Are you interested in developing a healthcare application? Or do you want to solve some problems in the industry through innovation?

Your intentions are right, and this is the right time to develop a healthcare app.

The size of the digital healthcare market in 2019 was 106 billion. According to growth figures, the market forecast is projected to rise to 640 billion in 2026.

The need for automation and digitization of healthcare is a clear fact. The outbreak of Covid-19 in 2020 showed that the global healthcare system needs to make serious adjustments to adapt to new realities.

This article is a detailed guide to healthcare application development and provides a list of information to help you make the right decisions, including:

• Detailed estimate of the cost of sanitary application
• A step-by-step process to get started with digital healthcare services
• The main types of mobile healthcare application
• Services that go into application development services
• Trends to see in the health application market
• Security and privacy issues for healthcare application development
• Design aspects of a healthcare application
• Risks and vulnerabilities will be considered
• APIs for health care application, integration and communication technologies
• How healthcare applications can benefit patients, physicians and healthcare organizations

Let’s get to the point! Once you read this article, you will know where to start and in which direction to move.

The development of a mobile app for health care is the process of applying digital technologies to create an app for mobile devices to monitor patients’ health status, vital signs of the hospital, health goals, physical appearance, finding doctors, etc.

mHealth (refers to mobile health) is used to apply mobile technologies and devices (smartphones, wearable devices, tablets) for the purpose of health care. Healthcare applications help improve public health and medical practice and provide more excellent patient care through online counseling, service payments, patient history and access and more.

You need to hire a mobile application development company with experience in delivering complex health care projects to successful development and launch at the planning stage.

If you would like to know the details of Healthcare app development in more detail, please continue reading this article.

Functions for the development of healthcare applications

The development of a mobile application for healthcare is based entirely on the functions that will be included in your solution.

They affect UI and UX design services, application development (client-side), back-end development (server-side), quality assurance and additional maintenance. All of these services depend on the concept of the healthcare application project and what it provides.

Let’s now look at the common features you can include in a health facility app development.

1. Profile creation

Like any other mobile app, healthcare solutions usually have a user profile. After creating an account, patients can add their personal information (name, age, chronic diseases, insurance, etc.). This type of account may include the ability to store your health data and custom dashboard.

2. Tracing 

This feature is most important in a mobile healthcare application. It allows you to monitor the patient’s blood pressure, heart rate, calorie intake, pulse and glucose levels. This feature is made possible by the integration of rebellious devices such as heart rate monitoring trackers, glucose meters and other solutions.

3. Planning

This feature allows users to easily book a doctor’s appointment or appoint a health specialist.

4. Pay

There is a growing trend towards integration of mobile payments. Payment features allow users to pay for health or insurance services. Regular bill payments can also be made for doctor visits, emergency rooms, hospital admissions, etc. Payments with a few clicks Online payments give great user satisfaction.

5. File storage

The EHR system is an integral part of any healthcare application. These systems allow physicians to store patient files and other information.

As part of a healthcare application development, it may include developing patient file storage and management systems. Therefore, they will be able to store your medical information in their solution, including the results of any findings, X-rays, reports and other files.

This feature is also very beneficial for physicians as patients can upload their data and get remote recommendations.

6. Geographical location

This is another feature you should consider for your project. The availability of this facility will enable patients to seek the help of a doctor at a nearby location.

7. Chat in real-time

The ability to talk to the doctor in the application will speed up services and help build a trusting relationship between patients and healthcare providers.

8. Video conferencing

You can participate in your app’s exposure by adding a video conferencing feature to the healthcare app development process. Developing a telemedicine application is a widespread practice today, as not all patients can visit a doctor in person.

Through video conferencing, patients can experience the hospital without leaving home and visit the doctor’s office fees.

9. Social integration

However, social media login is an attractive feature to join when integrating into a healthcare app. You need to pay special attention to data security.

This feature should be optional, as many users are not allowed to share medical information with third-party services (for example, through Facebook SDK). Therefore, your application’s privacy policy explicitly states that users share their profile information.

For those customers who prefer to log in to social media, please include many options like LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook.

10. Scores and reviews

Applications that provide access to information about healthcare workers will benefit from this feature. First, any patient will share their experience with the doctor and help other patients make decisions. Second, this will lead to employee involvement in building loyal customer relationships.

Alternative functions of the application that may be included in the medical device are as follows:

• Team
• Photo gallery
• Analytics
• Prescriptions
• Notifications (push notifications)

Depending on the purpose of mobile healthcare application development, healthcare products may include the following functions.

How much will it cost to develop an mHealth app?

Once you have identified all the features that you want to incorporate into your health care app development, you will think about how much the mobile app will cost.

The cost of creating an MDP (Minimum Delight Product) for a healthcare application starts at $ 60,000 per single platform (iOS or Android or Web). The final price can reach $ 500,000 or more.

The cost of developing a healthcare application depends on many factors:

• Pre-development, during which it is necessary to analyze the market phase of the competition to identify the characteristics for implementation.
• Number of platforms to target (iOS, Android, or both)
• Use of some specialized techniques and innovations such as machine learning, AI, etc.
• Complexity of application design, including customization, branding, animation, etc.
• The software development provider you choose to work with

The total cost of development is affected by three factors:

• Complexity of application
• Platform selection
• Development team

Let’s discuss them all in detail.

1. Application complexity:

This means that the application you plan to design is at a basic, intermediate, or advanced level. The beginning of any application development life cycle requires research on what you plan to think about and what you want to achieve through it.

If you are a startup in the healthcare technology industry, then it is better to go for a basic application structure. This design includes essential but simple functions along with a standard user interface design.

You can hire an app developer in India for around $10,000. You can get the basic application at a low price and up to $15,000. This application takes 200 to 300 hours to complete.

For midsize companies, things can go awry. If you are a medium sized healthcare technology company, you can include all the necessary functions in your application, such as integrated payment processing, back-end server, dashboard, weekly / monthly reporting and analytics functions.

All of these can cost around $ 20,000 to $ 30,000 and can be completed in less than 300–500 business hours.

And suppose you plan to invest in an advanced level of this application. In that case, you might consider adding the following: great user interface, wearable devices without difficulty, a wide range of doctors to choose from, healthcare professionals, pharmaceutical support, secure payment gateways, API integration, multi-language support and more.

The development of modern and advanced health applications can range from $ 50,000 to $ 70,000. The required duration can range from 700 to 900 working hours.

2. Platform selection:

As a healthcare technology company, you can choose which platform you want to target, native or cross-platform.

There are over a million apps on the Google Play Store and the iOS App Store, so targeting both audiences with a single app would be a much smarter choice. You can go with the cross-platform application.

You can keep tasks simple; So, it will cost from $10,000 to $50,000 depending on the needs of your business. Additionally, you can choose from the following languages: Flutter, React Native, Angular, and Vue. You can hire cross-platform mobile app developers.

But if you are working on a tight budget and you have less time, you can target one platform at a time, i.e. Android or iOS.

3. Development team:

There is a flat hourly rate for the development team you hire. Furthermore, you cannot deny the fact that nothing can beat the set of experience, resources and expertise of a professional software development company in India.

To develop a healthcare application, the team you will need and the company you will be delivering your project to must work on the latest technologies, methods and trained teams.

The devices needed for health development are:

• Project manager
• Application developers
• Back-end developers
• UI / UX developers
• Quality control engineer
• Application maintenance specialists

Where to go next?

With the great advancement in technology, the way it works in the field of healthcare has also changed. Further integration of techniques such as artificial intelligence and machine learning helps to keep track of medical records. Getting proper advice in a timely manner has also become more convenient than ever.

If you are in the healthcare tech industry or are thinking of getting started, you should stop using traditional methods. Invest in a health and fitness app. With all the details mentioned above, I hope I have done our part.

If you want to discuss your idea, you can contact an expert from Indian Healthcare Application Development Company in India. Only an expert can help you find the best solution.