For HIPAA-compliant apps

HIPAA-compliant app development, designed in from day one

HIPAA isn't a feature you add before launch — it's an architecture. We build digital-health apps where encryption, audit logging, access control, and Business Associate Agreements are part of the design, so you pass audits, close pilots, and earn trust instead of scrambling.

What HIPAA actually demands

Most teams underestimate the gap between an app that handles health data and an app that's defensibly compliant.

The safeguards are technical, physical, and administrative

HIPAA's Security Rule isn't just encryption. It requires access controls, immutable audit trails, integrity controls, transmission security, plus administrative policies and workforce procedures. Miss a category and you're not compliant, even if the code looks airtight.

Cloud isn't HIPAA-compliant by default

AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud offer HIPAA-eligible services, but eligibility is not configuration. You still have to architect it correctly, lock it down, and sign a Business Associate Agreement with every vendor that touches PHI — including the ones hiding in your dependency tree.

Getting it wrong is expensive and public

A breach or failed audit doesn't just mean fines. It means lost pilots, stalled fundraising, and a trust hit you can't easily undo in healthcare. Retrofitting compliance after the fact routinely costs more than designing it in would have.

How Alternova builds compliant by design

Healthcare is our specialty — HIPAA, SOC 2, and FHIR/HL7 are defaults, not add-ons.

Compliance-by-design architecture

We design the data model, auth, and data flows around PHI from the first commit: least-privilege access, encrypted storage and transport, and a clear boundary around where protected data can live. The architecture sets you up to scale without re-doing compliance later.

The full safeguard set

Encryption at rest and in transit, immutable audit logging of every PHI access, integrity and transmission controls, and the administrative procedures auditors expect. We implement the controls and document them so an audit is a review, not a fire drill.

BAAs and HIPAA-eligible hosting

We host on properly configured HIPAA-eligible infrastructure and chase down the Business Associate Agreements across your whole stack — including third-party services you might not realize handle PHI. If you'd rather not run it, our EHR and app hosting covers it.

Audit-ready, and SOC 2 too

We build toward continuous audit-readiness, not a one-time certificate. For startups that need SOC 2 alongside HIPAA to close enterprise and provider deals, we've mapped that path and can build to it from the start.

Trusted with real patient data

100+ apps shipped for founders, clinical researchers, and institutions like UCSF and Essity.

Backpack

A pediatric mental-health platform built on a scalable, compliant architecture — telehealth, assessments, and bibliotherapy handling sensitive data for kids and families.

Research-grade institutions

We've built software trusted by UCSF and Essity — organizations that don't accept hand-wavy compliance with their data.

HIPAA questions, answered

What makes an app HIPAA compliant?

A combination of technical safeguards (encryption, access controls, audit logging, transmission security), administrative safeguards (policies, workforce procedures), and signed Business Associate Agreements with every vendor that handles PHI. Compliance is an ongoing posture, not a one-time checkbox.

Is AWS (or Azure/GCP) HIPAA compliant out of the box?

No. The major clouds offer HIPAA-eligible services, but you must configure them correctly, restrict access, and sign a BAA with the provider. Eligibility is the starting line, not the finish.

Do I need SOC 2 as well as HIPAA?

Often yes — enterprise customers, providers, and some investors expect SOC 2 alongside HIPAA. The two overlap heavily, so building with both in mind from the start is far cheaper than bolting SOC 2 on later.

What is a BAA and who needs to sign one?

A Business Associate Agreement is a contract that makes a vendor legally responsible for protecting the PHI they handle on your behalf. Every service that creates, receives, stores, or transmits PHI for you needs one — including infrastructure and many third-party tools.

Can you make my existing app HIPAA compliant?

Yes. We start with an audit of your current app, identify the gaps, and harden the parts that matter — see our production-ready service. You don't always need a rebuild, just the right safeguards in the right places.

Related

Build it compliant the first time

Whether you're starting fresh or fixing an app that handles patient data, we'll design the compliance in. Tell us what you're building.

Build with us