The healthcare industry is going through a dramatic transformation thanks to technology. The medical and health sector is undergoing a revolution.
Healthcare applications are proving to be extremely useful for both patients and professionals. These apps relieve doctors of specific duties by connecting them with patients who are in need.
These devices allow healthcare providers to learn about their patients’ symptoms and provide a digital description (if needed) of their condition. Healthcare applications improve patient care through faster and more accurate diagnosis.
In recent years, healthcare mobile app development has become necessary for people who want to check their health via statistics, numbers, and analysis. Sometimes, patients do not need to go to the hospital or meet doctors to get help.
This shows how important it is to build a healthcare application to bring real-time insights into health to users.
Defining Healthcare App Development Basics
Developing a healthcare app allows users to submit their health concerns and track them in real-time.
You can include medical services, hospital experiences, electronic health records, or insurance claims.
Healthcare mobile app development fulfils various purposes.
- For doctors: The application helps doctors with appointment scheduling, staff management, patient tracking, and monitoring.
- For Patients: Digital health solutions are needed by patients to make appointments, communicate with doctors, or get recommendations.
You can now get healthcare mobile app development services. Take a look at these numbers for wellness app development:
- Apple’s App Store has 45,478 apps for healthcare.
- There are around 43,285 apps on the Play Store.
- In 2019, the mHealth sector received $13.7 Billion around the world.
- Accenture’s survey found that 75% of patients know the importance of health applications.
- By 2026, the telemedicine market is expected to reach $17.14 billion.
There are many different types of digital health and medical apps available today. They differ in their functionality and purpose.
Categorizing Types of Healthcare Applications
We can divide all health-related apps into professional healthcare and personal care. Learn which apps fall into each category and how to offer end users value.
Professional Healthcare Apps
We will briefly discuss the professional solutions doctors can use to develop mobile apps for healthcare.
- Healthcare Reference & Database Applications
These apps work like databases, storing information about drugs, diseases, and prescriptions all in one place.
- Professional Networking Apps
Social networks allow healthcare professionals and providers to connect, interact, share knowledge, and grow their community.
- Patient Health Tracking Apps
Solution that helps doctors monitor their patients’ health throughout the treatment process. There are also all the documentation and results from different labs.
- Doctor’s Appointment
Using apps for doctor appointments can reduce the amount of handwritten work required to keep journals. Changes to the calendar are sent automatically to all parties.
- Telehealth Mobile Apps
Telehealth apps can be used for online doctor consultations and visits.
Patients’ Applications
Here is a list that patients and consumers can use:
- Apps for patient healthcare education can be used to track user data.
- Monitoring apps and apps that remind you of healthy habits are called Reminder Apps.
- Apps that help diagnose and prevent diseases.
- Apps that promote a healthy lifestyle can be helpful for tests. Apps for fitness and wellness can also be beneficial.
- Apps that monitor chronic conditions like diabetes and blood pressure remotely.
- Stress relief with mental health apps. You can also use apps for meditation and sleep.
- Apps that help you lose weight and track your progress, including apps with exercise ideas.
- Apps to support women through different phases of their health.
Diet applications are the most popular among all of these top healthcare apps. People often use fitness and workout applications.
Unpacking the Benefits of Healthcare Mobile App Development
Medical apps revolutionize the healthcare system by improving communication and service quality. Both patients and clinicians benefit from this. Apps for mobile healthcare can be used to provide online consultations and diagnoses, schedule appointments, and deliver medical supplies.
Hassle-Free Communication
Patients can book online appointments using a custom mobile application integrated with hospital management software. It allows patients to access your hospital without waiting in a long line.
Contacting doctors and hospital staff or asking questions about health concerns directly from their smartphone is easy.
Improved Coordination
Healthcare mobile app helps doctors, as well as hospital staff, remain connected with patients. It allows for effective coordination between both departments, streamlining the process of upcoming appointments, reports, and test results, notifying hospital staff of updates and treatment progress, and alerting them to any medication due.
Excellent Business Opportunity
Many entrepreneurs find integrating technology into the healthcare industry a great business opportunity. Emerging technologies like AI, Blockchain, and IoT have emerged in the healthcare industry. This has made this field an excellent opportunity for entrepreneurs. Businesses can achieve long-term success by investing time, money, and effort in healthcare apps.
Create Healthcare Awareness
People are more aware and interested in health and wellness practices today. Mobile apps are the perfect tools to bring this awareness to a new level. Fitness applications (yoga and meditation) are very popular. The popularity of fitness applications (yoga, meditation, etc. They are a good indication of the healthcare industry’s direction.
Handling Emergency Cases
An app developed by the hospital to handle emergency cases can be used quickly and efficiently. The mobile app will alert doctors in case of an emergency. They will then send the information needed through the application.
It will save you time and help the hospital staff and doctor prepare quickly for an emergency.
Wearables Integration Made Easy
The mobile app is compatible with wearables like smartwatches and pedometers. These devices collect data on health, such as blood pressure and pulse rate. These wearable devices will provide daily health updates to the mobile app.
Medical Treatment in Remote Areas
A report by WHO shows that nearly half the population needs proper access to healthcare. An efficient mobile app can help close this gap. Mobile apps for healthcare allow doctors and hospital staff to offer remote consultations, advice, and treatment suggestions.
Keep Track Medical History
Cloud-based apps can be very helpful in managing patient medical histories. Cloud-based mobile apps can be beneficial in this respect. Cloud apps are fast, easy to use, and secure. Patient’s medical data can be stored and managed securely. It will reduce the number of errors in diagnosis and treatments.
Simplifying Search
Searching for a doctor specializing in your health concerns can be exhausting. GIS-based healthcare apps can connect patients with the best doctors in their area and help them find them in just a few clicks. These apps allow users to search for doctors nearby, read reviews from other patients, find out about ratings and fees, book an appointment, or consult online.
Features to be Included in Healthcare Applications
To create healthcare applications people will use, you need to incorporate engaging elements and provide tangible benefits. Your chosen qualities will depend on whether you build a mobile medical app for glucose tracking, fitness, or remote patient monitoring.
Some features must be present in every health app to make it a success.
Geolocation
This feature allows patients to find nearby hospitals, pharmacies, and doctors. This functionality can be built using Apple Maps or Google Maps APIs.
Scheduling
Allow patients to book appointments with doctors directly in your app. Users and doctors can better manage their schedules by integrating with doctors’ calendars. Patients can use the feature to make schedules of their medication, water consumption, and other activities.
Push Notifications
This feature can be used to remind users of scheduled doctor’s appointments when to take their medicine, or to inform them about any changes to the application.
Tracking
This functionality allows doctors to monitor their patients and receive data about lab tests, medical tests, etc.
Payment
Customers can pay for services using the online payment integration. PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and credit cards can all be integrated.
Live Chat
Real-time chat allows patients and doctors to communicate. This feature helps build trust between users and doctors and loyalty towards your app.
Chatbots
Chatbots are a powerful tool that can keep patients in touch with the app and provide instant support. The chatbots are designed to help patients get timely answers, find information about doctors and hospitals, and schedule appointments.
Ratings and Reviews
Include this feature when developing a mobile healthcare app, especially if it helps patients locate doctors. Choose doctors with positive ratings and reviews to help them make the right choice for their health.
Social Integration
This is an optional but nice feature, as it requires third-party services. You should make sure to explain this in your privacy policies clearly. Some users may be hesitant about sharing their medical profiles with third parties. If you continue with this feature, ensure users have multiple options. These include Google, Facebook and Twitter.
Consider advanced features depending on the goal of healthcare app development services. You should consult with the development company that you hire to help you decide on the features you want.
Top Trends for Healthcare App Development by 2024
The emergence of transformative technology with applications across the spectrum of healthcare and the continued uncertainty in the global economy will all impact the future of healthcare. The fundamental societal factors affecting healthcare in 2024 are
- A longer-living population,
- The emergence of transformative technologies with applications across the healthcare spectrum and
- Continued global economic uncertainty.
Here are the top trends for 2024 based on these factors.
Generative AI In Healthcare
AI will emerge as a significant technology in the future of many trends, but generative AI, in particular, will have a considerable impact. It will make it easier for people to access other transformative AI apps making them more accessible. It will generate synthetic data that can be used to train medical AI algorithms without compromising patients’ privacy or when there is insufficient real-world data.
It can also create chatbots or virtual assistants to help patients at any stage of their journey. Applications of generative AI are virtually limitless in healthcare, and we will certainly return to it when we discuss other trends.
Nanomedicine
Nanotechnology is slowly affecting our everyday lives. Nanotechnology is being used in medicine right now. Scientists are developing self-replicating nanorobots, also known as Xenobots. Scientists are developing nanorobots that can replicate themselves.
It is safe to assume that 2024 will bring many revolutionary developments. Early investors are welcome in the nanomedicine sector, which has vast potential.
Here is a short definition of what nanomedicine is: It is the use (of materials and objects that are microscopically small), such as biocompatible particles, nanoelectronics, or nanorobots, to perform specific medical manipulations or purposes, including diagnosing and treating living organisms.
Virtual Healthcare Assistants
Virtual assistants and chatbots can provide advice and assistance to clinicians on medication, diagnosis, and treatments. Patients can benefit from virtual assistants and chatbots by asking about their health care, receiving answers to their questions, and gaining the information needed to make better decisions.
They will increasingly be integrated with electronic health records systems to schedule and book appointments. Patients will be reminded to take medication or to exercise by these devices. Patients who are isolated or live in remote areas can benefit from companionship to improve their mental well-being.
Preventative Healthcare
In 2024, healthcare providers will prioritize shifting from reactive to proactive approaches. Research has shown that proactive strategies can have long-term advantages for patients and reduce costs associated with treating preventable diseases. The latest technological advances, such as wearables and AI, will enable early detection and rapid interventions.
AR/and VR Emergence
Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality will significantly impact the healthcare industry in the next few years. AR and VR can provide medical students with a more immersive and interactive experience, allowing them to view anatomy in a virtual setting and practice procedures. You will improve your ability to understand complex medical concepts.
The benefits of AR/VR are endless. AR can project medical images on a patient’s body to help doctors diagnose their condition. Doctors can use virtual reality to practice complex surgical procedures before performing them on patients.
Internet of Medical Things
It’s not the first time IoMT is mentioned, and it won’t last. Wearable devices and trackers, part of the IoMT, are becoming popular in healthcare technology. They provide doctors with detailed and up-to-date information about their patients’ medical conditions. The Internet of Medical Things is a powerful tool for improving patient awareness.
Trackers allow users to modify their daily activities as they go. Patients can be rewarded if the device is gamified. Therefore, technology has combined a reasonable demand for healthy behavior with pure entertainment to make a huge impact.
Doctors can now receive alerts regarding their patients’ treatment and be more involved in their care. This innovative healthcare technology produces a wealth of data, including eating habits, sleeping patterns, and activity levels. These data can be used by healthcare providers to develop realistic training programs and to evaluate treatment outcomes.
Robotic Process Automation
WHO-World Health Organization predicts that the global shortage of healthcare workers will reach 12,9 million professionals by 2035. This makes in-person appointments with doctors a luxury only a few patients can afford. Adopting RPA solutions at a large scale in healthcare could cure inefficiencies within the system.
RPA bots represent a significant milestone in the evolution of healthcare IT. Healthcare providers can achieve precise automation, cost savings, workforce optimization, and even transformative changes with insight. AI algorithms on the patient’s side can scan their symptoms more precisely than traditional search engines and guide them to the right doctor.
RPA is used by many healthcare organizations today for appointment scheduling and information management.
Guidelines for Healthcare App Development by 2024
Hackers find the healthcare industry very lucrative, as it stores and processes valuable data. These data can be used to commit various crimes, ranging from the theft of money from bank accounts to identity theft.
The mHealth app should adhere to the regulations and standards of each country. Your application may only be allowed if you comply. You could also face costly penalties.
Check out the main regulations for healthcare app development and learn how to approach them.
The European Union
- NIS
The Network and Information Security Directive should also be investigated before developing a healthcare mobile app. This directive contains security measures for various industries, including healthcare, energy, and financial markets.
- GDPR
General Data Protection Regulation has changed the lives and businesses of all European companies. The regulation mandates that apps inform customers why they collect data and how they protect and store it. Users should also be able to refuse to contain specific data types and demand that all collected data be deleted.
The USA
- HITECH act
The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act was created to close all loopholes within the HIPAA regulations about the management and working with healthcare records.
Since 2013, both acts have been combined into one regulation document. This means that your app has to meet all of the HIPAA requirements. Your app will comply with the HITECH and HIPAA Acts if it meets these requirements.
- NIST
The US National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) regulations are also required to develop healthcare mobile apps in the USA. NIST’s standards and rules aim to regulate healthcare data management.
- HIPAA
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act is the most essential healthcare mobile app development regulation. This act outlines how companies must ensure the security of patient data and how they should be stored and transferred between devices. You can even use a HIPAA security rule toolkit while developing medical software to ensure compliance with the regulation.
- CCPA
California Consumer Privacy Act, or the US GDPR, has similar requirements. This legislation gives every individual the right to be informed about why an app collects information, to consent to data collection, to request a complete report on the data collected, and to demand that all data collected be deleted.
The United Kingdom
GDPR compliance is still required for companies that develop healthcare software despite Brexit. All applications must also comply with the Data Protection Act. This law was first published in 1988.
Canada
Canada is a country where you do not need to adhere to multiple regulations. The principal document is the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, similar to GDPR.
International Standards ISO
ISO International Standards is a set of impressive criteria that assesses business and technology. It’s used today by all market players as a standardization reference.
Guide to Create a Custom Healthcare Application
Developing a healthcare mobile app requires several things, including identifying the target audience, working consistently, and developing ideas.
When building a health app, you should focus on these fundamental steps.
Identifying a Problem in Healthcare
Already, there are hundreds of apps for healthcare available. Do you believe that they are all unique?
No, of course not.
Apps are often duplicated and do not add value to the end user. This is believed to be due to a lack of market research and ignorance.
See the following diagram to learn why it’s so important to know your competitors. You can then create your successful business model for a healthcare app.
Understand Your Audience
Did you know that 75% of US Hospitals have offered a health application without thoroughly analyzing the core audience? Only 2% of patients used the apps. Understanding your audience will help you determine their specific pain points and requirements for your app. You can then use this information to create a customized healthcare solution. Conduct extensive market research before developing a healthcare mobile app to understand the needs of medical professionals and patients.
Understanding your market and the regulations you must follow when creating the product. You can develop a practical and efficient app and understand what improvements are needed for future versions.
Understanding Regulatory Compliance Requirements
Understanding the regulations that govern the healthcare industry ensures compliance with all laws and regulations. Understanding the rules that apply and their impact on your software development and design processes is essential. When developing custom healthcare solutions, it is crucial to consider potential security requirements like HIPAA compliance and other data privacy concerns.
Create a UX or UI design idea
In project development, the design of the application plays a critical role. Users can tell within three seconds whether they like an application. Apps should be easy to use, attractive, and practical to attract users from the first moment of interaction. As for mHealth apps, they should have a perfect user experience with simple navigation. This part is optional if you are working with professionals who have experience.
Revenue models
In general, apps for healthcare and medical institutions are used as an extra service rather than as revenue models. If you view the app as a product, then you will have to consider how to monetize it.
You must consider the monetization model before designing and developing your app. Subscriptions convert healthcare applications that charge a fee into monetization models. You can make money even with free apps by offering premium services and advertising.
Create an MVP
The MVP is a crucial step in developing a successful healthcare application. This will help determine the app’s demand before it is launched. MVP is a beta version that allows you to understand the audience’s response and the actual demand for the app. It also gives insight into the areas of improvement. Remember that an MVP must have minimum features to test the demand. Here are some features you can add to your healthcare app.
Test and Gather Feedback
It is essential to begin the development of a health app with an MVP to allow for testing, to add the required functionality to the product, and to avoid significant glitches. Remember that the application must be released as quickly as possible. The application can be updated later based on market feedback. Feedback from users, ratings, beta, and distribution tests can help you identify bugs and other issues that need to be fixed. Significant errors may occur if you release a finished product at a time.
Begin Development
It’s now time to start developing and testing your custom healthcare solution. It involves writing applications in various programming languages, such as Java or C#.
Testing and Quality Assurance
After your custom healthcare software has been built, it must undergo rigorous testing and quality assurance before it can enter production. Identify all errors during testing to fix them before launching. This will save you time and money when your users begin using the system. After launch, you should also perform regular maintenance on your system to identify and fix any errors or issues as soon as possible.
Plan of Improvements
Healthcare app development is a continuous process of iterating and adding new features. Plan future app improvements based on the data collected during the previous phase. Start by identifying which features are missing and how to improve the customer experience.
The Key Takeaway
Smartphones are now ubiquitous. People from all walks of life have widely accepted their attributes, such as connectivity, personalization, and convenience. The vast healthcare industry includes eCommerce, entertainment, and, most importantly, healthcare. Mobile devices are an excellent tool for medical professionals because of their wide range of applications and easy use.
Before you hire a healthcare app development company, you need to consider a few factors. Ensure that data security and interoperability are the main ideas of your application. Your app must comply with HIPAA regulations, legal rules, and privacy laws. It could cause problems if you don’t. Get the compilations you need before starting.
We know how to create a HIPAA-compliant healthcare app, whether it’s by following the rules or creating an intuitive UX/UI. AddWeb Solution is your best tech partner to develop an advanced healthcare tech ecosystem. Our highly skilled healthcare app developers can help you deliver patient-centric care. Contact us now!
