The challenge
Building a health platform for distributed point-of-care diagnostics is a different problem than most healthcare software. The system needed to work across multiple layers simultaneously: physical Gazelle readers deployed at clinical sites in low-resource environments, site-level users managing patients and test results, and Hemex Health administrators with full operational visibility across every reader, site, patient, and test in the global network.
Each layer had distinct user contexts, permission structures, and data requirements, all governed by HIPAA compliance and NDA from day one of the engagement (April 18, 2019). The client contact throughout was Daren Bledsoe, VP of Engineering at Hemex Health.
What we did
The engagement started in mid-2019 and ran through multiple phases over more than a year, covering UX/UI design, front-end and back-end development, AWS infrastructure, and ongoing maintenance and support.
Phase 1A (Site User and Admin User): The Site User interface was built in React Native Web App, giving clinical site staff the ability to manage patients, view test results with Hb variant interpretation, manage reader connectivity and status, and access the platform through a HIPAA-compliant sign-in flow. The Admin interface gave Hemex Health teams full visibility across the entire network: site management, user management, reader management, device utilization reporting, and audit logs. Delivered September/October 2019.
Readers Flow and Backend (December 2019): The most technically demanding phase: connecting physical diagnostic readers in the field through JSON parsing of patient and reader data, encrypted data download and upload, eHealth integration, MAC address verification, reader connection and status monitoring, cartridge inventory updates, cron jobs for offline reader detection, and support user permission architecture.
Additional Development Phase 1 (May 2020): A comprehensive phase delivering Hb variant result design and backend, test result PDF viewing in webview, sortable and filterable data tables, reader shipping status tracking, audit log download by period, report emailing, phenotype tooltips, multi-site management, and dozens of additional UX improvements across both site user and admin interfaces.
Maintenance and Support (from July 2020): 36 hours per month of React Native Web App and backend bug fixes, AWS senior developer server maintenance, and 8-hour SLA response time.
How we worked
From NDA signing in April 2019 through the maintenance phase in late 2020, every deliverable was governed by a signed proposal, invoiced, and delivered to the team at Hemex Health's Portland headquarters.
The development team included a senior React developer, a fullstack intermediate developer, a senior backend developer, an AWS network engineer, a designer, and management. Project management via JIRA Atlassian Kanban, Bitbucket, Slack, and SCRUM Agile.