App Development in Healthcare: The Ultimate Guide

90% of physicians already use smartphones at work to access electronic health records, communication, reference information, and scheduling their appointments. The rising demand for convenient and affordable healthcare drives clinicians, hospitals, and other stakeholders to continuously adopt healthcare software solutions.

Digital health makes everyone’s lives easier. Most of all – it gives people the feeling that with the use of healthcare apps, they have better control over their health. Something as simple as an app to track their heart rate drives people to make the necessary modifications to stay fit and healthy.

Why Venture into Healthcare App Development

Because the world is going mobile – and people need healthcare at the tap of their thumb. No clinicians can afford to lose connection with terminally ill patients. Apart from staying connected, a healthcare app for patients is also their most useful tool in cases of emergencies. 

As covid-19 slides through the world, healthcare applications became prominent. But they didn’t only connect patients with doctors – they led to a wide variety of advantages that increased investments in the digital health industry.

The use of healthcare apps enabled:- 

• Online health information collection

• Timely care to the patients in remote areas

• Reduction in healthcare costs

• Better communication for patients & doctors

• Better utilization of hospital staff’s time

Today, a healthcare application project should be a priority for hospitals, doctors, and companies venturing into the e-health industry. Medical apps enable people to order medicine, connect with doctors in case of an emergency, and get common questions answered as fast as possible.

The healthcare mobile app development trends are also making their way gradually – and it is benefiting everyone. There are fitness apps, health monitoring apps, sleep tracking apps, and more that keep people updated with their basic health information. 

So if there are so many advantages of healthcare software solutions, the growth of the sector is imminent. Over 53,000 healthcare apps are available on Google Play Store in 2021 – a number that is increasing every day.

Read more: Why use Python in Healthcare Application

How to Develop a Healthcare App

Since the industry is growing so much, and patient-doctor communication seems to be better with apps, the development of such software solutions is necessary. But how to develop a healthcare app?

Here are few steps that will help to understand where to begin when developing healthcare apps –

1. Identify the Application Type
   There are different types of healthcare apps, including telemedicine apps, apps for appointment booking, uploading e-health records, clinical assistance chatbots, health tracking apps, medical education apps, mental health apps, fitness apps, and countless others.

   It is important to define what type of app is needed as it helps to decide the interface, features, and outcome of the application. There can be a requirement for an application in a specific healthcare niche that may be left unserved.

2. Determine the Features
   Defining the healthcare mobile app features is crucial because it will be the foundation for development. There could be dashboards, reporting portals, payment portals, doctors profiles, scheduling calendars, and other things, depending upon the type of application.

   A lot of companies suggest that every app should have a healthcare-based bot that could answer common queries, book appointments, and guide people throughout the process. It leads to a better user experience.

3. Designing the User Interface
   The next step is to design the layout and user interface of the application. The UI/UX is what the users will see – so there needs to be complete attention to what the application will deliver. The primary purpose of the UI/UX should be to help the users navigate the application in a better manner.

   A lot of applications do not make it big because the user interface is not at par with the expectations. It is essential to conduct proper research to understand what the users would like to see in the app.

4. App Development
   Here, there comes a need to hire a software development company that could provide the resources to build the app. Getting an estimate for the healthcare app development cost is preferred to know how much money it would take and will it go over the budget or not. The company will provide healthcare app developers who are experts in building such solutions.

   There are hundreds of healthcare app development blogs out there that boast of different companies that provide these services. Make sure to hire the one that is the best suited for the project.

5. Launch and Continuous Improvements
   Finally, once the features are built, and the UI is developed, it’s time to launch. It is always a good practice to build a prototype and test it with a small group of users. This way, it would give an idea about what works and what doesn’t. Any health care application project is an experiment in hit-and-trial to see what users like and dislike.

   Continuous improvements are key to staying relevant in the industry. Healthcare is advancing quickly, and the application must have updates and new features that the users want. 

What is the Cost of Developing a Healthcare App?

The cost of developing a healthcare app depends on several factors – features, development time, efforts, resources, and more. The complexity of the project will decide how much it will cost to build the healthcare application. 

Generally, the average cost of digital healthcare software solutions should come around $50,000 – $200,000. Many applications require critical features that need more time to build and maintain. Therefore, the cost will vary based on these features. 

If the application uses modern technologies like Machine Learning, AR & VR, and others – the cost may go up significantly. Since these technologies work primarily with data, they take a lot of additional resources than normal.

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Conclusion

Healthcare application development is increasingly becoming a priority as patients and clinicians look to achieve better healthcare outcomes. There’s no denying the fact that digital health is taking over the industry, and applications are a necessity to thrive in the competitive landscape. 

A good healthcare app development company assists with the creation of healthcare software solutions that will provide a competitive advantage to clinicians, doctors, and hospitals in the long run.

And such products are only built by a custom software development company like BoTree Technologies.