Category Application Development
Date
healthcare app development This healthcare app development guide sheds light on everything you need to know to build a healthcare app that users love and find useful.

Planning to dive into the healthcare app development industry? You need the right source of information to guide you through the development process. Our expert guide on healthcare app development takes you through each step to help you tackle the market better. 

As the healthcare industry is getting competitive, more and more apps are coming into existence. This has created massive competition for developers, especially the new ones. 

However, building an app is not enough- building it the right way is critical. As 88% of mobile time is spent on apps by users, this is a great opportunity to increase app downloads and engagement statistics if built correctly.

Explore this in-depth guide to dive deeper into the ideal healthcare app development process. Let’s have a look!

What are the Types of Healthcare App Development?

App development for healthcare involves creating applications that allow users to monitor and manage their healthcare and wellness issues in real-time. The revenue generated from health apps was estimated at $8.2 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow to $35.7 billion by 2030.

app development for healthcare

1. Healthcare Apps for Patients

The applications that cater to the needs of the patients come under this category. They are designed to make the patients track their prescriptions and assignments. They often include educational content and information such as symptom checklists and tracking.

Reminder Apps, medical record apps, and chronic disease management apps are healthcare applications examples of this type.

2. Healthcare Apps for Providers

The benefit of healthcare app development in this area is for those who provide for the expenditure on healthcare. These applications make the provider’s jobs more efficient. They can help manage clinical reports, provide patient information, and improve workflow.

3. Healthcare Apps for Medical Administration Staff

There are healthcare apps directed towards the needs of administration staff, like doctors and nurses. These features make communication with colleagues easier. It also provides quick access to patient data that saves time on billing procedures and other tasks. Further, you can also develop apps for inventory and data management.

4. mHealth Applications

mHealth is a term used for the technology available on mobile phones related to healthcare. These apps are designed to provide better medical access and care to patients. Mobile health apps focus on making the work of people in the healthcare sector easier. 

Healthcare App Development Tech Stack

Technology and innovation go hand in hand. Integrating the latest technological features into your healthcare app can give it an edge in the market. These features upgrade your user experience and make it beneficial for the workers in the healthcare sector.

1. Blockchain

Blockchain technology enables the safe flow of digital information between two parties. In other words, it is a digital ledger.

Experts anticipate that the Blockchain Market in the healthcare industry will grow from USD 3.61 billion in 2024 to USD 29.76 billion by 2029. Blockchain in healthcare is used to store medical records. This enables the patients to see and share their information with doctors and other caregivers without worrying about security.

2. Real-Time Health Monitoring

Real-time monitoring is essential for patients who need to track their vitals constantly. This technology allows you to make a healthcare app that can monitor your vital statistics and physical activity. Knowing such information can help you learn about your health. You can then make lifestyle changes accordingly.

3. Internet of Things (IoT)

The Internet of Things is a technology that allows you to share data between devices. IoT is used in various places within the healthcare industry, such as:

  • For Patients

Devices such as wearables like fitness bands and wirelessly connected devices like blood pressure, heart rate monitoring cuffs, glucometer, etc. These give patients access to personalised attention. 

  • For Doctors

Using home monitoring devices that use IoT can help physicians keep track of patient’s health effectively. It allows healthcare professionals to stay connected with the patients proactively. 

  • For Hospitals

IoT devices with sensors are used to track the location of medical equipment like wheelchairs, oxygen pumps, nebulizers, and other monitoring equipment. The deployment of medical personnel to various places might also be investigated.

4. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

AI is revolutionizing the healthcare industry. Modern healthcare software solutions use machine learning algorithms to help detect health patterns and analyze health data. It is being increasingly used in diagnosis apps. Here are a few areas where AI is being used in the healthcare sector:

  • Diagnosis

Artificial intelligence can process medical data and work with doctors to develop precise diagnoses.

  • Prescription

AI can assist the doctor in prescribing medications for a patient.

  • Medical Imaging

Helps doctors to analyze complex X-rays, ultrasounds, and CAT scans. It can identify anomalies in these images more quickly than humans.

How to Develop a Healthcare App?

To create a healthcare app, you need to begin by identifying an existing problem that you have the ability to solve. Furthermore, the actual process begins. The process is divided into several stages focused on designing, developing, and deploying a perfect healthcare app. 

Once you have a clear picture of these aspects, you can proceed to developing a mobile application. Here is a framework of steps that simplifies the process.

Step 1: Analyse the Problem

The first step in designing a healthcare app is to identify the problem you want to tackle. A custom healthcare app development can address many problems that can benefit the patient, provider, and pharmacy.

Step 2: Choose the Platform

The next step is to select the platform on which you intend to launch your app. For instance, Android or iOS, both will require different knowledge and experience. Android development requires a better working of Google APIs. iOS will not require Java experience but familiarity with leveraging Apple frameworks.

Step 3: Knowledge of Web Technologies

In order to design a mobile app, you need to be a master of web technologies like HTML and JavaScript. This is essential for creating dynamic websites.

Step 4: Choose the Location of Launch

Based on the features your app has to offer. If you are targeting a worldwide market, you must first choose locations like the US and the UK, as they have a good user base.

Step 5: Focus on having a Good Interface

For healthcare web app development, the platform needs to be user-friendly. You need to understand it is meant to be used by people who have very limited tech expertise. The best approach is to have a good UI/UX design that can satisfy the needs of the target audience.

Step 6: Hire App Developers 

Seeking help from professionals can ensure that your app has all the features you wish to provide. Your strategy to hire app developers should include several filters to use. For instance, experience, catalog, tech expertise, etc. These filters will help you ensure that the best people are working on your healthcare app development project.

Step 7: Get your MVP Validated

You need to pay attention to creating MVP and getting it validated. MVP development involves developing only the core functionalities to solve a specific problem. It will ensure the application is well-tested and validated before entering the market.

Step 8: Testing the Healthcare App

The next step before launching the app is to test it. This ensures that the user experience is apt and there are no errors in the interface. There are several automated and manual testing tools existing in the market. 

Depending on your budget and availability of resources, you can pick one of these methods and ensure your app remains glitch-free before deploying it. Thus, the testing of the app should not be missed when developing a health application. 

Step 9: Launch the App

Lastly, launch the app and greet the users. This is when you start converting your audience to customers. Ensure the launch stage meets the mobile app launch checklist before starting the process. 

However, this is not the last stage of the development process. Once your app has been launched, you need to track it constantly and identify bugs to rectify them and provide a flawless experience.

How Much Does it Cost to Develop a Healthcare App?

There is a huge demand for healthcare apps in the market. It is no wonder that businesses are now investing considerable amounts in healthcare app development. 

If you’re aware of the diversified uses of healthcare apps, you can understand how several factors influence the cost of building apps. These factors can be- 

Types of apps

Apps are majorly three major types of apps existing in the market- Native apps, Hybrid apps, and Web apps. 

  • Native apps are built for a single platform. If you are targeting more than one platform, such as Android and iOS, you will need separate native apps for both. Their ability to utilize native smartphone resources well helps them offer more features and better visualization.
  • Hybrid apps, as the name suggests, are designed for multiple platforms These apps are used using a single code script to reduce the overall development time and costs. Several hybrid app development frameworks exist in the market to help develop hybrid apps faster. 
  • Web apps utilize the abilities of web browsers. These apps are not installed on smartphones; Instead, they are deployed on browsers to eliminate the necessity of installing and maintaining each app separately.  Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) are the upgraded version of traditional web apps designed for better performance and visuals. 

Location of the app developer

Depending on where you are hiring the app developers from, the cost can vary. For instance, app development companies in India will cost less than a US-based development partner. Factors such as lower hourly wages, cheaper living costs, etc are some of the reasons why the location of the developer matters for saving money on development.

App design

The cost to design an app can impact your overall budget. Depending on whether you are looking for a separate UI/UX design agencies or planning to design in-house, you can plan the development budget accordingly. App design is varied in multiple categories. Such as-

  • Complex designs are designs referred to with the most number of animations, transitions, etc. These designs are complicated and can take more time to prepare the final wireframe.
  • Moderate designs have an average number of pages, transitions, and animations. These designs are focused on making apps visually appealing and feature-rich but still keeping them compatible with older devices as well.
  • Simple designs refer to UI/UX trends that are not very visually rich. These designs follow a minimalistic set of features and UI functionality, keeping them lightweight and fast to load.

Healthcare app niches

The cost can vary based on the purpose of your medical app. Here’s an overview highlighting some tentative costs for your reference- 

  • Medical Networking

Apps for medical networking help improve communication between healthcare professionals. Using these, physicians can utilize medical networking apps to process real-time data. The cost to build a healthcare app that facilitates these features can fall between $30,000 to $60,000.

  • Billing

Medical billing apps replace the hassle of long queues at billing counters in hospitals. They allow users to collect and manage payments for their bills. The applications can also help you to maintain virtual receipts for simplified transactions. The healthcare app development costs for billing purposes may range from $40,000 to $90,000.

  • Fitness Health Apps

Fitness apps allow users to manage their daily physical activities. It enables users to monitor and analyse fitness data easily. The features it provides may include self-care and mindfulness options, personalised training, steps walked, etc. The cost of development may range from $60,000 to $300,000.

  • Telemedicine

Telemedicine apps allow you to avail of healthcare services remotely. The mechanism of these apps is to use a blend of online and offline interaction between peers in the network. 

This healthcare app features include delivering medicines, giving medical consultations, etc. The telemedicine app development cost ranges from $50,000 to $200,000.

  • Health Monitoring

Mobile healthcare apps that help in monitoring health include wearables that have data sensors. You can analyze your health across a series of metrics via the data collected through these. Healthcare wearable app development costs may be estimated at around $50,000 to $100,000.

  • Diet Managers

Maintaining diet plans and nutrition planning is one prime demand from modern healthcare apps. This app uses the data entered by the user and accordingly helps them follow a plan by sending regular alerts. 

The most common features of this app include a nutrition planner, notification alerts, and wearable device integration. The cost of developing such apps may fall between $30,000 to $60,000.

What are the Challenges in Healthcare App Development?

App development for healthcare is a procedure that requires expertise and constant effort. Since it is a complex process, there are challenges involved. It is important to acknowledge these issues, and you must try to overcome them effectively to create successful healthcare mobile apps

To make the most of the benefits of on-demand healthcare mobile apps, here are some challenges that you need to know of.

1. Complex Regulatory Compliance 

Healthcare apps can directly impact an individual's wellness. This is why healthcare must follow stringent norms and standards to safeguard patient privacy and safety.

For example, HIPAA sets guidelines for handling patient information in countries like the United States. You must understand the rules and security measures to adhere to these regulations.

2. Lack of Support Across Platforms

The healthcare system relies on various platforms, devices, and electronic health records. One of the biggest challenges in developing healthcare apps is ensuring support across different systems and data sources.

3. Bad User Experience 

Patients and healthcare professionals expect easy navigation and simple interfaces. Therefore, healthcare apps should prioritize the user experience to ensure engagement and adoption. 

However, Very often, developers end up making it complex in order to make the interface unique. So, ensure you do not do the same.

4. Privacy & Security Issues

80% of the reported healthcare breaches were attributed to hacking. This is why healthcare app development must pay special attention to protecting sensitive patient data. Data leaks can have severe consequences, including damage to the reputation of healthcare providers.

To protect data, it is essential to implement encryption and secure authentication. You can also conduct regular security audits to protect patient information.

5. Lack of Specificity

Many apps try to incorporate a lot of issues into one app. This can make the app an information dump, and the user may feel overwhelmed. You can also choose to address one issue in your app and provide an in-depth solution to that hassle to deal with this problem.

6. Non-Compliance with the Law

Another issue faced by healthcare app developers is to be compliant with multiple compliance bodies. The fear of needing to comply with industry-specific regulations can make healthcare stakeholders doubt the app.

Finding the Right Development Partner with MobileAppDaily

Apart from guiding you through the healthcare app development process, MobileAppDaily can also help you find the right development partners. The platform has a plethora of resources to help you make the right decisions. Here is how MobileAppDaily can help through the journey of building a healthcare app-

  • MobileAppDaily experts list companies that have a diversified set of expertise ranging from designing to app deployment. This helps you find one destination for all healthcare app development-related services.
  • Its reports cover companies that are affordable for multiple business scales. In the list, you will find startup healthcare development companies, mid-sized service providers, and large
  • corporations as well.
  • The platform enlists companies with great reputations in the market. This helps you find organizations that are loved by clients and have a great portfolio showcasing successful past projects.

Wrapping Up

The market for healthcare app development will only grow as more people from all walks of life use smartphones. As the industry grows rapidly, most people will move towards this easy and handy alternative.

Healthcare app development is a big step forward. It's making health care better for everyone, from patients to doctors. This guide has shown how these apps are changing the game, making health care easier to get and use. It's clear now that getting into app development is a smart move, especially with how much people use their phones for everything.

These apps help with many things, like keeping track of health, making doctor's jobs easier, and even helping hospitals run smoother. If you're considering making a healthcare app, there's much to look forward to. 

Yes, it might seem tough to follow rules and ensure the app is easy for everyone to use. But the benefits are huge. We're discussing better health care for people everywhere and a chance to be part of a growing field.

So, seeing where healthcare apps can go from here is pretty exciting. They're all about making health care better and more reachable for everyone. And that's a goal worth aiming for.

Sakshi Kaushik

By Sakshi Kaushik LinkedIn Icon

A passionate writer and tech lover, she strives to share her expertise with mobile app developers and fellow tech enthusiasts. During her moments away from the keyboard, she relishes delving into thriller narratives, immersing herself in diverse realms.

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