Smartphones and human beings are besties in this era. They make everything possible for you in just a few taps. They have proved their affinity with during the pandemic recently when the whole world was operating remotely.
Growing fitness consciousness among people and rising usage of wearables, like smartwatches, have immensely directed application development focus towards the mobile healhthcare applications and the industry's digitization. Among the Android and iOS platforms, there is a visible growth in the medical app development arena. Users are maintaining their fitness and health right through mobile applications.
The need for mHealth (mobile health) apps is increasing with advancement in technology, and it is expected that the mHealth market can cross $59 billion by the end of 2020, according to Statista.
Today, patients do not have to visit a medical center to book an appointment with a doctor, and they don’t need to wait as long as they normally do for their turn, which would usually include going to the laboratory to receive diagnosis reports, and keeping medical prescriptions with them. A simple mHealth app can do all these things for you quite easily and smartly anytime, anywhere.
But before starting any healthcare application development, there are certain parameters you need to know about, and this write-up will shed light on them.
Idea Validation
First, determine the feasibility aspect before turning a paper-written concept into a digital application. Focusing on purpose and need is more important than a product.
Know Your Target Audience:
Majorly, there are two types of people who use mobile healthcare apps.
Doctors
Patients
Opting for Right Platform:
After identifying the audience and their requirements, there is another dilemma when choosing a development platform. Usually, it is better to go with your audience's preference or, conversely, using cross-platform frameworks for better reach.
Determine the Mobile Healthcare Application Type:
One important thing healthcare app developers need to know is that there are different healthcare mobile apps for different medical concerns. The list mainly includes:
Healthy lifestyle: This usually includes a diet plan and tips to live healthily.
Drug reminder: Helps you follow time-constrained medication course properly.
Emergency App: Contains useful information to minimize fatal risk in case of emergencies.
Electronic medical records (EMR): Categorizes all medical reports in digital formats in one place.
Electronic health records (EHR): Contains patient's previous medical records for correct and more effective treatment in the future.
Medical consultation: Book virtual sessions with the doctor to discuss health-related problems.
Pregnancy health assistant: Guides women who are conceiving.
Online Pharmacy: An online marketplace to buy medicines.
Calculator: Calculates BMI, BFP, food portion, and calories.
Fitness tracking: Usually connects with wearable devices to track sleep, footsteps, heart rate, and more.
Must includes
While working on any health care app idea, the developer must include the following features to give the audience the best user experience.
Simple Registration Process
It isn't easy to manage multiple social accounts. The application registration process should be as easy as ABC. Preferably, integrating an API of Gmail, Facebook, or any other social platform can become handy for the user.
Secure payment gateway
If your mHealth application provides any purchasing or online payment services, the payment channel should ensure secure transactions.
Geolocation
The location tracking feature is important to consider if your application is going to be used worldwide. It will allow users to view real-time information according to their specific region and time zone.
Push Notification
A necessary feature to remind patients about drug regimen, appointment schedules, health-related news, and more.
Attention to testing
Companies providing healthcare mobile app development services need to be cautious in the testing phase. Any minor bug or misleading information in the mHealth application can cause life-threatening situations. QA of mHealth application has no room for error and always needs extra attention.
Always go through all the necessary testing steps and test cases to ensure 200% of everything is working as expected. A faulty application can damage the reputation of the app development company very badly. So, make sure your healthcare app passes through all the quality checkpoints before its release.
Data security
Medical applications contain sensitive information related to a patient's health. Since no one likes personal information in unauthorized hands or exposed publicly, every mobile application has protective features that ensure healthcare data security.
Consideration of data protection and privacy standards is crucial because patients and healthcare professionals are constantly using mHealth applications to exchange health-related information. That is why developers should always opt for the latest technology and comply with data security legislation requirements.
The emerging blockchain technology has also stepped into the healthcare industry. Blockchain technology uses innovative cryptography and encryption techniques to enhance data security, making it a safer place for all participants, and making applications almost invulnerable.
Benefits Worth Knowing:
Increased Work rate
Since doctors and patients are connected digitally, they both are accessible from anywhere. Patients can seek doctor consultation in real-time. Also, patients and doctors don't need to carry a stack of medical documents.
Reduce Travelling
With healthcare application usage, the patient does not have to visit the doctor's clinic physically or vice versa. They can communicate over the app, minimizing travel costs, and helping for a safer and greener environment.
Effective Management
Most manual procedures are automated with medical applications. These reduce most of the paperwork and prevent loss of important data related to health conditions.
Better Reach
No matter it is a day or night. Whether you are in town or a different region, your doctor is few taps away from you. It is highly convenient for those who travel frequently and struggle to arrange their appointment with the doctor.
Recent Trends
PGHD
Patient-generated health data, commonly known as PGHD, where patients address their health concerns by providing data about their health details, treatment history, personal data, lifestyle, and habits by themselves.
AI and Machine learning
Artificial intelligence (AI) is the future of the world. Using machine learning algorithms to generate insights from past data and applying predictive analysis techniques has become very common in the healthcare industry.
This technology greatly helps to identify hidden patterns from previous patient data. It enables healthcare professionals to diagnosed diseases and symptoms much accurately in the future. These kinds of advancements also enhance the development process of medicines where high accuracy is required.
Virtual and Augmented Reality
This AR and VR technology is quite famous in the gaming industry but has acquired significant importance in the healthcare department. These virtual technologies help trainee surgeons and physicians to learn more effectively and efficiently.
Not only practitioners but primary level students are also availing advantages of this innovation. It helps them visualize human anatomy, body functions, and much more in a modern way.
IoT
At present, the usage of a wearable is increasingly popular. The majority of the people are wearing smartwatches and fitness bands and monitoring their health, tracking the sleep cycle, counting their footsteps, identify pulse rate, and many more things right from their wrist. This futuristic approach has modernized living and is the most popular trend in the healthcare industry.
Conclusion
With the trend of going digital all over the world, mHealth applications are gaining popularity. Technology advancements have revolutionized the medical industry overall. Every day, doctors use these applications very often to centralize the care provided to the patients.
It is enhancing the experience and effectiveness for both doctors and patients day-by-day. Your company will increase its clinical performance with the right healthcare app while enhancing the quality of treatment and patient results.
Nonetheless, selecting functionalities to provide users as per their requirements is a crucial step. It is an end-user that you need to consider, as it affects the number of features and regulations to be considered.
It's better that you enter the market of mobile health service sooner, or it would be more challenging in the future to prove yourself against a large number of competitors. It is the best time to start creating a qualified healthcare app.
Feel free to contact Cubix if you need professional advice or have an idea. We are a digital product development company with vast experience in developing diverse types of smartphone applications and can implement your innovative healthcare app ideas into effective products.
