Medical information technology and medical privacy are huge issues in today’s society, especially with the recent debates over health care in the United States. Database virtualization has been a continuous journey since the turn of the century, and it continues to evolve. Currently, there are more than 550 certified medical information software companies in the nation, which sell over one thousand mobile healthcare applications altogether. Medical charge capture businesses focus on creating mobile medical applications that increase profitability and efficiency in various practices and medical institutions. These applications make it easier for teams of physicians and nurses to coordinate their healthcare plans for a particular patient, eliminate paper expenses for the practice, and makes it easier and faster to record vital statistics and appointment information.

While these mobile medical apps and medical charge capture companies are growing significantly, there are serious concerns about security and HIPAA compliance with healthcare apps. Since 1996, HIPAA, which stands for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, concerns the use and sharing of protected health information and extends to health insurance companies, employers, schools, and any other institution that deals with such sensitive information. Medical charge capture companies and their apps must conform to HIPAA regulations about the privacy of protected health information while also effectively archiving, backing up, and securing vital information. One of the largest concerns in this sphere is employees’ own devices used on the job and off, where secure texting or secure messaging services associated with sensitive information are not necessarily kept safe. The good news is that medical charge capture companies are consistently working to effectively safeguard such protected health information while allowing for ease of use by doctors and patients alike.