SaaS Telemedicine Platform with Remote Medical Device Data Streaming

Digital Health

Software Development

UI/UX Design

Published on

December 3, 2024

About the Client

The client is a Canada-based technology company focused on improving patient care through virtual healthcare solutions. Their platform enables secure, convenient access to physicians, real-time vitals streaming, and digital patient records, providing a comprehensive virtual exam room experience without the need for in-person visits.

Business Context

The company reached out to ITR to develop a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform aimed at enabling healthcare providers to deliver virtual care to patients. A distinguishing feature of this telemedicine solution is its integration of real-time data streaming from supported medical devices, including ENT cameras, digital stethoscopes, and ECG monitors. This functionality enhances healthcare professionals’ ability to assess patient conditions accurately, facilitating more informed diagnoses and effective treatment. The platform targeted pharmacies, remote clinics, and retirement homes to improve access to healthcare services, while also addressing challenges faced by First Nations and immigrant communities by bridging geographical and language barriers.

Project Scope

The scope of work for this project included the development of the following components:

A system admin portal for managing organizations and user accounts.
Clinic and patient portals, along with mobile apps, for delivering and accessing virtual care services.
An appointment scheduling module for appointment booking.
A video conferencing and medical device data streaming module for virtual consultations.

Additionally, the system must meet cybersecurity and data privacy requirements from HIPAA.

Solution Overview

Proposing Business Workflow and MVP Plan

We conducted interview with the project stakeholders to understand the business ideas, and the practical workflow of telemedicine in Canada. Utilizing this knowledge, we developed a proposal outlining the business workflows of the platform and the user roles supported by the system. Following extensive stakeholder discussions, we refined a plan for an MVP version of the platform that would be competitive enough to effectively cater end users' needs. This approach reduces development time, enabling the client to test the market and accumulate valuable feedback.

Creating Optimized User Interfaces and Usability

We designed user interfaces that balance aesthetic appeal and functionality, focusing on simplicity and accessibility for healthcare professionals and patients. By minimizing steps to access core features like appointments, video consultations, and device data streaming, we streamlined navigation to enhance user efficiency. End-users were involved in testing to refine features and create a platform that is intuitive and practical for all stakeholders.

Developing Video Conferencing and Medical Device Data Streaming Services

Video Conferencing Development

We chose an off-the-shelf video streaming solution, Amazon Chime, as the foundation for the video conferencing feature. Amazon Chime, a WebRTC-based solution, was selected after evaluating various options to ensure it was the most robust and optimal choice for the platform’s requirements. Building on this foundation, we developed custom video conferencing logic to align with the platform’s workflow.

Medical Device Data Streaming Development

Based on stakeholder input, we identified a list of popular medical devices to support, including digital stethoscopes, ECG monitors, and ENT cameras. Integration was achieved using provided APIs, SDKs, or standard OS interfaces, depending on the device. We then developed a dedicated data streaming channel, leveraging the selected video streaming solution to transmit medical data. To ensure low latency, we implemented advanced compression and decompression techniques, optimizing data transmission while maintaining data integrity.

Developing an Appointment Scheduling Service

During the development of the Appointment Scheduling Service, we tackled several challenges:

Ensuring real-time updates to availability while preventing double-booking, particularly in scenarios where multiple users attempted to book the same time slot concurrently.
Managing bookings across Canada’s time zones to maintain accuracy and consistency.
Addressing overlapping updates to availability, such as simultaneous booking and rescheduling requests.

We overcame these challenges by implementing techniques such as locking mechanisms to handle concurrency, caching for frequently accessed data, and storing all times in UTC to streamline time zone management.

Comply with HIPAA Requirements

To ensure HIPAA compliance, we implemented the following measures:

Data Security: Database encryption for data at rest and TLS for data in transit.
Access Control: Secure authentication using OAuth 2.0, role-based access control, and session timeouts to ensure only authorized individuals can access specific ePHI.
Data Integrity: Used hashes to verify data integrity and performed regular data backups.
Audit Log: Developed a logging system to record all access and modifications to ePHI.

In addition, the platform was built and hosted on AWS, leveraging its HIPAA-compliant infrastructure.

Ensuring Availability and Scalability

To ensure the platform could handle high demand, we used AWS Elastic Load Balancing (ELB) to distribute traffic evenly across servers. AWS Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS) was implemented to automatically adjust resources based on system needs. We also built the platform with failover architecture and redundancy to prevent downtime and improve reliability.

Continuous Improvement

Following the deployment of the MVP version, we continued working with the client to enhance the platform. User feedback was actively collected to refine features and address pain points identified during real-world use. Additionally, we introduced new features to expand the platform’s capabilities, ensuring it remained competitive and continued to meet the evolving needs of healthcare providers and patients.