Mobile medical applications are showing up more and more these days. Doctors have begun to incorporate mobile health apps into their practices to be more efficient with time and effective with sharing information. Patients are also using them to monitor their own health, take more responsibility for their healthcare and to stay in touch with their doctors. Doctor to patient knowledge is always strictly confidential, and thankfully, the best mobile medical applications are guaranteed to be secure and maintain patient privacy.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was enacted in 1996 and established national requirements for electronic healthcare transactions and data exchanges. Title I of the Act protected healthcare insurance for workers and their families when they lose their jobs. Title II, the HIPAA Privacy Rule deals with both the use and disclosure of Protected Health Information (PHI) held by entities such as health care clearinghouses, employer sponsored health plans, health insurers, and medical service providers that engage in certain transactions with patients. One of the biggest intentions of HIPAA was to make healthcare and medical information standard across multiple electronic channels and providers. HIPAA guarantees patient remain in tact through any form of electronic communication. Mobile medical apps use HIPAA secure texting and messing that follows the guidelines of the act to ensure any information is shared only between the doctor and patient.

In 2009, the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, better known as the HITECH Act, was signed and enacted, It provides $27 billion in financial incentives for digital health record use. It supplies further funding for the expansion and incorporation of electronic health records and healthcare communication. The medical industry is moving forward just as fast as other technologies and has reacted accordingly. Medical providers understand the efficiency and importance of super fast electronic communication and have put this technology into use. In fact, Health 2.0 is an annual medical conference that focuses on electronic healthcare, including concepts such as telemedicine, electronic medical records, mobile medical applications and more. More and more patients and doctors are using mobile healthcare apps that are not only making services more efficient, but can also be trusted to secure and private.