination and doctors were dependent on information provided by patients to diagnose and provide appropriate care. Innovations in mobile technology have given rise to improved experiences in these areas for both patients and physicians.  

From the simple convenience of using a mobile phone to book an appointment with your healthcare provider to providing primary healthcare professionals with a 360-degree view of a patient, mobile technology is changing the game for the healthcare industry.  

Mobile apps are now being used to connect doctors and patients more holistically with the click of a button. Patients can use simple logistics functions like appointment scheduling, referrals requests and prescription refill requests but more than this, they are helping doctors have a more holistic view of their patients by providing healthcare tracking information like sleep monitoring, heart rate monitoring and prescription medication monitoring through wearables and mobile apps. Doctors are no longer reliant on just patient provided data but can now layer this with health data points provided by wearables and monitoring apps that provide deeper over time data points.  

Medical compliance is another area that has seen great improvements as a direct result of mobile technology innovations. Post-surgery or outpatient procedure patients can now benefit from mobile apps that provide patients with reminders to take medication, change dressings and even provide monitoring of primary diagnostic data points like blood pressure, heart rate and even respiratory rates. This allows doctors to provide better care overall and it gives them the ability to track and monitor potential warning signs allowing them to provide early intervention care and preventative care. Portable monitors that provide essential health data to healthcare practitioners also means that patients can convalesce at home where they are more comfortable, and this also has the added benefit of reducing healthcare costs overall.  

 

Wearables and Mobile Healthcare Tracking 

Doctors are not the only ones benefitting from mobile app health or mHealth industry innovations. Patient lead healthcare is changing the game for patients taking more control of their healthcare through everyday tracking and monitoring. Wearables, fitness trackers, nutrition trackers, sleep trackers, period trackers and even pregnancy trackers are giving patients more control over their health and making patients an integral part of their healthcare overall.  

A recent report by Deloitte Global predicts that “320 million consumer health and wellness wearable devices will ship worldwide in 2022. By 2024, that figure will likely reach nearly 440 million units as new offerings hit the market and more health care providers become comfortable with using them.”  As this industry continues to grow, we will see a wide variety of companies further investing in research and development in building out new and innovative wearable and tracking platforms that deliver the personal healthcare information that consumers are seeking. 

 

Improved Health Equity Through mHealth  

For those that live in remote areas or those who live in underserved Healthcare regions, mobile technology innovations means that doctors can “meet with patients” remotely while still being able to provide holistic healthcare which has a significant impact on health equity overall. High speed internet along with virtual monitoring and tracking technology means that doctors can provide healthcare where it is needed without ever leaving their office. This also allows primary care physicians in remote or underserved areas to connect patients with referrals to specialists remotely to ensure that quality of care is not limited to large urban centers.  

Many of these virtual solutions also come with a lower price tag and a lower barrier of entry which means patients with a lower income threshold or limited access to a primary healthcare provider can now access these services without worrying about traditionally debilitating healthcare costs.  

 

Mobile Apps and the Mental Healthcare Industry 

The mental health industry has also seen vast improvements from the introduction of mobile technology in the field. A recent survey from Stats Canada on COVID-19 and Mental Health indicates that “one in four (25%) Canadians aged 18 and older screened positive for symptoms of depression, anxiety, or posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the spring of 2021, up from one in five (21%) in fall 2020.”  As a direct result, there has been a huge uptick in people seeking mental health services in the market.  

The AppLabb worked with a client recently who was looking to create a robust digital platform to match students in need of mental health services with students studying to be mental health counselors — all while maintaining privacy and upholding the highest standard of care. This app allows students and student counselors with the ability to connect via a matching algorithm based on their needs and the ability to access omni-channel counseling services. The app provides mental health counseling as well as providing student counselors with the ability to offer counseling under the close supervision of faculty and advisors. Faculty supervisors are able to track notes and provide feedback without interrupting the counseling session with an in-app notetaking and progress recording feature.  

 

Augmented Reality & Virtual Reality Integrations  

Another key area that has significantly impacted the healthcare industry is the integration of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality technology. A recent article from Medical Futurist outlines some of the ways that these technologies are creating exciting opportunities within the healthcare industry. 

Nurses are leveraging augmented reality in finding veins for injections and drawing blood thanks to an innovative new app from Healthtech startup AccuVein. With a 40% miss rate for intravenous injections (even higher for children and the elderly), this stands to make vast improvements in patient care by giving nurses and frontline healthcare workers the ability to “visualize” the veins in patients and drastically reducing the miss rate.  

Augmented reality is also quickly becoming an integral member of the operating team alongside surgeons. Sync AR has developed software that gives surgeons x-ray vision by fusing digitally enhanced images directly into the microscopes of a surgical device and allows them to better visualize human anatomy prior to and during procedures which has the potential to significantly impact outcomes by making it easier for surgeons to perform complex surgeries and proper assessment and diagnosis.  

Microsoft’s HoloLens Headset is revolutionizing the way medical students are learning by providing a completely virtual view of the human body and they can “visualize” everything from muscles throughout the body to the smallest veins using a dynamic holographic model. This technology leverages what they are calling “mixed reality” (a blend of both AR and VR) and uses multiple sensors, advanced optics, and holographic processing to create an innovative learning environment.  

This is exciting news for multidisciplinary care teams from specialized physicians to primary care personnel as they are now able to collaborate remotely and conduct virtual patient consultations which is good news for patients who then see a reduction in the time to treatment and an acceleration in their diagnosis.  

HoloLens technology is not limited to just the Healthcare field, there are also using this innovative technology in the Manufacturing, Engineering & Contruction and Education industries as well to accelerate the speed of projects, reduce downtime and improve overall experiences across the board. 

 

Zombies and Fitness Motivation 

AR and VR is also finding its way into helping people get and stay fit through fun motivational apps like Zombie, Run! The app motivates runners to achieve fitness goals by using audio and GPS to create missions that users participate in. Throughout your walk, jog or run, users are presented opportunities to collect supplies, and interact with location-based prompts that mimic interval training and sprint training. This gamification of fitness is a fast-growing industry and Zombies, Run! has well over a million active users.  

 

Telehealth Is Here to Stay 

While being chased by Zombies may not be the motivation that everyone is looking for, Telehealth and mHealth solutions are creating more equity, more autonomy and more holistic healthcare across all major industry touchpoints. While the pandemic may have escalated the need for telehealth and mHealth solutions, the rapid adoption and growth rate of users across all use cases shows that this technology is here to stay.  

 

We would love to talk to you about your healthcare project or innovative ideas and work with you to make your ideas a reality. Work with one of Toronto’s leading Mobile App and Application Development companies and we will help you achieve your goals. 

Contact us today! [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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How the Internet of Things (IOT) is revolutionizing Healthcare?

[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]According to a new report from MarketResearch.com, the healthcare Internet of Things market segment is poised to hit $117 billion by 2020.

There is no second thought that Internet of Things (IoT) is transforming the healthcare industry by redefining how devices, applications, and people interact and connect with each other in delivering healthcare solutions. The demand for connected devices and application development in Toronto works across multiple industries including retail, automotive and education.

So what are the advantages that Internet of Things (IoT) can deliver in a healthcare organization?

  1. Decreased Costs: When you can take advantage of the connectivity of the healthcare solutions, real-time monitoring of the patient can be done, thus cutting down on unnecessary visits by doctors. Home care facilities that are advanced are guaranteed to cut down on hospital stays and re-admissions.
  2. Improved Treatment Outcomes: Healthcare solutions through cloud computing or other virtual infrastructure gives the ability to access real-time information and enables them to make informed decisions as well as offer treatment that. This makes sure that health care is timely and treatment outcomes are improved.
  3. Reduce Errors: As patients would be monitored on a continuous basis and due to that health care providers will access real-time data, diseases are treated before they get out of hand and can be treated and medicated in real time.
  4. Better Disease Control: With the right collection of data, automation combined with data-driven decisions is the right way of cutting down on waste, reducing system costs and most importantly errors minimization.
  5. Patient Delight Experience: Connectivity of the healthcare systems through the Internet of Things (IoT) emphasis on the needs of the patient. That helps in better accuracy when it comes to diagnosis, timely intervention by physicians and better treatment. These outcomes result in accountable care that is highly trusted by patients.
  6. Enhanced Drug Management: The management of drugs is a major expense in the healthcare industry. With the Internet of Things (IoT) processes and devices, it is possible to manage these costs better and get better data analysis.

Internet of Things (IoT) is constantly offering new tools and capabilities that make up a unified healthcare system with the goal of ensuring patients are cared for better, health care costs are reduced significantly and treatment outcomes are improved.

Users are accustomed to a higher level of convenience, efficiency, and automation and here comes the need for implementing IoT for healthcare in the current architecture. Internet of Things (IoT) is helping the healthcare industry to offer enhanced and better treatment to its patients.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]