LASTWho it protects
CurrentHIPAA
Institutions and the data they hold
SHIELD
The person the data belongs to
LastVet standard
HIPAA is the floor.
SHIELD is the standard.
HIPAA was written in 1996 to protect institutions handling health data. It set the legal minimum. It was not written for sovereignty.
SHIELD was built for the people the data belongs to. It adds stronger veteran-controlled workflows where we have implemented them today.
HIPAA vs SHIELD
LastVet is designed to meet HIPAA requirements and add stronger veteran-controlled workflows. The rows below describe current LastVet capabilities.
CurrentRoadmapBadges show what is shipped now versus what is still in build-out.
Who controls the data
CurrentHIPAA
Healthcare providers and covered entities
SHIELD
The Veteran
Consent model
CurrentHIPAA
Broad authorization at intake, often buried in paperwork
SHIELD
Granular, per-category, per-recipient, plain-language
Revocation
CurrentHIPAA
Written request, processed at the institution's pace
SHIELD
Immediate. Same screen. No grace period.
Audit access
CurrentHIPAA
Patient must request audit logs in writing
SHIELD
Veteran can view logged access events in the app
Data portability
CurrentHIPAA
"Right to access" - institution decides format and timeline
SHIELD
Veteran can export a portable PDF record summary today
Substance use records
CurrentHIPAA
Standard PHI protections
SHIELD
42 CFR Part 2 enforced with separate consent flow
Provider write access
CurrentHIPAA
Each institution maintains its own siloed record
SHIELD
Providers can add clinical notes when the veteran grants write access
Data sharing transparency
CurrentHIPAA
Disclosure required, but often opaque
SHIELD
Veteran sees who has access, what they accessed, and when
Cross-institution coordination
RoadmapHIPAA
Fax, paper, manual records requests
SHIELD
A veteran-controlled record workspace that supports connected care coordination
Encryption
CurrentHIPAA
Required for institutional systems
SHIELD
Encrypted transport in production with secured infrastructure controls
Designed for
CurrentHIPAA
Compliance and liability protection
SHIELD
Veteran sovereignty and healthier outcomes
Why It Matters
1. HIPAA was a floor, not a ceiling.
HIPAA was written in 1996, before smartphones, before patient portals, before the modern reality that healthcare data moves through dozens of systems before it reaches the person it belongs to. It set the legal minimum for protecting health information at institutions. It was never designed to give patients sovereignty. We are building to HIPAA requirements and adding stronger veteran controls where the floor is not enough.
2. Veterans deserve better than the floor.
Veterans navigate one of the most fragmented care ecosystems in the country - the VA, DoD, community providers, mental health services, peer support networks, family practitioners. Every transition creates a gap. Every gap loses information. HIPAA compliance does not solve this. Veteran sovereignty does. When the veteran owns the record, the gaps close.
3. SHIELD is how we keep our promises.
Sovereign. Holistic. Integrated. Encrypted. Live. Distributed. Every architectural decision in LastVet is checked against SHIELD before it ships. If a feature doesn't make the system more sovereign, more holistic, more integrated, more encrypted, more live, or more distributed - it doesn't get built. SHIELD is not marketing. It is how we work.
LastVet is built on SHIELD. Your data, your rules.