The world is constantly changing and makes new demands. After the 2020 pandemic, medical services began to play an important role, and therefore health apps for iOS and Android topped the lists of in-demand mobile platforms. Among their advantages is the opportunity to take care of health in a convenient mode, including remotely. So it's the best time to consider healthcare app development.
Though, you should keep in mind that entering the medical mobile app market is a tricky business, which requires a special approach. Not sure where to start? Then our article might be useful to you.
We're going to tell you about mobile and technology trends in the healthcare industry, describe features of medical reference applications and explain what successful healthcare app development means. Don't hesitate to read!
What is the Healthcare Software Industry?
They may ask: why is the healthcare industry growing? The reason is the emergence of new diagnostic and treatment options provided by innovative technologies including those related to medical mobile app development.
Undoubtedly, new technology in the healthcare industry makes it possible to achieve the best results, and this is what determines success, right?
But what is the healthcare industry in conjunction with the mobile market? Let’s figure the issue out!
What is mHealth?
mHealth is a concept, which is based on the use of wireless technologies, as well as mobile devices, in order to ensure a healthy lifestyle, including serious medical care. Among the popular instances are various types of healthcare apps aimed to help control a person’s physical condition.
The mobile healthcare market can be divided into 2 main groups:
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Med. In this case, it's not enough to download the application and get the appropriate gadget (say, a fitness bracelet). It's often required to cooperate with the clinic, doctor, diagnostic center (and so on), able to provide the user with proper feedback.
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Fit area: mHealth apps focused on fitness and a healthy lifestyle.
Facts About Healthcare Apps
According to the Research2guidance Project…
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almost 100,000 medical apps for doctors and patients are included in the list of App Store services;
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over 45% of mHealth apps are being monetized through paid schemes (read about business models for healthcare apps read here);
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15+% are targeted at experts working in the field of healthcare (CME, healthcare mgt, PRM);
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the most popular mobile health apps can boast 300,000 paid and 5+ million free downloads daily worldwide.
Interested? Let's go into the question…
Background of the Mobile Healthcare Industry Development
J'son & Partners Consulting analytics experts have identified 5 major factors contributing to the growth of mobile health app services:
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Active distribution of mobile devices. The number of mobile subscribers has already exceeded 7 billion.
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The aging population. According to UN forecasts, by 2050, 22% of the world's population will have been retired. Older people are more likely to suffer from chronic diseases and are more in need of medical care.
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The population living in the countryside. Villagers often don’t have access to qualified medical assistance and won’t mind getting remote treatment, and therefore patient health tracking apps are their primary choice.
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Health systems are becoming more expensive. Growth in the number of people on the planet enlarges medical expenses. The cost of healthcare in the United States will increase from $ 3 trillion in 2014 to $ 5 trillion in 2022.
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Medical staff deficiency. It is expected that by 2020 the US will have missed 1 million nurses. And again, mHealth apps are a great solution to the problem.
Types of Healthcare Apps
In the USA, the mobile healthcare industry has become one of the leading. On the market, there are various developments of the sort: from the simplest doctor appointment booking apps to sophisticated high-tech medical software, which is using AI elements and computer vision technologies.
Conditional mobile health applications categorization:
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Collection and storage of basic health indicators of users (blood pressure, pulse, sleep mode, heart function, etc.);
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Mobile apps for a healthy lifestyle (various tips on proper diet, sleep, exercise, and the like);
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Fitness programs: they track the user's sports activity and suggest exercise options to perform;
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Control over the treatment process and medication intake;
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Healthcare apps aimed at patients with a specific disease such as diabetes (which implies a special approach to treatment and medication);
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Applications serving as mobile representatives of a specific hospital institution.
Of course, the features of medical reference applications depend on the initial requirements. Let's consider the issue in more detail!
Initial Requirements And Healthcare App Features
Now we'll give a few specific examples, with the description of healthcare app features.
Medical center or healthcare institution
By developing healthcare apps of this very type you are offering your clients a platform to communicate with your medical facility. Your potential users are those in the need of a doctor's consultation, special medical advice, or qualified treatment.
Features of doctor appointment booking applications must include:
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remote way to make an appointment with the right doctor;
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collection and preservation of medical instructions, clinical records, prescriptions, test results, and so on;
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the opportunity to obtain healthcare information (such as test results) online;
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preservation of;
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remote communication with the attending physician.
Medical laboratory
In the course of treatment, we have no choice but to get tested sooner or later. It's the results that are important here, so it's worth focusing on them.
These mobile healthcare apps usually have the following functionality:
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basic rules of the process of taking tests (say blood tests for hormones require an empty stomach);
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online appointment to take tests without a queue
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receiving and saving test results;
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management of test results (the ability to print them, send them to the doctor, save them in the Personal Account);
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observing changes in results(say, graphical display of treatment statistics).
Drug stores and pharmaceutics
Your users include almost all people: in the end, each one of us goes to the pharmacy from time to time, right? And sometimes we visit it without first consulting a doctor (we think we know better what drug we need; and if we don’t know, then we'll ask the pharmacist).
How can you make customers choose you? One of the possible ways is through healthcare app development!
The thing is, consumer ideology and worldview have changed dramatically in the 21st century. Today, we want to be informed in advance which purchase would be the most effective in our case. And, of course, we’re trying to find the information we need using the Internet. Therefore, your branded mHealth app might come in handy.
You have to provide the following functionality:
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a reliable source of data on medicines (reference book);
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information about the drug availability;
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pre-order (drug reservation);
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home delivery.
Control of health of relatives
Here we’re talking about special patient health tracking apps. Their key task is to help relatives get up-to-date information on the condition of a loved one being in the hospital.
Experienced healthcare app developers would create a service performing this very task. Surely, the patient's relatives will be immensely grateful to have the possibility to always keep abreast.
P.S. If the clinic uses the patient history management software, some data may be automatically transferred to the user's personal cabinet.
Help in overcoming a particular disease
A person confronted with an illness gets into a new world, and not a good one. Yesterday he was healthy and led a steady life, and today he must take medicine and get used to visiting a doctor on a regular basis. Mobile health applications can be very helpful in this situation.
There are medical centers specialized in treating certain diseases: heart disease, oncology, gynecology, dentistry, urology, and others. You may think over special healthcare app features fitting each category and then discuss your requirements with hired app developers.
Mobile apps for a healthy lifestyle
If you’re not the owner of a medical clinic, pharmacy, or other similar institution, you can still make money on mobile health app services. You just need to focus not on the treatment of specific diseases, but on help in leading a healthy life.
Such an application may include the following features:
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Useful tips;
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Diaries of well-being;
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Different programs (fitness exercises, calorie counting, diet control, etc.). The set of these programs depends on the type of a mobile health app. The most actual are the following ones:
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Women’s health
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Meditations
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Fitness exercise
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Pregnancy
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Weight loss
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Tools and instruments
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It seems we’ve discussed mHealth app development in great detail. Now let's try to dip into the future to see what awaits us for that matter in a few years.
Latest Trends in the Healthcare Industry
According to the American experts' estimates (Trends in Biotechnology, 2016), the market size of mobile technology and new medical mobile applications (including those aimed at diagnostics) will have reached $ 27.6 billion by 2018. Of course, "mobile medicine" won’t be the same all the time, it’s been evolving and changing from year to year. It's difficult to predict every piece of healthcare industry news but some of the trends can be identified.
Healthcare industry trends include…
So what does the future of mobile health apps promise us?
#1. Fitness-oriented apps are the most
Today, Fitness and Weight loss applications are the most popular ones. However, the conducted survey helped to find out that their business potential would be gradually declining over time. But don’t get upset! It doesn’t mean you can’t earn on them. You just need to be pretty smart about it when ordering mobile healthcare app development.
#2. The increasing need for special medical apps for doctors
On the other hand, in the coming years, we should expect a growing demand for mHealth apps focused on remote monitoring, consultation, and tracking the patient's status. Moreover, the next generation of devices will be able to track more indicators and maintain constant feedback from users.
By the way, the popularity of mobile devices in healthcare has already been growing, and there a few wonderful examples. In Sweden, Soarian Clinicals has already been successfully operating, allowing remote reading of stimulants of patients' hearts. There is also the Leaf Patient Monitor System - a wearable sensor, which helps you remotely monitor the position and movement of patients who are prone to the formation of pressure sores. And this is just the beginning!
#3. Healthcare cost problem matters
Healthcare expenses should also be considered. All kinds of medical scheduling software able to reduce these expenses will be a success too because thanks to them patients can cut back expels. This category includes telemedicine applications and services that help people with chronic diseases to monitor their condition in a simpler and cheaper way.
And note, according to BBC Research, by 2022 the global telemedicine market will have reached almost $ 45 billion, showing an average annual growth of 17.5+%.
Income data
We've figured out the latest healthcare industry trends and news, but another question remains: how to recoup the cost of mobile app development for healthcare? in fact, there is no problem at all! Properly built custom mobile apps for patients and doctors are able to start earning you money right away.
Don’t believe it? Take a look at the statistics.
The opinion of experts about the future of mobile health apps is divergent. Bob Rogers, the director of Big Data Solution Center, Intel, believes that technologies of the Internet of things will significantly improve the timeliness of rendering of medical services: patients would be able to get medical help when and where they need it, and doctors would access complete information about each patient.
Rob Havasy, the director and vice president of the medical alliance named Personally Connected, disagrees with him. He worries that devices might be used improperly, with ill purposes in mind, and he insists on the importance of the personal data security of patients.
It remains to be seen who is right. One thing is clear: progress cannot be stopped, and it's in your interests to make a profit on it, namely - to order the development of a healthcare mobile application!
Summarizing
It's pretty clear that creating apps for healthcare providers is a worthwhile idea. But you have to seize the moment, don’t wait until the healthcare market is oversaturated. Later, you'll find it difficult to compete with other applications of the same type, there will be too many of them. So order mobile health app development without delay and hesitation. And do it right away.
If you have doubts about which IT company to choose as healthcare app developers we’re happy to help you. Our experts are highly skilled and hard at work. We have solid experience, know everything about mobile application development, and are quite ready to take up all mobile healthcare industry challenges.
