CloudPrime’s new mobile health app allows HIPAA secure file sharing of patient data that promises to bring security to an insecure world.
Thanks to mobile devices, tapping into information has never been easier. But how do you keep that data, now at fingertip’s length, from ultimately falling into the wrong hands? That’s the question many in healthcare have struggled to answer, as they search for secure data delivery systems that protect patient privacy and uphold HIPAA regulations. Is there such a solution out there? According to CloudPrime, there is now.
The San Francisco, Calif.-based company known for its cloud-based secure messaging platform announced on Dec. 6, it has developed QuickDrop: an app that provides secure transmission of any size and file type (including documents, texts, video and photos) to and from mobile devices. According to CloudPrime’s press release, the app is the first of its kind, offering iPhone and iPad users a free and secure file sharing system with the highest level of security. It will also be available for Mac desktops and Android devices in Q1, 2013.
The app’s development comes on the heels of what can only be described as a pure and pervasive saturation of mobile technology use in the US and abroad: it’s estimated 87 percent of the world’s population are currently mobile device owners. Although the US healthcare industry has been slow to catch up with the mobile movement, it’s quickly picking up the pace.
As we reported in our third edition of Mindblowing HIT Stats and Trends series, mobile device and app use in healthcare is on the rise, with physicians viewing patient information as well as non-protected health information more frequently via tablets and smartphones. However, it’s that lack of protection that has halted many in healthcare from fully integrating mobile devices into their care practices.
[See also: 5 Critical Considerations When Developing A Clinical Mobility Strategy]
Protecting patient privacy is of primary concern, and that priority will only keep growing along with the popularity of mobile device use in healthcare, according to Mari Tangredi, co-founder and vice president of business development at CloudPrime.
“We believe that with the explosion of the use of iPads, and other tablets and smartphones, there will be a similar explosion of need for applications that were built from the start to address the needs of the healthcare community,” she said.
According to Tangredi, QuickDrop was specifically designed with the healthcare community in mind. In fact, the idea for the app derived from co-founder and CEO Bob Millar’s personal frustrations with the lack of data solutions available during his wife’s battle with pancreatic cancer.
“He had to carry his spouse’s x-rays and scans from doctor to doctor on a USB device,” said Tangredi. “It was beyond inefficient. He knew there had to be a better way.”
Pursuing that rather personal mission has led to QuickDrop’s development. But what could develop from implementation of such secure apps could be more profound than easing patients’ frustrations. With the ability to share patient records, x-rays, dictation files, and other relevant forms of patient data, solutions like QuickDrop may have the opportunity to align and enhance patient treatment across care disciplines and organizations. Still, is QuickDrop as secure as it’s claiming to be?
“We have built the product based on the input of numerous healthcare professionals, including ER physicians, leading radiologists, CMIOs, and large providers—all while coupling it with military grade security,” said Tangredi.
QuickDrop’s seemingly bulletproof backdrop comes from CloudPrime’s proprietary Secure Messaging Fabric. Its message encryption and tracking take place at the file level, as opposed to macro or application level, which ensures no long-term storage of the data in the public cloud, eliminating the ability for the data to be compromised. Furthermore, its email-type interface promises to be user-friendly and work well with existing repositories, including EMRs and PACS.
Apps like QuickDrop may have the influence to empower health organizations to embrace mobile technology more readily by providing the security needed to build trust in an otherwise insecure, virtual world. Of course, it may take more than solutions like QuickDrop to get all the way there—but it’s a start.
QuickDrop is available for download in the iTunes store.
