Healthcare app development is the most important thing happening in the medical industry right now.
In 2018, a leading medical publication, Physicians Practice, surveyed its readers and found that 75.9% of the participants were using a health mobile app of some kind. It’s estimated that the telemedicine market will reach almost $64 million by 2022 while digital healthcare technology is expected to grow by 30% and surpass $25 billion in 2019.
Per Healthcare Weekly, thanks to advancements in health technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT), mobile apps today are well-equipped to provide innovative consumer-focused solutions that just weren’t possible before. Healthcare app development is thriving which means that more and more healthcare organizations are getting in early but that doesn’t mean that people are using them as much as you think.
While the demand and need for mobile health apps is clear. Thus creating a healthcare app that provides an acceptable user experience can be a complex and demanding process, to say the least. This is why in this article we will cover the top 7 app development tips for health organizations that can help you develop an app that users will actually love and engage with on a regular basis.
1. Know What Your Users Want
Don’t make an app that people want, make an app they need. For instance, here is a short guide that can help you in building your healthcare app. The first and possibly the most important healthcare app development tip is taking feedback from your patients to design a healthcare app that delivers features focused on solving their particular issues. The healthcare mobile application development can quickly scale to an incomprehensible scope if you aren’t focused on the key features from the get-go.
Rather than thinking about reinventing the wheel, focus on more practical features to make sure your healthcare app becomes a success.
2. Make It Simple & Sustainable
To make sure people use your app, you’ll need to make sure its UI remains impressive and functions just, as well. By tailoring the app’s features and functions to match your target audience using the data you’ve collected, you should be more than capable of developing a mobile health app that’s user-friendly and sustainable in the long run.
For example, if you’re using an app that lets patients look up their medical records or pay for medical services, such as medicine or doctor, then you need to focus on reducing the time it takes to process those requests while keeping the procedure uncomplicated.
3. Develop With Scalability in Mind
Developing with the intent to add more features and keeping the app to date is incredibly crucial if you want to sustain it in the long run. Using an Agile software healthcare application development methodology is an excellent way to break down more ambitious projects into smaller chunks, which you can gradually roll out updates for while keeping the app functional.
It’s also a preferred way to future proof the device while delivering more value and benefits to the user. Needless to say, taking feedback from existing users is essential for further medical app development of new features to help you maintain the current user base, while making it more appealing to the rest.
4. Privacy & Security Are Non-Negotiable
Even after leaving out laws and regulations, maintaining the safety and privacy of the user data is essential for establishing and maintaining user trust. Making sure your users feel confident and safe while using the health care app isn’t only foremost but non-negotiable, as well.
If you fail to keep the user’s personal information and medical records safe, it can easily lead to new users being hesitant to use the app or outright abandon. The app needs to be trustworthy, while complying with regulations and guidelines put in place by HIPAA.
5. Make It as Accessible as Possible
People use more than a few devices to interact with apps and get the healthcare help they need. Accessibility is very important for the widespread use for any app you make. You need to closely consider the platforms on which your app will be tested or used early in the healthcare mobile application development process.
Just on smartphones alone, you’ll need to make sure that your app is available by both Android and iOS users, while being compatible with the multiple tablets and other smart devices these Operating Systems run on. In addition, you might want to release a physical/digital version for desktop computers and laptops, depending on your target audience. Finally, don’t forget about Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance which applies to both mobile and websites (great guide here).
6. User-Friendly UX/UI Experience
If your medical app is anything but easy to use, then chances are that people will abandon it sooner than you think. When a user engages with a mobile app, the first few seconds are more than enough for them to decide whether they want to use it or not – just like a website. If the design isn’t compelling, yet intuitive, it’s more than likely they’re going to move on.
Finding the right balance between style and functionality can be challenging and even more so when developing apps for healthcare. Therefore, the app’s user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) need to be plain sailing to understand, yet packed with compelling content, while being easy to navigate.
Considering the stack of patients and doctors data that needs to be stored, it’s always a good idea to keep things simple and use an elementary design to promote seamless flow. It not only results in a better end-user experience, but also boosts ROI.
If you don’t have the resources available to build a stellar user experience for your users, here is a list of top consulting companies with deep experience in the healthcare space that can help you with your journey. And if you’re on a shoestring budget, you can always check out development marketplaces like Yoss to get freelance healthcare app developers for your next project.
7. Test, Test & Test Some More!
You’ve made a great healthcare app that’s easy to navigate, looks good, includes remarkable features, and is scalable, so now the only thing left to do is make sure it works flawlessly. Many developers don’t put their apps through enough testing, which ends up getting their app labeled as “unreliable” by users, which can mean an early end for a healthcare app.
As healthcare apps play a more personal and vital role in our lives, it becomes imperative to craft an app that can operate without any glitches, bugs, or crashes.
More Fitting Medical Apps Will Pave the Way for a Healthier Future
In the last couple of years, we have witnessed an unprecedented exponential rate of growth in the healthcare mobility market. New and innovative technological solutions are making their way into the market, which in turn, is aiding patient and provider engagement for better health outcomes.
There are multiple factors that need to be synced to achieve success in the healthcare sector, but for an enduring success, you need to make sure the relevancy and applicability of all features. To sum up, the healthcare app should serve its purpose. Also, irrelevant to the genre of the app, it’s paramount to get hold of the users’ data into a secure system.
If all these factors are gripped in a compelling manner, then the healthcare mobile app development companies can easily cater to fields like medication adherence, medical record management, and remote patient monitoring.
Also read: An End-to-End Guide to Hire Healthcare App Developers
By Sakshi Kaushik
Content Writer
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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