Case Study: Building a HIPAA-Compliant Telehealth Platform for a Dallas Clinic

"

Meerako — Dallas-based 5.0★ experts in secure, HIPAA-compliant healthcare software.

Introduction

In the post-2020 landscape, telehealth is no longer a luxury; it's an essential service. A prominent, multi-location Dallas-based specialty clinic came to Meerako with a critical challenge: their existing patient portal was clunky, unreliable, and not built for the modern demands of video consultations.

They needed a new, custom-built telehealth platform that was secure, user-friendly, and 100% HIPAA-compliant.

This is a high-stakes field. A data breach in healthcare isn't just a bug; it's a multi-million dollar legal and reputational disaster. Here's how Meerako's team delivered a world-class solution.

What You'll Learn

-   The key challenges of building HIPAA-compliant software. -   The specific AWS architecture Meerako chose for security and scale. -   How we built a seamless, real-time video experience. -   The measurable results for the Dallas clinic and its patients.

---

The Challenge: HIPAA, Scale, and User Experience

Our client had three core problems:

1.  Compliance: Any system handling Protected Health Information (PHI) must adhere to the strict security and privacy rules of HIPAA. This governed every architectural decision. 2.  Scalability: The system had to support hundreds of concurrent video appointments across all their Dallas locations without lag or downtime. 3.  Usability: The existing tool was so hard to use that patients and doctors alike were frustrated. The new app (for web, iOS, and Android) had to be intuitive for everyone, from a 25-year-old patient to a 65-year-old physician.

The Meerako Solution: A "Security-First" AWS Architecture

Our team of AWS-certified architects designed a "Zero-Trust" infrastructure to ensure HIPAA compliance at every layer.

1. HIPAA-Eligible AWS Services

We signed a Business Associate Addendum (BAA) with AWS and exclusively used HIPAA-eligible services. This is non-negotiable.

2. The Core Architecture

-   Data Storage: All PHI (patient records, charts) was stored in Amazon RDS (PostgreSQL) with encryption at rest and in transit. All patient files (e.g., medical imagery, PDF reports) were stored in a separate, access-controlled S3 Bucket with server-side encryption. -   Backend API: The backend was a set of serverless AWS Lambda functions (Node.js) behind an API Gateway. This ensured that all logic was stateless and infinitely scalable. -   Authentication: We used Amazon Cognito to manage all patient and provider identities, enforcing Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) and strict password policies. -   Real-Time Video: We used Amazon Chime SDK, a HIPAA-eligible service that provides secure, peer-to-peer, and group video/audio streaming. This allowed us to build a custom, white-label video experience without relying on third-party tools like Zoom. -   Logging & Auditing: All API calls and access to PHI were logged in CloudTrail and CloudWatch with immutable logs, a key requirement for HIPAA auditing.

3. The User-Friendly Mobile & Web App

We used React Native to build a single, unified mobile application for both iOS and Android, drastically reducing cost and time-to-market. The provider-facing dashboard was built with Next.js for a fast, secure web experience.

Our UI/UX team conducted interviews with the clinic's staff and a patient focus group to design an interface that was clean, simple, and accessible, with clear "click here to join your appointment" CTAs.

The Results: A Transformative Win for the Clinic

Within 60 days of launching the new platform, the clinic reported:

-   A 45% increase in telehealth appointments booked and completed. -   A 70% reduction in patient-reported technical issues. -   100% HIPAA compliance with zero security incidents. -   Positive feedback from providers, who could now manage their schedules and conduct appointments from a single, reliable dashboard.

Conclusion

Building healthcare software is one of the most challenging and rewarding tasks in engineering. It requires a partner that is not just technically skilled, but is also a domain expert in security and compliance.

Meerako's 5.0★ rated team in Dallas has the proven expertise to navigate the complexities of HIPAA and deliver healthcare applications that are secure, scalable, and a pleasure to use.

Ready to build your HIPAA-compliant digital health solution?

---

🧠 Meerako — Your Trusted Dallas Technology Partner.

From concept to scale, we deliver world-class SaaS, web, and AI solutions.

📞 Call us at +1 469-336-9968 or 💌 email [email protected] for a free consultation.

  Start Your Project →