Healthcare Mobile App Development: Types, Trends, and Cost

Today, many healthcare services are available through mobile apps. These solutions enhance our daily lives. They facilitate swift appointment scheduling and instant retrieval of medical records. One of their biggest pros is that they make billing hassle-free. Healthcare mobile apps are also important for educating both patients and doctors.

Given these factors, mobile app development for healthcare emerges as a promising venture. Yet, there are crucial considerations that must be taken into account to ensure the creation of a functional solution.

This blog post provides the motivations behind the creation of such applications. It also gives a checklist for selecting a software provider to handle all technical aspects of product delivery. We will also guide you through how to develop a healthcare app. As a bonus, we will discuss the typical costs associated with healthcare mobile solution development.

What Is A Healthcare App?

Before moving on to how to develop a health app, let’s understand what these apps do. The medical mobile app is software designed to run on mobile devices. These applications provide useful tools for individuals to better manage their own health. For example, some allow you to track your diet, exercise, medications, or symptoms for different conditions. Others connect you to telehealth services for remote consultations with doctors or therapists.

These applications are also very helpful for medical professionals. They can access important patient information and reference clinical resources. They can also use decision-support tools right on their mobile devices. This mobility helps them provide better care inside or outside of medical facilities.

Healthcare organizations use mobile applications as well. They develop secure apps that allow patients to schedule appointments and access medical records. It is also possible to get test results. Moreover, these applications can handle insurance and billing matters. They aim to improve patient engagement and convenience.

Overall, healthcare apps make it easier to stay healthy. They motivate you to make better choices. Healthcare apps put useful resources at your fingertips. Having one can really improve your well-being!

Exploring the Landscape of Mobile Healthcare App Development

Health applications seamlessly integrated into consumer health informatics. These apps act as tools embracing a patient-centric healthcare paradigm. They help users manage their health concerns. They make it easier to understand complex medical conditions and achieve fitness goals. Through mobile applications development for healthcare, medical professionals like doctors and pharmacists give safer and more efficient care. Patients partake in self-monitoring of treatments and enhance adherence to prescribed therapies.

Experts think that in 5 years, about 80% of clinics will use chatbots to improve services. People want custom experiences but worry about the lack of clarity on how companies provide them. They want more control over their data and better experiences. New tech like 5G and AR is making this possible. At the same time, new tech could make custom experiences part of daily life. Yet, bridging the gap between technological advancements and people's need for control is key.

In the landscape of healthcare mobile apps, we find various offerings:

• Apps that track biorhythms, track sleep patterns, caloric intake, diet, and overall well-being.
• Apps that connect patients with trainers, doctors, dietitians, or therapists through online chats. This helps avoid the need for time-consuming hospital visits.
• Medication reminders that bolster treatment adherence.
• Applications providing informative healthcare articles for awareness.
• Apps for convenient medication ordering and home delivery.

Healthcare mobile apps have firmly embedded themselves in our daily routines. They enrich our lives through innovative solutions that cater to our well-being.

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Types of Mobile Healthcare Apps and Their Functions

Navigating the realm of healthcare mobile app development is influenced by the type of application being created. The chosen type shapes the app's features, integrations, and data security requirements. Healthcare mobile apps can be broadly categorized into those serving consumers (the general public) and those designed for health professionals and medical institutions. Let's delve into the details of several prominent categories of mHealth apps.

Type #1. Fitness Apps

These types of mobile healthcare apps offer diverse training programs. They enable users to track health and fitness goals without extensive investments. Features include tailored workouts by celebrity trainers, goal setting, and workout customization. Fitness apps foster a trend towards staying healthy at home.

Type #2. Telepharmacy or Drug Dispensing Apps

These applications ensure timely medication management. By integrating with electronic health records (EHRs), doctors can calculate precise drug doses based on a patient's condition. This streamlines treatment while avoiding manual calculations. Medication tracking, disease monitoring, and data sharing with healthcare providers are standard functionalities.

Type #3. Risk Assessment Apps

EHR integration and wearable devices facilitate real-time monitoring of patient health. For instance, obstetricians use apps like the FHR 5-Tier for Electronic Fetal Monitoring during labor. Such applications notify doctors of health threats and enable informed patient care decisions.

Type #4. Patient-Doctor Communication Apps

These types of mobile healthcare apps foster patient-doctor interaction. They do this by assisting users in finding medical specialists, scheduling appointments, arranging video consultations, and managing payments. Enhancing transparency and communication between patients and clinicians is a key focus. It leads to improved patient involvement and loyalty.

Type #5: Diet and Nutrition Apps

These apps provide nutritional recommendations, recipes, calorie counting, and progress tracking. This way, they help address the global concern of obesity-related diseases. The applications contribute to healthy lifestyles. They offer features like rapid food logging, extensive databases, and even AR tools for smarter grocery shopping.

Type #6. Disease Control and Monitoring Apps

In high demand, these applications track and manage diseases. These can be epilepsy, diabetes, cardiovascular conditions, and more. They enable users to monitor their health, predict episodes, and receive timely alerts. As a result, they improve self-management and reduce hospital visits.

Type #7. Lifestyle Apps

Promoting holistic well-being, lifestyle apps offer exercises, training, and courses to enhance mental and physical health. These applications aim to reduce stress and improve users' quality of life. They offer features like meditation sessions, goal tracking, and personalized advice.

Type #8. Social Networking and Health Forums

Fostering community among medical professionals, these platforms allow interaction, knowledge sharing, and learning. Video and voice calls, secure communication, and HIPAA compliance characterize these apps.

Type #9. Pregnancy Assistants

Tailored for expectant mothers, these applications offer comprehensive tools for pregnancy tracking, exercise advice, nutrition tips, and parenting guidance. From ovulation calculation to baby name finders, these applications guide women through their pregnancy journey.

Diverse in nature and purpose, these healthcare mobile apps cater to a wide range of needs. They enrich lives through improved health management, informed decisions, and enhanced well-being.

6 Steps To Build A Healthcare App

Market Analysis

The first step in building any application is to understand the market. Research your competitors and see what healthcare apps already exist. Look at their features, pricing models, user reviews, and more. This will help you identify gaps in the market and determine how to make your product stand out.

Study Your Audience

Next, spend time getting to know your target users. Who will use your application? Patients? Doctors? Caregivers? Different audiences will want different features. Run surveys, interviews, or focus groups to understand their needs and pain points. Find out how a mobile solution could improve their healthcare experience.

Choose Application Type

Decide which type of application you want to build based on your audience's needs from step 2. Will it be a fitness tracker, a telemedicine platform, or a disease management tool? Clearly defining the app's purpose will streamline the development process.

Create UI/UX Design

Your app's user interface and user experience design are critical. The UI is the visual look and layout. The UX is how intuitive and easy it is for users to accomplish their goals. Work with experienced designers to make your software solution visually appealing while providing a smooth, frustration-free experience.

Make It HIPAA Compliant

Healthcare apps dealing with patient data must comply with HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act). This law protects the privacy and security of health information. Compliance requires technical safeguards like data encryption, audit logs, and access controls. It's absolutely essential for earning user trust.

Publish and Market the App

After design and development, publish your application in the iOS App Store, Google Play Store, or both. Promote it through digital marketing, social media, PR outreach, and more. Tell prospective users how your app improves healthcare and makes their lives easier. Consider offering a free trial so they can experience the value before purchasing.

Emerging Trends in Healthcare Mobile App Development

Looking ahead, the global mobile healthcare application development IT market is projected to reach $974.5 billion by 2027. The growing emphasis on health and the convenience of self-medication is fueling this surge. Brands that leverage this trend can integrate with digital therapy tools (DTx). Technological trends like artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), virtual reality, big data, and pharmaceutical chatbots have already moved from the realm of futuristic to present-day trends. AI, in particular, offers a wealth of opportunities for the healthcare sector, augmenting clinical decisions and analytics with unprecedented precision and insights.

Trend #1: Consumer-Centric Healthcare

The shift from doctor-driven to patient-centered care tech development is evident. Focusing on patient experiences and delivering enhanced value is a priority. Improving patients' lives and delivering more value will be pivotal in the coming years. This will be driving a consumer-oriented approach. Healthcare mobile app developers will aim to provide value-added services that attract and benefit patients.

Trend #2. Interoperability

The seamless sharing of health data across networks is a cornerstone of healthcare. Enabling data exchange among health systems ensures optimal care. Interoperability operates on functional, structural, and semantic levels. Thus, it improves the quality of care delivered.

Trend #3. Telemedicine

Telemedicine has transcended reluctance, especially with the pandemic's influence. It has emerged as a fast, convenient, high-quality alternative for both patients and healthcare professionals. The technology's full potential was realized during the pandemic. At that time, medical conferences and consultations were transitioned online. This trend doesn't lose its relevance today.

Trend #4. Integration with Medical Equipment

The integration of telemedicine platforms with medical devices enhances patient care. Connecting various medical devices for real-time data collection and interpretation provides accurate insights and remote monitoring. This results in better treatment decisions.

Trend #5. Virtual Waiting Room

The pandemic has accelerated the adoption of virtual waiting rooms. This approach minimizes the risk of infections. Patients can wait remotely, reducing exposure and improving safety. This approach can persist beyond the pandemic, optimizing workflows and minimizing contact.

Trend #6. Remote Monitoring of Elderly Patients

With a rapidly aging population, efficient elderly care is paramount. Digital health technology tools offer monitoring solutions for elderly or chronically ill patients. This enables timely intervention and reduces hospital visits.

Trend #7. AI-Supported Clinical Decision Making

Artificial intelligence's impact on healthcare will expand, especially in diagnostic processes. AI will calculate disease likelihoods, aiding doctors in diagnosis and decision-making. ML-based diagnostic systems are gaining acceptance and supporting patient care.

As the healthcare sector evolves, mobile app development is at the forefront of these transformative trends. These trends enhance patient experiences. They pave the way for a more efficient, personalized, and technologically advanced healthcare landscape.

Determining the Cost of Developing a Healthcare Mobile App

The total expenses of crafting a wellness and health mobile software product depend on the level of features and functionalities it includes.

Before delving into costs, it's essential to consider the required team composition for healthcare mobile app development. The following experts are typically needed:

• Front-End Developer
• Back-End Developer
• DevOps Specialist
• Business Analyst
• Compliance Expert
• UI/UX Specialist
• Project Manager
• Quality Assurance Engineer

In essence, the cost estimation depends on the seamless integration of various features within a single product.

The cost of mHealth solution development is often gauged by the number of hours dedicated to its creation.

When it comes to developing a mobile healthcare app, there are three primary options for securing health mobile app development services:

• Employ an In-House Team
• Engage Freelancers
• Opt for Outsourcing

While an in-house team can deliver a high-quality product, it might come with a substantial price tag. So, for startups, maintaining an in-house team from the outset may not be cost-effective, with hourly charges ranging from $100 to $200. The alternative of hiring freelancers worldwide presents a budget-friendly approach. However, quality assurance is not always guaranteed with this option.

So, what's the optimal path for developing a medical application?

The answer lies in outsourcing, particularly to countries like Ukraine, known for competitive rates. A comparison of service costs reveals that Ukraine boasts the most competitive hourly rates for mobile health app development. So, think of a medication management app development company wisely. Consider rates, expertise, and your budget.

Our Experience

Our patient-oriented healthcare mobile applications are thoughtfully designed to optimize the user experience and achieve optimal outcomes.

HospApp

We have developed a preliminary Android with essential functionalities tailored for hospital staff. The Stfalcon team has contributed by offering services including user interface design and Android app development. We were also responsible for manual testing, quality assurance, and successful implementation. It's important to note that our collaboration focused on specific screens. These were:

• Messages
• Chat rooms/groups
• Task Management

These screens had pivotal features such as real-time communication and task coordination. Within the "Messages" screen, groups are organized. Each group is associated with patients and categorized based on functions like cleaning, food services, doctors, medical records, and more.

Read the full case study

IsDocIn

The goal of the project was to develop a mobile application for a service facilitating appointment scheduling with doctors. The application enables doctors to establish profiles and receive notifications upon appointment bookings.

Our task was to design the patient-centric mobile app's UI. We crafted versions for both iOS and Android platforms, translating the design into native applications.

Read the full case study

Conclusion

The landscape of healthcare mobile app development presents major business opportunities. It motivates healthcare providers and organizations to invest in this sector. The expected result is better service quality and operational efficiency. With healthcare apps, healthcare institutions can also empower patients' self-management initiatives.

When looking for potential technical partners, it is important to check their competence. Ask to see their portfolio and seek insights into their methodologies. Analyze their pricing, knowledge repository, privacy protocols, and data security measures. Engage with the dedicated project team. You should work out their skill set, experience, and professionalism.

Embarking on the launch of medical mobile applications involves intricate considerations. This blog post is a guide for your decision-making journey when choosing a healthcare mobile app development company. If you have any questions, contact us today. A free consultation is available.

Read on this FAQ section to have more insights on healthcare application development. Below, find the answers to the most interesting questions on the topic.