The Telehealth Market size is projected to reach USD 559.52 Billion by 2027 with a CAGR of 25.2%.
The concept of digital health start-up gets a big word of mouth as the world stands up to the pandemic. The COVID-19 outbreak makes people avoid public places as a response to disease spreading prevention.
In particular, hospitals and other healthcare establishments remain ground zero for coronavirus transmission. So, it’s no wonder that people shun in-person appointments even if they have health complaints.
But what if you need urgent care during a harsh lockdown on a Sunday evening? That’s why we are here. Let’s delve into the doctor-on-demand solutions, how to start a Telemedicine business and how they can help alleviate your pain even if you live at the farthest corner of the earth.
In this article, you will learn about -
The new realities have completely altered the healthcare sector's scenery. Therefore, the acute need for innovative approaches is the first thing that propels Telemedicine app development. But we’ve always had the demand for a new revolution in the medical landscape.
According to a study, an average wait time for a physician’s appointment equals 24,1 days. The study featured 15 major cities in the U.S., including Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Seattle. Besides that, the research has also demonstrated the following results:
On top of it, mHealth applications can help patients schedule an appointment with a medical professional, get a consultation, and even get a receipt. Let alone the overall convenience of providing medical help no matter the current location.
At the same time, a telehealth app may help doctors to perform the following range of tasks:
In general, Telemedicine mobile apps serve as a middle ground for both sides. Hence, we’ll see more of them coming this year, as the market size of Telemedicine apps is expected to reach 194,1 billion dollars by 2023.
Not all digital health solutions are created equal. Nevertheless, the average working logic is mostly similar for the majority of doctor-on-demand applications:
Before initiating Telehealth app development, you need to perform a competitive analysis. It will allow you to assess the competition in the niche market and understand your competitors' strengths and weaknesses in comparison to your own. Besides, you can compile a list of must-have features present in other solutions.
With that said, let’s have a look at the most popular and best Telemedicine apps in 2023.
iPhone rating: 4.7 stars
Android rating: 4.7 stars
Launched in 2009, MDLIVE is among the best telemedicine platforms that connect you to medical and pediatric doctors. Its features are equally beneficial for a wide range of users including patients, hospitals, payers, physician practice groups, and accountable care organizations. The application offers access to a specialist for non-emergency issues in around 15 minutes of wait time.
iPhone rating: 4.9 stars
Android rating: 4.9 stars
Doctor On Demand is one of the top telemedicine platforms that connect patients face to face with a doctor, psychiatrist, or psychologist. It is available to all users with or without insurance and offers reduced rates through many major health plans. It is among the most popular telehealth apps that boast over 1,000 board-certified physicians and licensed psychologists.
The main functionality includes online video appointments, an advanced search feature, appointment scheduling, secure patient data storage, a built-in payment gateway, and in-app maps.
iPhone rating: 5.0
Android rating: 4.9
GoodRx Care is one of the top telemedicine platforms which was created by doctors who have hands-on experience in treating patients, thus knowing all the challenges of healthcare. The platform is accessible for all patients with no health insurance required and offers medical services at an affordable rate of under $30. The list of features is quite standard for niche applications and includes profile management, video conferencing, and online payment.
We always recommend starting small with complex and feature-rich applications. Therefore, before developing a full-fledged medical solution, you should curate a list of must-have features.
To save your time and effort, here’s the most popular functionality for an app's MVP:
The patient side of the app typically includes the following features:
First and foremost, the feature development process starts with creating accounts for both sides. Both doctors and patients must sign in to the application after filling in a couple of details. Thus, patients should include info about chronic conditions and the currents state of wellbeing as well as provide information about age, sex, and insurance.
To contact a necessary medical professional, patients use an advanced search feature. It allows users to filter the options according to specialization, degrees, ratings, location, etc. If you want to make your mobile platform HIPAA compliant, you need to integrate the Google Map platform. It identifies the patient’s position and locates nearby pharmacies.
Enable patients to communicate with doctors via a messaging feature. This way, patients can receive updates and address any query.
The patients can contact their doctor of choice through a live video or an in-app call. This is an essential feature for all doctor-on-demand solutions, thus it’s a mandate to develop. Make sure to make your app compliant by keeping your user's information safe from breaches. Therefore, you can benefit from already existing APIs for video calling.
This functionality allows users to upload and share their patient documents needed for a consultation. Again, you should emphasize superior security to keep all vulnerable information safe within your application.
After the consultation, the patient selects a payment mode to pay for the medical services. To obtain this functionality, you need to use a payment gateway via API.
Once the patient receives a consultation, enable the user to leave a quick review of their experience.
Via this panel, doctors can access health-related information about previous visits, prescriptions, and a calendar of doctor appointments.
Besides managing electronic medical records, doctors can accept and reject patient appointments. Also, the app should automatically show available time slots so that the doctors won’t need to manually fill in their schedules.
A mHealth solution should also enable the users to capture and share medical information in a secure way. Thus, users can exchange medical images, lab test results, treatment prescriptions, and others.
Now that we’ve got to grips with the basics, let’s see how you can develop a telehealth platform from scratch.
Below, you’ll see what it takes to brew up a custom medical solution. Let’s get to the steps to Telemedicine app development.
During the selection process, you need to contact a software development company of choice. You can either contact them directly or use a mobile project cost calculator if any. Make sure to cover as many details as possible for a more accurate ballpark estimation.
Once you’ve selected your tech partner, you need to sign a Non-disclosure agreement and discuss project details. After that, the team will create a project brief with core features needed to test your hypothesis. Next, designers proceed with project mock-ups and prototypes.
When all the details are settled, your app functionality will be divided into user stories. After that, the development process begins with coding, testing, and debugging.
Once your Minimum Viable Product is finished, you should approve the result during the project demo. If you’re satisfied with the demo, the team presents it to the marketplace and further enhances the functionality.
When the project scope is achieved, the team performs the final product demo. You should also be presented with all project-related information. As a final stage, your complete telemedicine application gets uploaded to the app marketplace.
Telehealth is a niche full of promise. Doctor-on-demand solutions offer effective assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of patients from remote areas and during lockdowns.
Therefore, the timing is right to chip into the Telemedicine application development and build Telehealth mobile apps of your own. If you’re interested in this idea, we recommend performing a rigorous screening process of tech providers with similar experiences. This way, you can rest assured you’ll get a high-quality mHealth application that complies with medical regulations.
If you loved the concept of Telehealth mobile apps and are willing to develop one? You can check out the recent MAD report featuring the world’s best mobile app development companies in 2023. The report lists the best companies for app development offering custom app development for your unique business needs.
Aparna is a growth specialist with handsful knowledge in business development. She values marketing as key a driver for sales, keeping up with the latest in the Mobile App industry. Her getting things done attitude makes her a magnet for the trickiest of tasks. In free times, which are few and far between, you can catch up with her at a game of Fussball.
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