Dr. Stress is a platform for mental health consultations, with appointments, video, and secure administration. The data it touches is among the most sensitive there is, and that changes the order in which decisions are made.
The questions come first, not last
Who sees each piece of information, on what basis, how long it is kept, and who can delete it. If the answers arrive after the code exists, they become changes to the shape of the data, which is the most expensive part to change.
None of this replaces legal advice. Our role is to build a system that can demonstrate what it does, and the legal validation stays with a specialist.
Minimisation is a product decision
The safest field is the one that does not exist. Before adding information to a form, it is worth asking which decision depends on it. If none does, the field goes.
That reduces risk, compliance effort, and friction for the patient at the same time. It is rare for one decision to improve all three.
Access is designed around roles
A patient, a practitioner, and an administrator see different things, and the rule has to be written once, in a place where it can be read and tested. Exceptions scattered through the interface are the usual way leaks appear.
The rule is enforced on the server. Hiding a button in the interface is not access control, only a polite suggestion.
Video is a separate decision
A video consultation raises its own questions: where the stream travels, who can reach it, and whether anything is recorded. The platform uses Jitsi, and the decision not to record by default is itself a design decision.
A recording changes the obligations completely. Without a clear reason and a lawful basis, not having one is the better option.
Traces that allow an answer
At some point somebody will ask who saw a piece of information and when. A system that cannot answer that is not necessarily insecure, but it is impossible to defend.
Logs are designed to answer questions, not to fill a disk. That means recording access to the data rather than the data itself.
Frequently asked questions about medical data
Can patient data be kept in the cloud?
Yes, if the provider offers the necessary guarantees, the data stays in accepted locations, and a contract describes the processing. The location matters less than demonstrable control over access.
Is separate consent needed to record a consultation?
A recording is a distinct processing activity with its own purpose, so it is handled separately from the consultation itself. In practice the simplest path is not to record unless there is a clear reason.
What happens when a patient asks for deletion?
The system has to delete or anonymise without breaking the medical history the law requires you to keep. That is why identifying data and clinical data are separated from the start.
With sensitive data, the difference between a sound system and a risky one shows in the decisions taken in the first week. If you are preparing a product like this, see how we build custom software.