Doctor appointment booking apps are ruling the healthcare technology market now. It is reported that by 2027, the global market for medical scheduling is going to be worth USD 789.5 million. And this is no surprise, as 67% of patients prefer booking consultations with a doctor using an app.
As a healthcare service provider, are you taking advantage of these opportunities to provide more convenient options to your patients? If not, you are missing out on an excellent opportunity to maximize patient footfall to your institute and streamline your operations.
And here is all you need to know about developing a doctor appointment booking app in 2023 if you are thinking about it.
What Is a Doctor Appointment Booking App?
As you already know, a doctor appointment booking website or app does what its name says. It enables patients to book health consultations and appointments with their preferred doctor.
In addition, it also helps:
- Doctors manage their appointments and consultations.
- Schedule their availability for easier consultations.
- Make doctor consultations convenient for patients.
- Avoid overbooking and under-booking of doctors.
- Get rid of complexities in managing patients.
How Does a Doctor Appointment App Work?
Knowing how a doctor appointment booking solution works is crucial before building one with an app development agency.
Let’s look at its workings here.
Setting Up User Registration and Profile
There are two types of users on an appointment booking app.
- The doctor
- The patient
The doctor must create a profile providing details about their specialization, experience, availability, etc.
The patient must create a profile giving their name, age, contact information, etc.
There would be an admin for the app who will be overseeing the entire operations and activities of everyone using the app. The admin is also responsible for managing the app’s data.
Advanced Search Options
These options allow the users to search for doctors based on diverse filters. Here are a few common filters that patients use:
- Specialty
- Availability
- Ratings
- Consultation time
- Doctor name
Review and Ratings
Patients can share reviews and rate the service of the doctor on the application. This enables them to share their experience and help other patients make informed decisions about booking doctors.
There usually are ratings available that patients can also take advantage of.
Schedule Appointments
The most crucial aspect of a doctor appointment booking website or app is the scheduling. This enables the patients to schedule their appointments for a particular window that they prefer.
Integration with Personal Calendar
The app allows patients and doctors to integrate the app with their personal calendars to never miss out on an appointment. By integrating the app with the calendar, they get reminders about the appointment promptly.
Telehealth/Video Consultations
The patients and doctors can take video consultations as per the requirements of the patients. It could also be over the phone or by using video conferencing capabilities integrated into the app.
Cresting Prescription and Follow-up
The app also enables doctors to prescribe medications and share the same with the patient via email. The patient can download the prescription to buy medicine.
Payment Process
All doctor appointment booking apps have a payment gateway integrated for making the payment. The patients need to make the payment for the service rendered by the doctor via the app.
What Are the Must-Have Features of the Doctor Appointment App?
Delivering the best experience for both users and doctors is crucial for the success of a doctor appointment booking system.
The following features are a must for the app to impress its users.
Stakeholders’ Profile Creation and Setup
The app must allow both patients and doctors to set up the profile. It enables the doctors to show their profile in a detailed manner to help patients make the right choice.
Without these details about the doctor, it would be hard for the patients to book the consultation.
The same goes for the patients, as well. Creating a profile helps them book the doctors quickly, as the details are already available.
Symptom Checker
A symptom checker feature makes the patients decide what type of doctor they must consult. They may not know what doctor they need to talk to about their issue.
The symptom checker feature makes it easy for them to share the symptoms they have and get suggestions as to who to talk to.
Geo Location Details
There could be patients who want to consult the doctor personally. For this, the location details of the patient are crucial for the app to suggest a doctor who is closest to the patient.
The app also helps the patient take the most direct and shortest route to reach the doctor, even if they are visiting the doctor or the clinic for the first time.
Reviews and Ratings
Another important feature to have in your appointment booking system is reviews and ratings. Reviews and ratings help the patients understand what doctors offer the best services and support and what the previous patients have to say.
It also helps the doctors who offer exceptional services get more bookings while encouraging others to improve the quality of their services.
Appointment Reminders
After making the appointment, patients or doctors themselves may forget it. In such cases, an appointment reminder feature can remind them of upcoming appointments.
Online Video or Call Consultation/Telemedicine
Patients need to speak to the doctors and, at times, want to get on a video call to have a more detailed consultation. With an online video call or telemedicine capability, you can easily make that happen.
Payment Gateway Integration
Enabling easy payment for the patients is another crucial feature you need to add to your app. This makes it easier for the patients to pay for the service on the app itself. Further, doctors can also receive payment on time without any hassles.
Related Article: Hybrid App Development: Top 6 Hybrid App Examples that Will Transform Your Mobile App Experience
Steps to Build a Doctor Appointment Booking System
Creating a doctor appointment booking solution is a long process. And it needs to be a well-thought-out one, too.
Follow these steps to make the best doctor appointment system.
Analyze and do market research
Analyzing the concept and doing the required research is crucial to your app development project. You need to know if the concept is viable for execution.
You can move forward once you have figured this part out.
Decide the features of your app
The app needs to be feature-rich. However, it should not overwhelm the audience with diverse features that they may not need.
Check the competition and decide the route you want to take.
Get doctor and clinic information
The next thing you need to do is to gather the information you need about the clinics and doctors you are going to include in the app. While you can add a few in the beginning, you can later have doctors add their details themselves.
Hire an app development agency
This is the most important step of all. You must hire an agency that can do the work for you based on your preferences. They must assist you in executing your goal.
Vet a few experienced app developers in the market. And based on your personal reviews, choose the best one. Also, check their prices before signing the contract.
Finalize the technology stack
You need to work with the development agency to finalize the technology stack you are going to develop the app.
Understand various technologies that you can use and the advantages of each of them. Finalize if you want to develop native apps for Android or iOS apps. You may also go for a cross-platform app.
That can accelerate the development process and reduce the cost.
Start designing the app’s UI/UX
The UI of the app is going to decide whether the app is going to be a success or a failure. As such, always take your time to work the UI out with the development team.
Choose the right technologies to create the front end and ensure it is user-friendly, easy to use, and smooth across all platforms.
You may also take inspiration from your competitors and other similar apps.
Develop the backend of the app
This is where you need to develop the back end of the application. The back end is the architecture that supports the entire app’s performance and capabilities.
Test the app for performance
After developing the app, you must also test the app for its performance, security, and functionalities across platforms. Ensure that the app performs well and then release it.
Deploy and maintain the app
This is where you release the app for the public to use. You can host it on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store for users to download it based on the platform they use on their mobile device.
After the deployment, you also need to maintain it by releasing updates regularly.
What Is the Cost of Developing a Doctor Appointment App?
The cost of developing an app is a crucial aspect of creating any app, including a doctor appointment booking solution.
And if you don’t know how much it is going to cost, here is a breakdown.
The cost of your doctor appointment booking website or app solution depends on the following:
- How complex the application is.
- The features and capabilities of the app.
- UI/UX requirements, such as:
– The number of windows,
– Wow element
– Custom icons,
- The team working on your app
- The engagement model you choose.
- The experience of the app development team.
- The country where you are hiring the talent from.
- The technology stack that is used to develop the app.
Here is a small breakdown of the hourly charges of full-stack app development in various parts of the world.
- North America: USD 50 – 120 per hour
- Latin America: USD 20 – 50 per hour
- Western and Northern Europe: USD 30 – 70 per hour
- The Middle East: USD 40 – 70 per hour
- Africa: USD 25 – 40 per hour
- South, Central, Eastern Europe: USD 30 – 60 per hour
- Southeast Asia: USD 20 – 50 per hour
- Eastern Asia: USD 20 – 50 per hour
- Oceania: USD 40 – 70 per hour
Next time you develop a doctor appointment booking clone app or from scratch, try to hire app developers from the most value-adding locations.
Why Hire AddWeb Solution to Help You?
You need an experienced app developer to work on developing your doctor appointment booking app. There’s no doubt about it.
And you may be wondering if AddWeb Solution is the right fit. Check the following reasons.
1. AddWeb Solution has already developed numerous appointment-booking apps over the last few years. This experience makes us an ideal candidate to help you with your project.
2. Our app developer team is adept in the latest app development technologies. Hence, you can deliver an impeccable app with all the latest features, capabilities, and functionalities to your users.
3. We offer customized app development packages as per your specific needs. Whether you want an appointment booking app clone or a new app altogether, our packages can deliver the best options you will love.
4. We upgrade our development infrastructure as the latest technologies become available. As such, you can leap past your competition by relying on these advanced technologies.
5. Our services are extremely value-adding for all our clients. We help our clients choose the most suitable engagement model for their projects. This leads to better ROI for all our clients.
Conclusion
People are looking for convenience everywhere. For ordering food, buying groceries, and even booking doctor consultations. As such, you have limitless opportunities waiting for you with a doctor appointment booking app. And we hope that our guide helps you develop the best app for your customers.
But you need an expert appointment booking clone app developer to help you. And AddWeb Solution can help you.
With years of expertise and capabilities, we can help you no matter what your needs are. Speak to us to learn more.
