Healthcare App Development Guide – Use Cases, Costs, Trends & More

Like most other industries, Healthcare has undergone drastic changes, thanks to advancements in technology. The increasing use of medical and health applications has opened new avenues for the healthcare sector and is making huge leaps as we speak now! Healthcare applications have been extremely beneficial for both patients and healthcare professionals. These applications connect doctors with patients who need help, easing the burden on healthcare workers. They also allow healthcare professionals to learn about their patient’s symptoms and provide a digital description (if required). Healthcare apps enable better and faster diagnosis, thus improving overall patient care. In short, mobile app development for healthcare is an exceptional way to make the lives of patients and doctors easier, with a wide range of improvements that apps can bring to medical services. In this healthcare app development guide, we will discuss in length how such apps are designed and define their advantages for the industry. We will also shed a little light on the average cost of healthcare app development and the factors affecting it. But before we dive into that, let’s take a look at the current state of the healthcare market.

Healthcare Market - An Overview

The market for healthcare apps is fast evolving, with dynamic options for caregivers and patients’ convenience. The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic has further triggered a drastic surge in the market value of the healthcare segment. According to Research and Markets, the global health app market is likely to reach US$102.35 billion by 2023 from US$28.320 billion in 2018, at a CAGR of 29.30%. Besides the increasing market size, there’s also a surge in overall app usage. Since the outbreak of Covid-19, the number of healthcare app downloads has increased by 60% worldwide. Additionally, as per Statista, there were 53,054 healthcare apps on the Google play store in the first quarter of 2021. On the other hand, there were 53,979 iOS healthcare apps in the Apple App Store in the first quarter of 2021. Also, in 2020, funding by digital health investors in the health industry totaled to 21.6 billion US dollars - the largest amount so far. These numbers indicate the growing popularity of mobile health technology. So, this is why it’s not surprising to see so many companies and healthcare professionals investing in healthcare mobile application development. [Also Read: Combating COVID-19 Through Contact Tracing and AI Prediction]

Challenges Prevalent in the Healthcare Sector

Despite the growing market size, many healthcare providers still think twice before launching a healthcare application in the market. Why? There are a number of reasons why mobile healthcare solutions have not been able to create a groundbreaking impact in the lives of medical stakeholders and bring a revolutionary global switch from traditional healthcare to mobile healthcare. Understanding why healthcare solutions are struggling to create a lasting impact in the lives of millions would help you devise your mobile app in a way that you become a nudge for those stakeholders who are on the fence measuring whether or not they should bring their medical life on mobile. On this exact note, let us move on to reasons why the healthcare industry is thinking multiple times when it comes to coming and staying on mobile.

1. Lack of Detailed Focus in Any One Domain

Businesses entering the mobile health domain more often than not fail to understand that their stakeholders will never behave like the stakeholders of a super app offering multiple things in a single app. When a doctor or patient installs a health app, they are almost always looking for the redressal of one issue (which then can have many different strings). They come to an app searching solutions for one issue and not multiple. So, instead of having an application that solves multiple issues on the surface level, a healthcare app that addresses one issue in its utmost depth is what would come in handy.

2. Non-Compliance with the Law

There are multiple compliance bodies around the world that are responsible for taking care of how the mobile health domain is behaving. The importance of knowing what compliances like HIPAA stand for becomes all the more important for a healthcare app developer because they have a direct link to how safely the app is treating users’ data and what provisions it is maintaining to check the authenticity of the data, information, and advice mentioned in the application. While getting a seal of approval is difficult, the absence of it is something that becomes one of the biggest reasons behind healthcare stakeholders not believing in the system. The absence of the seal of approval by the FDA or a HIPAA compliant badge in the application’s home screen or the screenshots used in the App Store and Play Store keeps the stakeholders at bay.

3. Lack of Security

There are millions of horror stories around patients’ data getting hacked or misplaced because of insecure storage infrastructure. Although security is one of the first things that every healthcare organization should consider, in reality, there are only a few apps that take the task seriously. The compliance that we talked about in the above pointer solves the issue to some extent, but it all boils down to the individual steps a brand takes to have a security-first model.

4. Prevalent Negative Sentiment About the Mobile Health Domain

While there still can be solutions that would be in your control to solve all the reasons of mistrust mentioned above – something which we will look into a little later – there is no direct answer or solution to the problem of negative sentiment. Especially when they are valid. There have been many incidents when the picture of ineffectiveness has been presented in the healthcare market. While there are multiple reports highlighting how a great percent of weight loss healthcare mobile apps in the stores pass wrong methods of weight loss to the users, there have been even severe cases where even the most correctly algorithm mobile apps were unable to identify lesions that were later diagnosed as melanoma.

5. Presence of Multiple Channels and Devices

With a number of devices and channels entering the market – smartphones, voice assistant devices, smart TVs, etc., interoperability has become a key challenge for health app developers. It has become extremely crucial and increasingly difficult to ensure that the private medical data is not flowing in the cloud open to be hacked. Reasons as these rightfully validate how medical industry stakeholders are rightfully sitting on the fence and not making the switch from their legacy system to the mobile health app services. Now that we have looked at the key challenges in this healthcare development guide, it is time to look at the types of healthcare apps available in the market.

Types of Healthcare Applications

There are a plethora of healthcare apps available in the market, and more apps are being created and launched each day. Depending on their purpose of use, healthcare apps can be divided into apps for patients, health professionals, and medical facilities. Let’s take a quick look at the most common types of mobile healthcare applications that fall under these three categories.

Medication apps for patients:

• Fitness and wellness applications 
• Self-diagnosis solutions
• Diet tracking applications
• Reminder assistant apps
• Appointment scheduling solutions
• Mental health apps
• Women health tracking apps
• Medical education apps

Apps for healthcare professionals:

• Remote monitoring
• Telemedicine
• Appointment management applications

For medical institutions:

• Scheduling and appointment solutions
• Billing
• Inventory management
• Clinical assistance app with EHR and EMR access

Now that we have looked into the different types of applications on which you can base your  healthcare app idea, let’s get into the key use cases of healthcare apps, along with a few real-world examples.

Major Use Cases for Healthcare Apps

A healthcare mobile app is an effective tool to attract users as well as streamline the hospital’s functioning. From registering to discharging the patient, it can help you perform different operations easily and effectively. Below are a few trending healthcare app use cases to boost your business functionality and improve overall patient care.

Electronic Health Record (EHR)

With the integration of EHR solutions, healthcare apps can easily track, store, and collect all information related to a patient on a single platform. This saves time, eliminates errors, and allows the exchange of patient data between different healthcare institutions. For instance, Healthe People allows users to store and monitor all their healthcare apps and devices’ data on a single platform. It also allows users to find medical caregivers for their friends.

Telehealth and Telemedicine

The use of telemedicine and telehealth software solutions between a patient and doctor is in high demand today. Such applications have become especially popular after the COVID-19 pandemic and social isolation. These technologies allow healthcare professionals to deliver remote healthcare services, communicate online and offer top-notch medical care faster. Doctor-on-demand is one such application that allows healthcare professionals to offer consultations via video or audio calls. It also helps patients to book appointments at their convenience. [Also Read: How Much Does it Cost to Build a Telehealth Application?]

Built-in diagnostic systems

These systems enable the collection and processing of the data from embedded and IoT devices integrated with EHR platforms. The doctors can easily analyze and diagnose the condition of remote patients, track progress, and determine treatment.

E-prescribing

E-prescribing apps allow doctors to prescribe the right medicines for patients and set dosages to avoid side effects or cancel prescriptions at any time. These systems help in minimizing errors during check-out and the time that a doctor and a patient can save. For instance, Medscape is one such app that allows doctors to upload prescriptions in the app itself according to the patient’s requirements.

Step-by-Step Process to Build a Healthcare Application

It’s impossible to develop a healthcare application without a clear understanding of your app's goals, features and functionalities, and a definite plan. You must decide what kind of app you want, who will be your target audience, what problems it will solve, and how. In this section, we will go over each step of the mobile application development process for the healthcare sector to uncover this process for you.

1. Identify a Problem

An important part of the healthcare development process is to understand the end-users’ needs. Understand the problems they are facing in the existing solution and how your application can make it better. Define the user persona to utmost preciseness and their willingness to go with your solution or choose one that is existing in the market for their medical needs. At this stage, it can also help to dig in deeper and choose a healthcare field to launch your app for. For example, your application can be around diabetes or an anxiety-tracking one.

2. Identify the Platforms and Technologies

Another crucial element of the healthcare development process is the choice of platforms your application will be deployed on – Android, iOS, or web. You can also think of adding a home assistant device integration in the mix to ensure that your application is only a voice command away. A key thing to note here is that elderly patients generally tend to prefer visiting a website while their young counterparts are more app and voice devices friendly. Your market research will come in handy when deciding the platforms you want your application to be on. The crux of it is that you will have to ensure complete interoperability in healthcare apps for it to succeed.

3. Choose the Location of the App Launch

The most common approach that entrepreneurs, business heads, and tech heads follow when launching a new app is building it for their nationals. In case you or your board members wish to take an alternate route and launch your application internationally, consider the nation-specific issues and user personas, along with the specific laws highlighting the creation and deployment of medical apps.

4. Pay Attention to UI/UX

UI/UX design plays a crucial role in healthcare mobile application development. Generally, older people like simple navigation and bigger fonts while a younger audience prefers a colorful UI with unique and better functionalities. The design will also depend on whether your audiences are healthcare professionals, patients, or the general public. In addition to the visual component, it’s important to take care of how the app will look on different-sized screens. This aspect depends on the platform you are aiming at. Keep in mind that the UI/UX design will either make or break your product, so invest time and resources accordingly to get it right.

5. Hire an App Development Company

Hiring a reliable healthcare software development company will ensure that your app includes all the trending functionalities and features with minimum costs. A mobile app development company consists of UI/UX designers, expert app developers, testers, project managers, and market specialists who offer competent suggestions and always consider your vision. The company also offers access to the latest technologies and industry expertise.

6. Select a Monetization Model

The intent of all the applications, across genres, is to earn money. Usually, when we talk about how to earn money from an app, the healthcare domain works around two types –

• Subscription-based model
• Freemium model with paid access to premium services.

7. Focus on Getting MVP Created and Validated

A key element of success can be creating an MVP instead of a full-fledged application to ensure that the solution is well-tested and validated before it enters the market. For a successful MVP creation, ask your healthcare app development company to identify the key USPs and must-have features of your solution and then develop an app accordingly. MVP software development also helps users share about their experience with your app, telling what functionality they would like you to add to your product. Also, if you present your MVP to investors with your future plan, they can see the demand for your app in the market and get interested in it.

8. Test your App

Testing is one of the main steps when creating healthcare solutions. Test everything from user experience and user interface to content. Proper testing will help shorten the development time and cost, identify bugs, and greatly improve your reputation as a service provider.

9. Launch and Track Performance

Once your application has been tested, it’s time to welcome your users. After launching your app, make sure to track its performance using the in-app analytics tools implemented during the development phase, address user concerns and requests, and introduce updates to keep users engaged. Now that we have seen how to develop a healthcare app, let’s move on to the important things you need to know when developing healthcare apps.

Important Things to Consider While Developing a Healthcare Application

1. Ensure that you are Following all the Compliance Rules

There are a number of legal compliances that you have to adhere to when developing a mHealth application. While there are over 50 different compliances, the ones generally most consciously looked after are – HIPAA, HIMSS, FDC, etc. Now just like the FDA, knowing whether or not you even have to adhere to these compliances can be very tricky. So, on that note, go through this article to understand the basics of developing HIPAA-compliant mobile apps.

2. Single-Focused Purpose

As we have already mentioned above, there are a number of app categories operating in the healthcare market – fitness tracking, postoperative care apps, appointment booking apps, etc. What works for apps that excel in these respective fields is the fact that they focus single-handedly on one app category and do not run behind giving multiple offerings within one application. When companies focus on a single expertise area, they are able to offer in-depth value to the stakeholders and answer their exact pain points in utmost detail.

3. Interoperability

Passing information from one device to another is the essence of healthcare mobile apps. It is imperative to develop a clear line of interoperability that is real-time and 100% secure. There are a number of apps in the market that work in the line of getting all the consolidated data from different health-based wearable devices and placing them on users’ apps in a way that they have complete information about their vitals in one place. In order to ensure that the experience is very smooth, you will have to ensure that the connectivity you are offering is absolutely seamless and offers heightened value to the life of the users.

4. Selection of Feature Set

The success of a health solution rides heavily on the healthcare mobile app features. While the set varies from one application to another, there are some elements that are commonly present –

• Monitoring health
• Scheduling appointment
• In-app payments
• Integration with wearables
• Reporting functionality
• Social integration (if a fitness app)

5. Easy to Flow UI and UX

Imagine all the situations where a stakeholder usually opens a health application. And see how all those situations are more often than not the doing of a condition of urgency – the urgency of consulting a doctor, the need to start with the fitness regime, the required promptness to fill in the details of the home visit in the app, etc. Now imagine doing one or a few of these urgent tasks in a healthcare application that takes stakeholders through multiple clicks and processes and even then is cluttered enough to not show what is to be done in a clear space. Would be a turn-off, no? It is. The presence of a bad UI and UX in the mobile app is the doom of a healthcare application in many ways. So, ensure that the design strategy that you are making is the one that ensures you give a simple and, in most cases, a quick in and out option to the stakeholders.

6. Hack-Proof Security

There are no two ways around the fact that your health application has to be absolutely hack-proof, and there is not even a single blank left to be filled that can get hackers in. Although, when you develop an app around healthcare legal compliances like HIPAA or HIMSS, there is a level of security that is already adhered to, it is still your top priority that your app is 100% safe from breaches and data thefts. In addition to safeguarding your healthcare application from any security breach loophole, it is also equally important to ensure that the device it would function on is protected. Now, while you cannot make your users take measures to keep their devices protected, you can make it a mandate for them to put in a screen lock before accessing your app or you can even give them a lock within the application.

7. Proper Testing of the Healthcare App

Testing, in the case of any app category, is anyway very crucial. There can be a number of dire consequences if you launch your application without any proper in-depth testing. It cannot just lead to leaving a negative image in the market but also can open you to your expensive lawsuits. And when the category you are functioning in is a healthcare app, the cruciality that you will have to pay on testing becomes even more important. While the steps of manual and automation testing are more or less the same, there are some additional features that you have to pay attention to –

• Test security for PHI, PII, and several other regulations.
• Test the functional working of your app, specifically healthcare workflows.
• If yours is an app that requires geolocation to function properly, check that the APIs that you are using to enable it is safe.
• If the app interprets the data from multiple inputs, check all the inputs in multiple units from a different network, device, and locations.
• Test in poor connectivity condition.
• Do an in-depth usability testing of your app.

8. Hardware Choice

The app that you are planning to launch does not necessarily have to function on a smartphone. It can be a wearable app or a desktop version. Either way, as business people looking to enter the healthcare space, it is very important to understand that there can be multiple hardware choices where you would be able to push your application. And likewise, there can be instances where it would be needed to make two or multiple devices interact with each other. In such a situation, you will have to ensure that the hardware devices that you choose can actually co-work.

9. Choice of APIs and Integrations

Application Program Interface (API) is a very handy functionality that sees its usage in multiple stages across the whole mobile app development process – from users onboarding through social media login API to giving the health app developers a possibility to connect the app with some server or database. With so many APIs functioning in the market, it can be a difficult choice to shortlist and go with the one that would not just make your processes real-time but also completely safe and hack-proof. But, in order to offer the health and fitness apps service to its complete perfection, it is absolutely important that you make the right API and integration choice.

10. Presence of Medical Practitioner in the Core Team

The number one issue that the stakeholders face is in terms of mistrusts that originate out of incomplete or wrong information being presented in the mHealth app. This one problem can easily become a deal-breaker for your mobile app both in terms of the image it has presented and in terms of legality. The fact is solving this one problem is something that is in your hand. You can easily ensure your smartphone health app is delivering the right information by having a medical practitioner in the team – someone who would validate the accuracy of the information you are sharing with the stakeholders. So, here were the 10 considerations that would help you in delivering solutions offering real value to the stakeholders while being a medium that they can trust and get comfortable using. Now that you know the important things to consider when investing in healthcare application development, it is time to get acquainted with the top healthcare mobile apps trend that will be seen getting prevalent in 2022.

Top Healthcare Technology Trends in 2022

In this section, we will highlight the key healthcare mobile app development trends and how they are playing a vital role in redefining this sector and enhancing customer experience.

Artificial intelligence

In the time to come, we will see AI expanding its branches in the healthcare sector through – disease diagnosis, treatment prescribing, bettering senior care, analyzing the data from medical devices and records, hospital institution work management, etc. The global AI in the healthcare industry market size is expected to grow and reach USD 67.4 billion by 2027 from  USD 6.9 billion in 2021, at a CAGR of 46.2%. The key factors driving the adoption of AI in healthcare include complex healthcare datasets, the growing need to reduce healthcare costs, and the surging need for improvised healthcare services due to the imbalance between the health workforce and patients.

Blockchain

Blockchain is one of the crucial healthcare mobile app development trends in 2022. The decentralized technology will find itself getting used for managing EMR and EHR data, conducting research, and bettering the insurance and hospital billing process. As a healthcare mobile app development company, we expect that in the future this technology will be used for all the prominent healthcare activities, but as for now, we can anticipate the role of blockchain in healthcare to be more around payments and records.

IoT

The Internet of Things (IoT) in healthcare can offer continuous patient data that can be analyzed to improve the quality of care. Compatibility with IoT-powered products like Google Home or Amazon’s Alexa could also become an essential part of Android and iOS app development for healthcare. They can help patients decide when to take their medication or assist with compliance for medical studies.

AR/VR

The impact of AR/VR on healthcare will mainly surround helping patients get better through the mode of virtual simulations and practitioners bettering their procedures through a virtual environment. Healthcare based AR and VR industry is poised to become a $5.1 Billion market by the time we reach 2025. While the time is still too far off, the impact of AR/VR in the Healthcare domain is already seen in multiple areas, including the fitness domain. An example of this can be the FitXR BoxVR sports application. [Also Read: How AR/VR Apps are Gamifying Exercise and Workout?]

Telemedicine

Telemedicine and telehealth have already reshaped the healthcare industry to a huge extent by covering the gap between patients and their doctors/caregivers. However, the adoption of telehealth trends will only increase in the coming time, making it a major part of emerging trends in healthcare in 2022 and a crucial technology impacting home healthcare.

Cost to Develop a Healthcare App in 2022

The average healthcare app development cost might vary from $45,000 to $80,000. In case you are planning to use advanced healthcare technologies like machine learning, blockchain, or artificial intelligence, it can cost somewhere between $100,000 to $150,000. However, this is a rough estimate. The final price of healthcare application development is dependent on a number of factors like features and functionalities of your app, choice of platform, and more. It's advisable to consult a trusted app development company like Appinventiv for a smooth development process at affordable costs.

Factors that determine the cost of healthcare apps

Some of the important factors that affect the cost of building an app for multiple platforms including Android and iOS are mentioned below: Features and Functionalities Features and functionalities play a  crucial role in deciding the final price of healthcare application development. The more features and functionalities you add to your health app, the more will be the cost for your app development. So, it is better to concentrate on the core features in the initial version of the app. It will help you provide a great customer experience at affordable costs. Development hours Another crucial factor that affects the cost of building a healthcare app is the time taken by app developers to build one. If you want less development hours to build the application or your app is complex, your team will need more professionals to achieve the tasks in less amount of time. And this means you need to bear more expenses. But in case, you just need a basic team, you need to pay relatively less as compared to the above case. UI and UX Creating a simple yet unique UI/UX app design requires certain additional costs. UI/UX components like icons, customization, and push notifications need to be integrated into your application if you wish to make a great impression on your users. A good mobile app design will make your users want to download and use your app more and not drift away from it in the long run. App security While app security is important, many companies undermine this factor. Your app must keep users' data safe and confidential. If you do not pay attention to security, your users will not trust your application and uninstall it in no time. Thus, it is wise to invest in data security as a major security breach can break your business. Choice of app development company The final cost of your healthcare mobile app development will also depend on the app development company you choose. A trusted and reliable app development company has expertise in multiple domains and offers expert resources to deliver great services. While it will add to the development costs, the quality of service will be top-notch and it will definitely speed up the development process. App maintenance Your work doesn't end with your app getting launched on app stores. There are additional elements like app maintenance that need to be considered. However, it will contribute to the increment in the cost of developing a healthcare app.

How to Monetize from a Healthcare App?

While there are multiple ways to monetize a healthcare app, in this section, we will discuss a few most popular revenue channels for mobile healthcare apps that you may embrace individually or in combination to enhance customer value and earn more revenue. So, without further ado, let’s look at what they are.

Freemium

In a freemium model, users can access the basic features for free, while the more advanced and premium features are chargeable. The objective of this monetization model is to attract a large number of users with free services, and if the app is good, the conversion can be remarkably good. That’s because once the users start liking the app, they are more likely to pay for using its advanced features later. The freemium model provides customers with the opportunity to recognize why they are paying and for what before getting more engaged.

Subscription fees

Healthcare app users aren’t likely to pay to download the app. So, it’s better to offer the content for free for a time period, and when this specific time comes to an end, users will need to choose their subscription plan and make fixed payments monthly or even on yearly basis.

Promotions

The best way to monetize your app is to use it as the podium for special discounts and offers. The app owners can collaborate with medical shops that are keenly interested in promoting their shops, products, or services. The only motive to promote such things successfully on an app is to find what is actually applicable to the users. These kinds of promotional practices gain the interest of customers and make them loyal to the app.

Gamification

In the case of a healthcare mobile app, incorporated games help app users stick to their medication and exercise routines or attend regular appointments. In-app games also help parents entertain their kids under treatment. These games can also work as a reward provider for some discounts, free advice, or bonus points for the next level of the game. This usually makes the use of an app more enjoyable.

In-app purchases

Even though most healthcare app features are free, users can either buy real-life services or upgrades right in the app. For example, you can give users an opportunity to buy supplements, receive refills on their usual prescriptions, or pre-pay medical visits. In any case, your app should remain fully functional even if users don’t choose an in-app purchasing option.

Our Experience in Developing Healthcare Applications

At Appinventiv, we have worked on several innovative mobile healthcare applications. Our aim is to help medical organizations and providers develop superior healthcare apps that customers would love and embrace. For instance, you can take a look at how we helped our client YouComm to create an application for in-hospital patients. Using the app, patients can easily send messages to nurses in case of an emergency using head gestures or voice commands. In this way, they receive timely care and attention. For another client Soniphi, we developed an app that uses vocal information to provide a complete well-being analysis report on your personal health. As we have developed numerous mobile apps for health, we know that success comes with an engaging user experience. So, if you’re also looking to launch a healthcare app or want to know more about mobile health technology, feel free to contact us. We will be delighted to help you!

FAQs

Q1. What is the need for a healthcare app? A. Healthcare mobile apps have become essential for hospitals and patients because of the several benefits they offer such as streamlining the clinical processes, saving time, enabling immediate access to care, reducing diagnostic errors, and more. Q2. What is the cost of developing a healthcare app? A. The average healthcare app development cost is between $45,000 and $80,000. In case you are using advanced healthcare technologies like blockchain or artificial intelligence, it can cost somewhere between $100,000 to $150,000. Q3. What are a few examples of healthcare apps? A. A few examples of healthcare apps are YouCOMM, Mayo Clinic, Headspace, MyFitnessPal, Healthe People, and more. Q4. How much time does it take to build a healthcare app? A. On average, developing healthcare apps can take anywhere between six months to over a year, depending on the complexity of the app and the structure of your project. Q5. How to develop a healthcare app? A. To build an innovative and unique healthcare app for users, you need to follow the below-mentioned steps:

• Identify a problem
• Identify the platforms and technologies
• Identify the location where the app will be launched
• Pay attention to UI/UX
• Hire an app development company
• Select a monetization model
• Build MVP
• Test your app
• Track the performance