How much does custom healthcare software cost?
It depends on what's being built. A focused single-purpose tool — for example, a patient intake portal or a custom referral tracking system — can run from a few thousand dollars. A full custom practice management add-on, multi-module patient portal, or telehealth platform typically starts around $30,000 and scales with scope. HIPAA-compliant infrastructure adds modest costs (encryption, audit logging, BAA-covered hosting) that we bake into every estimate. We scope every project precisely during a paid discovery phase.
How do you handle HIPAA compliance?
HIPAA compliance is built into every healthcare engagement from the start, not added at the end. The standard build includes AES-256 encryption at rest and TLS 1.3 in transit for all PHI, role-based access controls with minimum-necessary principles, comprehensive audit logging of every PHI access and modification, BAA-covered hosting (AWS, Azure, or specialized healthcare hosts), and security testing before deployment. We also sign a Business Associate Agreement as part of every healthcare engagement.
Can custom software integrate with Epic, Cerner, Athena, NextGen, or other EHRs?
Yes. EHR integration is one of the most common reasons healthcare clients hire us. We work with HL7 v2 messaging, FHIR APIs (R4 is the current standard), CDA documents, and EHR-specific APIs where they exist (Epic App Orchard, Cerner's Code/Open Developer Experience, Athena's developer portal). For practices on EHRs without modern API access, we use SFTP file exchange or scheduled exports. The integration approach is decided during discovery based on which EHR you run and what data needs to flow.
Should our practice replace our EHR with custom software?
Almost never — and we'll tell you so honestly. EHRs handle the certification requirements (ONC certification, Meaningful Use, MIPS reporting) and the clinical content libraries that are expensive to rebuild from scratch. What most practices actually need is custom software that sits alongside the EHR: better patient communication, custom intake workflows, specialty-specific tools, automated billing-code analysis, and patient portals that don't feel like the generic EHR-bundled version. We build that layer rather than replacing what works.
Can you build a telemedicine platform for our practice?
Yes. Custom telehealth platforms make sense when you've outgrown Doxy.me / Doximity-class generic tools — particularly if you need to embed video in your patient portal, route visits to specific providers based on insurance or specialty, integrate visit data into your EHR or billing system, or support asynchronous (store-and-forward) consultations. For low-volume, generic telehealth, off-the-shelf is usually cheaper than custom.
How long does a typical healthcare software project take?
Most projects ship in 8 to 18 weeks. A focused tool — a patient intake portal, a referral tracker, a custom dashboard — can be in production within 8 to 10 weeks. A multi-module patient portal, a custom billing or coding system, or a telehealth platform typically takes 14 to 18 weeks, with the first usable version visible to staff in week 5 or 6. Healthcare projects run slightly longer than other industries because HIPAA-specific testing and BAA setup add a couple of weeks.
Will you sign a Business Associate Agreement (BAA)?
Yes, on every healthcare engagement where we handle or have access to PHI. The BAA is standard and is executed before any PHI is shared. Our subcontracted hosting providers (AWS, Azure, others as applicable) also sign downstream BAAs. The BAA chain is intact and documented for your compliance audits.
Who owns the software and patient data when the project is done?
Your practice does. Full source code is delivered to a Git repository in your account. Your database (which contains patient data), your hosting (BAA-covered), your domain. No per-user fees, no per-patient fees, no platform lock-in. If the practice is sold or merged, the software and patient data travel with it. If you want to hand the codebase to a different developer to maintain, that's the design.