If you’re reading this, you might be thinking of launching your healthcare app. This article will take you through the features, trends, and cost of a healthcare app.
Healthcare App Trends
448 million people are using smartphones for browsing all around the world. There are 318,000 mhealthcare apps in app stores. The number of healthcare apps has doubled since 2015 and it is solely because more and more people are investing in healthcare apps as it has great potential. Over 60% of people have downloaded a health app on their phone. Fitness and wellness constitute 85% of mhealth apps and 15% of those apps are related to medical issues.
Currently, the mHealth app market is growing from its $40.05 billion value in 2020. The compound annual growth rate is expected to be 17.7% from 2021 – 2028. The healthcare industry is changing rapidly, and telehealth software and mHealth apps are on the rise.
With more people staying home due to Covid-19, it has exasperated their overall health. Alcohol and substance abuse is on the rise in the past year, so people are looking to talk to a licensed psychologist. Covid-19 has caused a surge in people seeking therapy for a variety of reasons. Due to the pandemic, everyone has been challenged and tested in a variety of ways. No one has come out unscathed. Adults of all ages are dealing with anxiety or depression symptoms during the pandemic. Parents, essential workers, and communities of color have all had to deal with the pandemic while also worrying about their employment status and income. Because everyone has been affected differently by Covid-19, there’s no demographic that isn’t in need of healthcare services, whether in-person or through a mHealth app.
Due to the ongoing pandemic, these therapy sessions can easily and quickly occur through a mHealth app. With these mHealth apps, clients are less likely to miss appointments, and the scheduling process is easier on both the doctor and patient. Healthcare apps can help take the stress away from patients by not having to travel to a doctor’s office, and instead, they can conduct most of their medical needs from their living room. Not only is this more pleasant for the patient, but it is safer as well due to the ongoing pandemic.
Types of healthcare apps
- App for patients
- The General Doctor app
- Healthcare Details App
Every type of healthcare app has some different features. Let’s dive into the features that a healthcare app offers.
The Patient App
- Sign up and Sign-in features allow you to access basic information about the user such as age and gender.
- The appointment feature helps the user to make an appointment with the doctor they’ve finalized.
- The search feature helps users find a doctor according to their issue. For instance, a patient with stomach issues would search for a gastroenterologist.
- A pill reminder feature is beneficial for those who forget to take their medicine on time. Elderly people can especially make use of this feature.
- In the Telemedicine feature, a medical professional would prescribe medicine and monitor the prescriptions.
- Electronic health recorder keeps a record of the health of the patient. Doctors and patients both use this feature to keep track of records.
- The feedback feature helps to rate the doctors based on the user’s experience.
The Doctor App
- The profile creation feature requires the doctor to add all their qualification and experiences. This is specifically helpful for the users as they would be able to access the profile information of a doctor. Experience and certificates would make it easier for the patient to trust the doctor.
- The appointment feature in the doctor’s app helps to make the appointment process smooth and easy for both patient and doctor. This is where the doctor and patient can discuss and finalize a timing contingent on availability.
- The patient dashboard is important for the doctor as it would convey the medical history of the patient, previous medications, and other details that the doctor should know about.
- The prescription would be a different feature as it needs to be legitimate. Doctors can use this feature to prescribe medicine in a certified way.
The General Healthcare App
- Doctor Management system which allows hospital staff to use the app and stay on record.
- The inventory management feature makes sure that there are enough supplies in the hospital. It is solely to be used by the hospital staff.
- A patient management system would be used to keep a record of patients and their medical history.
The Cost of a Healthcare App
The cost of a healthcare app is influenced by several factors. The platforms on which the app will be available is the first factor. If you’re going to make a native app, you might have to spend several thousand bucks on that. Apps on iOS and Android are relatively cheaper and can be developed at a lower rate as opposed to native apps.
Another interesting factor that influences the cost of an app is the developer you choose. Indian freelancers are well known for quality service at a low price. You can find Indian freelancers for as low as $10/hour.
The features of the app are also a deciding factor in the cost of an app. For instance, if you want to add a payment feature in the app you might have to pay more to the developer. The language and complexity of the app also are a deciding factor in the cost of an app.
The estimated budget for a healthcare app is around $5000-$15000. The variability depends upon the factors mentioned above.
Healthcare apps are a major need during this time. Especially with the COVID-19 crisis, people are more inclined towards online consultations and healthcare services.
When developing a mHealth app, there must be ample research to support your idea. App marketplaces are overcrowded, and mHealth apps continue to grow, so it is crucial to outline your target market before app development. This way, there’s time to get everything sorted out to know what needs to be improved upon or fixed. Medical apps are by no means a blue-ocean industry, so there must be an appropriate, concise go-to-market strategy. Many factors determine the success of companies in red-ocean industries. Companies must do the following; compete in existing markets, overcome the market competition, exploit the existing demand, make the value cost trade-off, and align the company’s activities with its strategic choice of differentiation or low cost.
Part of strategizing your mHealth app will include how you will develop the app. Either your app will be Native or a Hybrid web app. You’ll be deciding if it will be an Android app, or run-on iOS, or both. The two most common mobile operating systems are iOS, Apple products, and the other is Android. The different operating systems will fluctuate your app’s price along with the functionality, speeds it runs at, and so on. Native apps have become increasingly popular in the past years, and these Native apps are the kind of apps that are made specifically for the mobile operating system. One of the reasons people prefer native apps is because they can use the phone’s built-in functions that the app is designed for. Native apps can easily access functions in the phone like GPS, contacts, camera, etc.
On the other hand, Hybrid web apps are designed for multiple platforms rather than the one operating system. One benefit of hybrid web apps that people can often overlook is their ability to use plug-ins to access various hardware and software technology. Companies and organizations may choose hybrid web apps for their ability to be created quicker and cheaper than a Native app.
So, if companies are rushing to market, they’ll most likely be producing a hybrid app, and companies that are looking to create the best app can most likely take the time to make a native app. It is important to remember that the essential feature of an app is the performance. Users will not hesitate to delete or stop using an app due to poor performance. Poor app performance has led to native apps being more popular due to them running on a specific operating system because of the performance, security, and user experience. Ultimately, with more and more native apps on the market, hybrid web apps have become a second choice, but great if there’s a need for the app as soon as possible.
When developing your healthcare app, a good plan is to take time and prototype your app before spending the money or long hours creating and developing it. Various programs help develop prototypes for those interested in introducing a new app into the marketplaces. The best part about making a prototype for your healthcare app is that it’s 10x cheaper to fix a design flaw while prototyping than during development. Various programs are available, but it is crucial to figure out which prototype program is best suited for you because they all have different attributes and features.
Here are 11 tools to test user experience:
- InVision
- Adobe Experience Design
- Origami Studios
- Sketch
- Axure
- Webflow
- Framer
- Atomic
- Principle
- Just in Mind
- Balsamiq Mockups
Overall, prototyping is something to consider before developing your healthcare app. It can save you both time and money if you catch any developmental mistakes while in the prototype stage. Ultimately, there’s a lot that goes into developing and designing an app for your product, so it’s not a bad idea to prototype your idea to make sure it’s on brand and works efficiently.
Security is of utmost importance when designing a healthcare app. Due to the sensitive information that is disclosed between patients and doctors, users will want to use an app that they can ensure will keep their data safe.
One of the most important things to remember is that your healthcare app will need to comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, also known as HIPAA. Ensuring your app is up-to-date with HIPAA will show customers that your company is taking their private information seriously. Ultimately, this should help build a strong relationship between your company and customers. It will also help build a relationship if your company ensures that your app follows all the other regulations in the health care industry.
Compliance with HIPAA is good, but it’s crucial to the success of your app that your company complies with all the other laws and regulations surrounding patient’s sensitive data. This information can include any sensitive information disclosed, for example, prescription history, medical diagnosis, personal information, insurance information, and personal appointments. A healthcare app that doesn’t ensure this information is safe and secure will rapidly fall behind in the marketplace. Medical information is something that customers want to ensure is being handled safely before disclosing any of it.
Other steps your company can take to secure your healthcare app are to use encryption to send and store medical data safely, use multi-factor authentication, and be ready to fight against any threats. By doing all these things, your company will be able to confidently say they’re doing everything in their power to keep the customer’s information in the right hands. Maintaining control of your healthcare apps’ security will build confidence with customers. It will also help make sure your company is in good relations with the other stakeholders in the healthcare industry.
It is also essential to have your healthcare app integrate with other software and services. There are always more technological opportunities available, so it may not be wise to stop at just a smartphone app. With new technologies like the Peloton or the most recent Apple Watch, there are opportunities to integrate your healthcare apps with these things. One way to expand your healthcare app is to integrate with Google Fit, Healthkit, and Samsung Health. These services work as data hubs keeping users’ vitals.
If you are thinking about an investment in healthcare apps, talk to us today and we can help you with your app idea.
References
https://yourstory.com/mystory/healthcare-app-development-2020-types-cost-trends-feautures
