How To Develop a Healthcare App: Detailed Guide For (2024)

The healthcare industry has been rapidly evolving over the past few years with new technologies and advancements. One such technology that has gained immense popularity is healthcare applications. Healthcare apps have become integral to our daily lives, and their demand is only increasing. With the ongoing pandemic, the need for healthcare apps has become even more critical. Developing a health app can be daunting, especially if you are new to this field. However, with the proper guidance and knowledge, preferably from a healthcare app development company, it is possible to create a successful healthcare app that can positively impact people’s lives. This comprehensive guide will walk you through how to develop a health app, covering everything from ideation launch to everything in between. So, let’s dive in!

What Is A Healthcare App And How To Develop a Healthcare App

mHealth niche is extensive and includes a variety of apps, from professional ones to more basic ones. The purpose of mobile healthcare applications also differs. mHealth apps simplify our lives: they track our health data, ensure remote assistance, give 24/7 access to doctors, share tips on improving our health, and more. Overall, the purpose depends on the app category you choose. 

Developing a healthcare app involves a series of well-thought-out steps. Let’s delve into these steps to guide you through the process:

1. Identify the Problem: The first and foremost step is identifying the healthcare problem your app aims to solve. Take a close look at the gaps in the healthcare market that your app can address effectively. Understanding the needs of your target audience is key to devising the right solution.
2. Define Your Audience: Building a successful healthcare app necessitates a deep understanding of your target audience. Who are the people you are developing this app for? Consider their demographics, unique needs, and goals. The better you comprehend your audience, the more tailored your app can be to meet their specific requirements.
3. Feature Selection: Decide on the features your app will offer. Your choice of features should align with the problem you’re addressing and cater to the needs of your target audience. Common features in healthcare apps include appointment scheduling, symptom tracking, medication reminders, and medical records management.
4. Prototype or MVP: Before diving into full-scale development, consider creating a prototype or Minimum Viable Product (MVP). This miniature version of your app allows you to test your ideas and gather user feedback. It’s a valuable step to identify areas that may need improvement.
5. Assemble Your Development Team: Unless you’re a developer yourself, you’ll need a skilled development team to bring your app to life. Choose a team with a track record in healthcare app development and a clear understanding of your target audience.
6. Secure Funding: Building a healthcare app can be a costly endeavor. To cover development, marketing, and ongoing maintenance expenses, securing funding is crucial. Explore options like grants, loans, or crowdfunding to finance your project.
7. Marketing and Launch: Once your app is ready, the next challenge is to market it effectively and introduce it to your intended users. Employ various channels such as social media, search engine optimization, and paid advertising to gain visibility.
8. Maintenance and Updates: Launching your app is just the beginning. Regular maintenance and updates are essential. This includes addressing bugs, incorporating new features, and ensuring robust security measures.

Here are some additional tips to Make A Healthcare App:

• HIPAA Compliance: Ensure your app adheres to HIPAA regulations to safeguard the privacy and security of patient data.
• User Feedback: Involve users in the development process and continuously seek their feedback. This ensures that your app consistently meets the needs of your audience.
• Security: Develop your app in a secure environment to protect it from potential security breaches.
• Stay Updated: Regularly update your app with the latest security patches to shield users from malware and security threats.

Developing a healthcare app can be a complex journey, but by following these steps and considering these tips, you can enhance your chances of success.

Develop A Healthcare Apps Market Overview

In 2023, a report published by the University of Michigan revealed that more than 450,000 mobile health apps are already on the market.

The statistics contradict your assumption that young people are more likely to use applications to control their health. Almost a third of respondents between the ages of 50 and 80 (28%) said they presently use at least one mobile health app, while 16% indicated they have used them in the past but have yet to be now. 

People may not use health-related applications because they do not necessarily have a condition. Lifestyle and activity tracking are the most frequent reasons a business might create a healthcare application. Older persons reported using or using 34% of the following apps: 17% for sleep, 22% for nutrition, 20% for weight loss, and 20% for exercise. So, if you’d like to develop a healthcare app, please keep it in mind.

In many nations worldwide, the digitalization trend in the healthcare sector is accelerating. You and your business can participate in this expansion. Create a healthcare app that meets the users’ essential demands. Do you have second thoughts? Here are some statistics and information about medical applications that can persuade you otherwise: 

• In 2021, investors funded around $45 billion in the digital health industry.
• A survey by Accenture revealed that approximately 75% of the patients know the importance of health-based applications.
• The global healthcare app market was valued at USD 38.89 billion in 2021 and is projected to reach $314.60 billion in 2028, growing at a CAGR of 34.8% during the forecast period (2021-2028).
• The mHealth (mobile health) app market is expected to grow to $136.64 billion in 2027 at a CAGR of 24.6%.
• The market size of telemedicine was valued at $40,205.68 million in 2020 and is estimated to reach $431,823.81 million by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 25.90% from 2021 to 2030.

Types of Medical Applications

Learning from the most well-known ones and what characteristics set them apart can help you understand how to make a healthcare app.

Lifestyle Tracking Apps

By monitoring significant metrics like heart rate, sleep, physical activity, calorie intake, and other behaviors like women’s menstrual cycles, these apps are made to examine the health and fitness of patients. These include Map My Fitness, Google Fit, Sleep as Android, and more.

Some apps might also provide specialized services for those with particular needs, like pregnant mothers who want to monitor fetal growth and development. Other applications can offer customers a comprehensive diet plan depending on their demands and health problems.

Fitness Apps

Fitness apps offer general and individualized coaching and support for those who desire to be more physically active. In particular, some applications provide tailored workout sessions for those without access to gym equipment. Apps for yoga are included in this group. Some examples include Sorkin, Nike Training Club, and other well-known fitness applications.

Health Counseling Apps

With certain apps, you may schedule counselling sessions with medical professionals, including doctors, therapists, and experts, through chat or video call. When you don’t have instant access to a doctor, several apps, such as MDLIVE, Doctor on Demand, and Talkspace, are excellent for non-emergency conditions and diagnosis.

Also Read: 8 Best Medical Diagnosis Apps for Patients and Doctors in 2024

Meditation Apps

These apps provide users tools to help them improve their general well-being, such as guided meditations, and mindfulness exercises, among other resources. Headspace, Calm, and Insight Timer are just a few well-known meditation applications available for download out there.

Building A Health App: Must-Have Features

Building a health app may need several capabilities, even live video conferencing, depending on the function and application. Nevertheless, when you’re learning how to develop a medical app, these features are necessary regardless of whether you’re building a medical app for iOS or Android.

User Profile

Users should be able to create and manage their health profile and restrict the data and details the app may access. Most developers gather basic data during sign-up, like name, contact details, age, height, weight, and the like, to make medical applications more individualized.

Dashboard

Users would be perplexed if you created a healthcare app without a dashboard that allows for patient monitoring. The dashboard provides users with a summary of their medical histories as well as activity reports for the most crucial health variables.

Chat and Messaging

Chat and messaging tools are necessary for medical mobile apps since they facilitate patient and doctor contact. Other types of mobile medical apps can incorporate this function to assist users in connecting with other participants in different support groups in order to encourage one another to achieve their health objectives.

Notification and Reminders

Always keep in mind that healthcare apps are participatory, not passive, when developing them. In other words, they impose certain demands on consumers based on recommendations made by apps. Additionally, it’s crucial to take into account when creating fitness tracker apps. Reminders from the app might assist users remember to use it for their health and fitness needs.

Cloud Integration

Each user should always have access to patient data. Users can upload their health records when needed, such as when a healthcare practitioner requests them, thanks to cloud integration, which allows them to access their data whenever they need to.

Security and privacy

Developers should always keep privacy and security in mind when creating a health mobile app because these apps capture incredibly sensitive and private information. This covers things like data encryption and multiple-factor authentication.

Secure Payment Processing

You need a secure payment processing functionality that hides sensitive consumer data unless your app is fully free. For a better user experience, payment processing should also be quick, fluid, and easy.

Analytics Integration

This is crucial so that you can collect enough information to make your app more effective. Before collecting or sharing any information about users, always get their consent. Every health app, including Google Fit, iOS Health, Samsung Health, and others, gathers and incorporates personal data.

Other elements that are not essential but can still be required, depending on how you want to design a medical app, include:

• Wearable device integration
• Goal setting
• Social sharing integration
• Gamification
• Video tutorials
• Appointment management

Building A Health App: Step-by-Step Guide

The process of creating a mobile app for the healthcare industry is not simple. You must take into account the many nuances and variations from other programs. Here is a list of specific actions that will help you avoid mistakes and shorten your difficult trip.

Step 1 –  Do Market Analysis

This is the essential stage in how to build a medical app. The mobile healthcare app industry is already saturated as is. Therefore, your healthcare app will need to provide value to its users. That means you will need to conduct thorough and extensive market research. Study your niche, know more about your competitors, what value and USPs they are bringing, what their strengths and weaknesses, how you can stand out among the bleak and menial, and most importantly, how you hope to rectify or solve  

Step 2 – Create Design

The success of an app is largely determined by its design, and mHealth apps should have a consistent, user-friendly interface. Its objective is to smoothly guide the user to the endpoint. The design must be user-friendly, and users will have a better experience with it if there are fewer points of interaction. Additionally, we advise minimizing the cognitive load of your app.

Step 3 – Make It HIPAA Compliant

We must emphasize again how delicate the healthcare industry is, and how difficult it is to develop healthcare applications. It’s crucial to follow certain laws if you’re trying to design a healthcare app. 

For instance, the USA area will demand that your software abide by all HIPAA rules. All apps that handle personal data must adhere to the GDPR in Europe. 

The purpose of HIPAA is to guarantee the security of patient and healthcare provider personal health information. How can you tell if your software complies with HIPAA requirements? This quick checklist will assist you in answering the question, which is an excellent one to ask.

Why restrict access? Access to users’ health information is restricted to certain user roles. The profile of their patient, including analysis, progress, diagnosis, etc., is only visible to the treating physician. 

How can data encryption be made sure? Developers must provide trustworthy encryption protocols that properly safeguard any personal health data. In order to restore data in the event of a crash or other error, the IT staff must gather information in multiple copies across many servers and must act swiftly upon any alerts.

Where can I locate services that abide by HIPAA? HIPAA compliance is required for any healthcare mobile app development services. Unfortunately, there isn’t a list of every service that complies with HIPAA. Fortunately, there is a checklist you can use to help you decide which service to choose.

Please take note that this is not a complete list of requirements for making your app compliant. Although we have mostly concentrated on technological difficulties, administrative requirements also exist, such as defining responsibilities for individuals and developing policies. If you want to be sure you’re not breaking any rules, you can use the official guidelines. To assist you in becoming/maintaining compliance, you can also work with businesses who conduct HIPAA audits.

Step 4. Pre-Development

The next step is to create a plan for creating a medical app. Establish the proper specifications and requirements for the app’s construction in terms of features, costs, resources, and staff.

At this point, you should decide what kind of specialists you’ll need, as well as the tools and technologies needed, the technological stack for development, the prerequisites for (government) certifications, the development cost (budget), and so on.

Tip: While choosing technology stack, consider the following frameworks:

Frontend: Angular, Vue, and React; 

Backend: Node.js, Laravel, and Ruby on Rails; 

Mobile app development: React Native, Ionic, and Flutter etc.

Step 5. Development

Building an MVP from the start with the intention of testing and iterating to add more and more features is the goal here. When developing a health app, the project plan from the pre-development phase should serve as the key reference point.

But first, you have a choice between working with an offshore development company or bringing in-house development staff.

At Trango Tech, we create development teams for clients using our own network of programmers and engineers who have all successfully completed our hiring procedure. We can assist you in reducing the time and expense associated with recruiting and recruitment, which will shorten the time needed to launch a product and guarantee effective development from a unified workforce.

Learn All You Need To Know To Choose The Right Mobile App Development Company

Step 6. Quality Assurance

Do not undervalue this phase. You must hire qualified QA engineers if you want to create a secure and dependable healthcare software. No matter how much testing and debugging they conduct, quality assurance testing should still be relied upon to remove any potential blind spots.

Step 7. Product Release and Continuous Support

The app would still need ongoing support when it is deployed. At this point, many businesses decide to let their outsourced development team go and delegate the remaining tasks to the internal staff. This can initially entail constant app iteration to guarantee complete stability.

Building A Health App: Monetization Models

As the need for digital health solutions keeps growing, if you’re an investor looking for a potential new industry to enter, mobile medical application development might be the chance you’ve been hoping for. What are the most promising monetization models for investors to take into account and how do these apps make money?

Paid Apps

The simplest method of revenue generation is to charge consumers a one-time fee to download the application. For apps that provide a distinctive or specialized service, like a fitness tracker or symptom checker, this strategy may be effective.

Examples:

• MyFitnessPal
• Headspace
• Freemium Model

Freemium Model

The software is free to download and use in this model, but some features or content are behind a paywall. In this manner, health applications can offer a low entry barrier while still bringing in money from users who are prepared to pay for extra benefits. This is especially useful for apps that provide a variety of features and services because it enables customers to test the app before making a purchase.

Examples:

• Fitbit
• Strava
• Subscription Model 

Subscription Model 

Health apps can create a consistent source of income that can quickly accumulate over time by charging customers a monthly subscription to access premium content or features. This can be effective for apps that provide continuing services, such as fitness apps that offer tailored workout routines or nutrition apps that offer tailored meal plans.

Examples:

• Peloton Digital
• Noom
• Advertising

Advertising

Some health apps use in-app advertising to make money. This may consist of banner advertisements, sponsored articles, or unique product recommendations. Advice from Trango Tech: When creating and maintaining healthcare mobile applications, watch out that your users aren’t too irritated by your advertising. These days, it is a widespread issue and one of the main causes for app abandonment.  

Examples:

• WebMD
• Healthline
• Partnerships

Partnerships

Health apps can benefit financially from partnerships with healthcare providers or insurance companies that allow them to offer services and products to users in exchange for a commission or fee for any sales or sign-ups that arise. Health applications can benefit its users and make money through commission or referral fees by collaborating with organizations who are committed to enhancing patient outcomes and lowering healthcare expenses. Additionally, if you’re developing a mobile health application, your partner could also be your investor!

Examples:

• Doctor on Demand
• GoodRx

Building A Health App: Cost To Develop

There are many different intricacies and factors that influence the development of a healthcare application, thus it is impossible to provide a concrete price or even an estimate at this point in time. To be precise, as each app has its own set of requirements, different priorities, and unique features, the criteria are undoubtedly going to vary depending on how to create a medical app.

The typical cost of a basic healthcare app is frequently significantly cheaper, although it can cost up to $80,000. The price of a complicated app with numerous advanced features can reach up to  $120,000, and that doesn’t even include the development phase. MVP apps on the other hand are typically less expensive and can go as low as $25,000 due to their streamlined development process.

Learn: How Much To Build A Mobile App Prototype In A Week? Costing, Process, Benefits + More!

However, you can find below a table of important roles needed in building a health app as well as their average monthly rates in different countries:

Hidden Costs

There are frequently unforeseen expenses while developing healthcare applications, and those expenses can add up quickly. These could involve continuing maintenance and updates, unforeseen development costs, and legal fees for compliance and regulatory needs. Not to add the costs associated with marketing, press releases, app store optimization, etc. During the planning budget phase of developing a healthcare mobile app, all of these should be finalized.

Saving Tips

While there are a lot of expenses related to creating a mobile health app, there are also a lot of ways to cut costs and streamline your development procedure. 

• Work with a custom app development company who has experience in app development for healthcare (such as Trango Tech) and can offer professional guidance on the most efficient and cost-effective development strategies.
• Utilize pre-built components and open-source technology to cut development costs and accelerate time to market.
• Prioritize and concentrate on building the features that will benefit users the most. Instead of attempting to construct the full app at once, test and iterate as you go. This can aid in identifying problems early on and reduce the need for expensive rework later on in the development process.
• Put security and compliance first from the start to avoid future expensive legal problems or security breaches. 
• Take advantage of offshore. Hiring seasoned yet more affordable developers in areas like central Europe may help you save time and money.

Low-Cost Development Traps: Reveal and Avoid

While building a health app on a shoestring budget is undoubtedly feasible, there are a number of potential problems that could result in subpar apps. Some examples of these include relying on untrained or inexpensive developers, cutting corners with security precautions or compliance standards, or overlooking crucial features or functionality. Prioritizing quality and dependability when developing a development strategy for the healthcare application platform is crucial to preventing this. You can help to make sure that your app complies with all pertinent regulations and offers a first-rate user experience by working with a respected development partner who has experience in the healthcare sector. 

You can get in touch with Trango Tech to begin the Discovery Phase, during which we thoroughly investigate the structure and overarching goals of your project. Additionally, we choose technologies that are scalable and have the features you need. Finally, we assess the complexity of the jobs to determine the amount of engineering expertise required to complete the project successfully. Then Trango Tech sets up a queue of iterations, arranges jobs according to importance, and plans the evolution of the project from both the engineering and business perspectives. You’ll have a precise and comprehensive roadmap of building a health app.

What Are the Benefits of Developing Healthcare Apps?

Here are some of the most common benefits entailed in building a health app for business. 

Patient Engagement Increases

Patients can get quick access to all test results, important information, and medication reminders with the help of these applications. This enables the users to focus on the essential care they require and achieve greater results. In order to keep in constant contact with the healthcare professional, they can also connect with the healthcare worker and schedule appointments whenever they require such assistance. Additionally, people can benefit from additional things like using the app itself to acquire their medication anytime they wish. 

Increased Efficiency

As the software can automate many administrative activities, the efficiency of the staff members can be improved and they can focus on the most vital work at a specific moment. These include making reservations for appointments, requesting refills, and handling payments. The staff will also benefit from this because they won’t have to go through a large amount of data to get the patient’s file details; instead, they can easily acquire the information via the app. 

Better Data Analysis and Collection

The patient’s vital information might be gathered by the healthcare applications during the initial login process. Following that, the application also records information about patient behavior, health outcomes, and other parameters. This information is utilized to identify trends and patterns and can help medical professionals treat patients more effectively. For instance, if a patient is having a problem while taking medication and then experiences another problem, the doctors or consultants can get in touch with the patient and take action before the condition worsens. 

Competitive Advantage

You may find it advantageous as a business owner to think about developing a healthcare app. By including distinctive elements that can serve to increase value and make it easier for the users, it can set itself apart from the competition and draw in new patients. Additionally, it helps your software stand out in a congested market where customers have a lot of options to select from. Additionally, it can increase brand awareness among users, which is good for your company’s long-term development. 

Hassle-Free Payments

The patients made it simpler to pay medical costs by using applications. For patients to transfer payments online, the process has become incredibly simple and secure. Additionally, the app may occasionally offer bonuses and savings to keep users interested..

Challenges in Healthcare App Development 

The creation of a healthcare mobile app might be a laborious task for those with little knowledge. Among those who pose serious issues are: 

A. Security and Privacy Laws

Data security is the most crucial concern to have at first in every industry, partly because of the need to fend off cyberattacks. Other than this, a number of variables can influence, such as how much your user trusts you and is willing to share information. Make sure the software that collects all the information is highly confidential. This is just as crucial as any other financial application. The rights to privacy and security that are guaranteed by law in various nations are also taken into consideration during the development process. 

1. USA

Starting with the USA, the HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) regulates the personal health data of individuals and organizations to be secure, and everyone has to abide by it. 

2. European Union

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a regulation for the companies who take the residents’ data. The residents can have control of the data in this case. This applies to all companies, whether they are registered in the EU or other countries, that have to follow this rule if they are collecting or processing individual data. 

3. United Kingdom

Here, DPA (Data Protection Act) updates all the data protection laws. It is a law that applies matching or mirrored provisions as GDPR to enhance public understanding or for mutual strength to enhance.

4. Canada

In Canada, the Personal Information and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) regulates the usage of personal information in the course of business. The development process becomes a little arduous due to the legislation requirement, or their party companies also create issues.

B. Complex features

It is challenging for any one person to comprehend every part or function of your application. In order to optimize user engagement, always keep the user experience of your audience in mind while creating the features. This means ensuring that they are straightforward for users to access and streamlining the entire app to make it user-friendly.

C. Big Data Management

With the aid of big data, you may examine the data that has already been gathered about your consumers in order to foresee and predict their future behavior. This is especially helpful in predicting impending epidemics, advancing medical research, and raising everyone’s standard of living in general. The challenging element won’t be gathering the data from within the app. Trango Tech, the top healthcare mobile app development company, will undoubtedly be needed to create and maintain an architecture that can handle the intense volume and load of data.

Use Cases for a Healthcare App

It is preferable to choose the kind of application that satisfies your demands and objectives in order to provide a product that is relevant and in demand. Staying updated on current healthcare tech trends is crucial to developing the best healthcare application.

Currently, there are numerous healthcare app use cases available on the market. These are a few of the more popular ones.

Use Case #1: Telehealth & Telemedicine

Today, there is a huge need for the utilization of telehealth and telemedicine software solutions between a doctor and a patient. These apps have grown in popularity particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic and social isolation. By using these technologies, medical professionals can connect online, provide remote medical services, and provide effective medical treatment more quickly.

Use Case #2: Electronic Health Record (EHR/EMR)

The EHR/EMR solutions enable the tracking, storing, updating, and collection of all patient medical data on a single platform. Time is saved, manual errors are eliminated, and patient data can be shared between institutions thanks to this.

Use Case #3: Health Informational Exchange (HIE) 

It is crucial to monitor vital indicators including body temperature, blood pressure, heart rate, and others in order to make a proper diagnosis, maintain patients’ wellbeing, and improve their quality of life. Using simply the authenticating capabilities of a smartphone, the HIE system enables quick and simple measurement of a patient’s vital data. Doctors can readily monitor and evaluate the required data thanks to the system’s speedier data flow.

Use Case #4: Built-in diagnostic systems

The system enables the gathering and analysis of data from embedded and Internet of Things (IoT) devices linked to EHR platforms. The condition of distant patients may be easily seen, assessed, and diagnosed by the doctors, who can also monitor their development and choose the appropriate course of action.

Use Case #5: E-prescribing (eRx)

Utilizing the medical information system within the electronic health ecosystem, the E-prescribing system provides the ability to write, store, and deliver prescriptions. A system like this has advantages including reducing checkout errors and the amount of time a doctor and a patient can save.

Use Case #6: RCM & Medical Billing

The EHR (Electronic Health Record) and PM (Practice Management) services are covered by the medical billing system provided by the RCM (Reliability-Centered Maintenance) solution. It entails that switching between apps is simple and doesn’t require you to sign in to each app separately. Additionally, it implies that you no longer have to check bills and access patient details only in the office. By using this solution, users may stop worrying about IT compliance, data encryption, and pricey hardware purchases.

FAQs

Q1. What are the necessary features that a healthcare app must have?

A1. The necessary features that a healthcare app must have include secure login, patient registration, appointment scheduling, real-time chat or messaging, electronic health record (EHR) integration, medication tracking, and push notifications for reminders.

Q2. What are the challenges associated with developing a healthcare app?

A2. The challenges associated with developing a healthcare app include regulatory compliance, data security, patient privacy, interoperability, and ensuring that the app meets healthcare industry standards.

Q3. How long does it take to develop a healthcare app?

A3. The time it takes to develop a healthcare app depends on various factors such as the app’s complexity, features, and functionalities. However, on average, it takes around six to nine months to develop a healthcare app.

Q4. What are the costs associated with developing a healthcare app?

A4. The costs associated with developing a healthcare app depend on the app’s complexity and the development team’s rates. On average, it may cost around $50,000 to $150,000 to develop a basic healthcare app, while a more complex app may cost around $200,000 or more.

Q5. What are some essential tools for developing a healthcare app?

A5. Some essential tools for developing a healthcare app include programming languages such as Java, Swift, and Kotlin, app development frameworks like React Native development framework and Flutter, cloud storage solutions like Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure, and application programming interfaces (APIs) for integrating EHRs and other healthcare data.

Conclusion

In conclusion, developing a health app can be a challenging and daunting task, but with the right approach, it can be a highly rewarding one. By following the steps outlined in this comprehensive guide, you can learn how to create a health app that has the potential to revolutionize the healthcare industry, forever. Remember to keep your target audience in mind, prioritize user experience, and comply with all regulations and guidelines. Additionally, be prepared to continuously update and improve your app based on user feedback and changing industry trends. With dedication, perseverance, and the right tools, you can create a healthcare app that improves the lives of millions of people worldwide.