**Web Application for Hospital Management System on GCP with HIPAA Compliance**

Introduction

Designing a Hospital Management System (HMS) for healthcare organizations requires strict adherence to HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) compliance. This ensures the security and privacy of patient data.

In this guide, we’ll deploy a secure three-tier architecture for an HMS using Google Cloud Platform (GCP). This architecture uses:

1. Frontend VM: Hosts Node.js and NPM.
2. Backend VM: Hosts Java JDK.
3. Database: Uses GCP MySQL Managed Database for scalability and high availability.

We will configure the system with:

• 1 VPC with 3 subnets for segmentation.
• Firewall Rules for security.
• GCP services to meet HIPAA requirements, including encryption and access control.

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Overview of Architecture

Key Components:

• VPC (Virtual Private Cloud):
  • 3 Subnets: Frontend Subnet, Backend Subnet, and Database Subnet.
• Virtual Machines (VMs):
  • VM1: Hosts Node.js and NPM (Frontend).
  • VM2: Hosts Java JDK (Backend).
• Database:
  • GCP Cloud SQL (MySQL).
• Firewall Rules:
  • Protect communication between the tiers.
• HIPAA Compliance Features:
  • Encryption of data in transit and at rest.
  • Least privilege access control.
  • Secure audit logging.

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Step 1: Set Up the VPC and Subnets

1. Create a VPC:
   • Navigate to VPC Network > Create VPC.
   • Name: HMS-VPC.
   • Configure subnets:
     • Frontend Subnet: 10.0.1.0/24.
     • Backend Subnet: 10.0.2.0/24.
     • Database Subnet: 10.0.3.0/24.

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Step 2: Set Up Virtual Machines

VM1: Frontend (Node.js and NPM)

1. Create a VM:
   • Go to Compute Engine > VM Instances > Create Instance.
   • Name: Frontend-VM.
   • Subnet: Frontend Subnet.
   • Machine type: e2-medium (or equivalent).
   • Image: Ubuntu 22.04.
2. Install Node.js and NPM:

   sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
   sudo apt install -y nodejs npm
   node -v
   npm -v

VM2: Backend (Java JDK)

1. Create a second VM:
   • Name: Backend-VM.
   • Subnet: Backend Subnet.
   • Machine type: e2-medium.
   • Image: Ubuntu 22.04.
2. Install Java JDK:

   sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
   sudo apt install -y openjdk-17-jdk
   java -version

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Step 3: Configure GCP Cloud SQL (MySQL)

1. Create a Cloud SQL instance:
   • Navigate to SQL > Create Instance.
   • Select MySQL.
   • Configure:
     • Name: hms-database.
     • Database Version: MySQL 8.0.
     • Region: Same as your VPC.
   • Enable Public IP and select Database Subnet.

2. Create a Database:

   • After the instance is created, connect to it using the Cloud Shell:

    gcloud sql connect hms-database --user=root
   

• Run the following commands:
  

   CREATE DATABASE hospital_mgmt;
   CREATE USER 'hms_user'@'%' IDENTIFIED BY 'secure_password';
   GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON hospital_mgmt.* TO 'hms_user'@'%';
   FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
  

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Step 4: Set Up Firewall Rules

1. Frontend Subnet:

   • Allow inbound HTTP/HTTPS traffic (ports 80, 443).
   • Deny all other inbound traffic.
   • Allow outbound traffic to Backend Subnet.

2. Backend Subnet:

   • Allow inbound traffic from Frontend Subnet on port 8080.
   • Deny all other inbound traffic.
   • Allow outbound traffic to Database Subnet.

3. Database Subnet:

   • Allow inbound traffic from Backend Subnet on port 3306 (MySQL).
   • Deny all other inbound traffic.
   • Block all outbound traffic (or restrict as necessary).

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Step 5: Application Deployment

Frontend Deployment

1. Set up a simple Node.js app:

   mkdir hms-frontend
   cd hms-frontend
   npm init -y
   npm install express

1. Create a sample index.js file:

   const express = require('express');
   const app = express();
   const PORT = 80;

   app.get('/', (req, res) => res.send('Hospital Management Frontend Running!'));
   app.listen(PORT, () => console.log(`Frontend running on port ${PORT}`));

1. Run the app:

   node index.js

Backend Deployment

1. Write and compile a Java-based REST API:
   • Example: Use Spring Boot to create APIs for the HMS.
2. Deploy the API:
   • Run the API on port 8080 and ensure it communicates with the database.

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Step 6: Enforce HIPAA Compliance

1. Data Encryption

• Enable SSL/TLS:
  • Use Let’s Encrypt or GCP Certificate Manager for securing frontend and backend communication.
  • Enable SSL for Cloud SQL:
  • Navigate to your SQL instance and enable SSL connections.

2. Access Control

• Use IAM roles to limit access to critical resources.
• Store sensitive information (e.g., database credentials) in GCP Secret Manager.

3. Audit Logging

• Enable Cloud Audit Logs for all actions on the VMs and database.
• Use Cloud Monitoring to track system activity and detect anomalies.

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Step 7: Test and Validate

Test Connectivity

• Verify that:
  • The frontend connects to the backend.
  • The backend successfully interacts with the MySQL database.

Run HIPAA Tests

• Use tools like OpenSCAP to validate compliance with HIPAA controls.

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Step 8: Secure the Environment

1. Enable GCP Identity-Aware Proxy (IAP) for secure access to VMs.
2. Regularly update VMs and software.
3. Set up Cloud Backup for the database and application data.

Conclusion

By leveraging GCP’s managed services and adhering to HIPAA compliance principles, you can design a secure, scalable, and efficient Hospital Management System. The architecture described ensures patient data is protected while providing seamless application functionality.