mHealth App Development: The Ultimate Guide

In a world where technology has become an integral part of our lives, mHealth app development is at the forefront of healthcare innovation. The demand for mobile health apps is skyrocketing, as they provide convenient and accessible healthcare solutions right at our fingertips.

The potential of mHealth apps is undeniable. By seamlessly integrating mobile applications with healthcare practices, these apps have the power to revolutionize the industry. It comes as no surprise that the market for mHealth apps is projected to reach a staggering value of US $151 billion by 2025.

With over 54,000 mobile health apps already available, the possibilities are endless. These apps cater not only to serious medical needs but also to wellness, fitness, and healthy living. From telehealth apps connecting patients with healthcare professionals to fitness trackers monitoring daily activities, mHealth apps are transforming the way we approach healthcare.

In this ultimate guide, we embark on a comprehensive journey through mHealth app development. We explore the significance of mobile app ideas for the healthcare industry and delve into the various types of healthcare apps that are shaping the future of patient care.

We walk you through the key stages of mHealth app development, from discovery to ongoing support, providing valuable insights and best practices along the way. Discover the essential features and functions that make a successful mHealth app and gain an understanding of the challenges faced in this dynamic sector.

Moreover, we shed light on the average estimated cost of mHealth mobile app development, empowering you to make informed decisions about your project.

Join us as we unlock the immense potential of mHealth app development and pave the way for a future where healthcare is accessible, personalized, and transformative. Get ready to revolutionize the way we care for ourselves and our communities with the power of mobile health technology.

What is mHealth?

Mobile health (or mHealth) is the integration of smartphone technology in healthcare. mHealth apps improve communication between patients and doctors, monitor chronic diseases, and provide quick access to medical data, among other things. With this, healthcare app services are far more accessible and significantly improve the patient experience.

mHealth Popularity in Numbers

• Currently, the app stores have a reasonable number of mobile health (mHealth) apps. There are 53,054 mhealth apps in the Google Play Store and 53,979 in the Apple App Store.
•  According to Statista, during the 2020 pandemic, medical app downloads increased by 65%.
• According to a widely circulated survey, only 7% of mhealth apps have more than 50,000 monthly active users. 
• To be more specific, over 1 billion people worldwide suffer from chronic respiratory diseases, yet barely 1% of this target group uses mobile health apps.

Types of mHealth apps

• Prescription apps

With the help of prescription apps, doctors can prescribe the right medicine for patients and set fixed dosages in order to avoid any kind of side effects or call-off prescriptions at any time.

• Clinical and diagnostic apps

These apps assist doctors and physicians in gathering, analyzing, and sharing health data. These apps enable practitioners to view lab results, review electronic health records, and even perform digital imaging. Such applications also assist patients and doctors in assessing symptoms and diagnosing illnesses. 

• Productivity apps

There are plenty of health-related mobile apps available that can help healthcare providers increase their productivity and efficiency. These apps are intended for use in home healthcare scheduling, mobile charting, and remote dictation. Such apps are designed to provide these functions while remaining HIPAA compliant.

• Reminder apps

This is a basic app that can remind patients of appointments or when to take medications. Although these apps are sometimes included as part of larger apps, they are also available on separate platforms. RevSpring Patient Connect, for example, allows you to download, view, and confirm appointments with healthcare service providers.

• Mental health apps

The goal of mental mobile health app development is to make therapy more accessible, adaptable, and effective. Through pre-recorded meditations, breathing exercises, gamification features, and other methods, they can aid in the treatment of depression, stress, anxiety, and sleep disorders. 

• Text and Video Communication apps

Fueled by the pandemic, patients have realized the value of virtual video consults and text messaging options that connect them to their caregivers. These apps facilitate better communication and foster patient care. 

• Remote monitoring apps

Remote monitoring apps enable patients to receive virtual care from their doctors while being at home. Practitioners can care for their patients by monitoring their heart rate, oxygen level, blood pressure, and other healthcare issues without needing to see them on a regular basis. 

Healthcare App Development Features 

1. Health Tracking

It is one of the most important features of a patient-facing and doctor-facing app. The functionality allows patients’ vital signs and health conditions such as blood pressure, pulse rate, calorie intake, blood sugar level, calorie intake, and so on to be monitored. 

2. Appointments

For patient healthcare app development solutions, functionality is a crucial component. It enables patients to ask for an appointment with their doctors and provides doctors with a comprehensive view of all the appointments they have to attend throughout the course of the day. The control of waiting room scheduling chaos is one of the major advantages of mobile health apps in this category. Apps like Zocdoc are built specifically to take advantage of this feature set. 

3. Patient Information Database

Doctors and healthcare organizations primarily use this healthcare app feature. The caregiver side of stakeholders gains real-time access to the patient’s medical history, reports, prescriptions, and so on through this functionality. 

4. Scheduling and Reminders

The feature allows patients to schedule medication, track sleep, drink water, or simply be reminded of their daily calorie intake, among other things. It makes it simple for patients to stay on track with their health goals. 

5. Geolocation

This feature focuses on the emergency department of the healthcare system. When patients are not near their primary location, they can use the app’s built-in map integration to find doctors and hospitals nearby. 

6. Payment gateway

Patients can conveniently pay for insurance and treatment as a result of the integration of mobile payments with popular payment options like net banking, wallets, and debit/credit cards. Copying of bills and access to documents are also supported by the integration.

7. Real-time Chats 

This is the most recent feature to become a vital feature in a healthcare app. The importance of remote medical assistance was brought to light during the COVID-19 era. People expressed their need to communicate with their doctors when they were confined to their homes. Real-time text, voice, and video chats became necessary as a result of the need.

8. Ratings and Reviews

At a time when every city has an abundance of doctors and hospitals, it can be difficult for patients to figure out the effectiveness of each and whom to entrust their health. To address this issue, the healthcare app development system typically includes ratings and reviews among the features. 

9. Cloud Integration

For the healthcare industry, cloud integration is more than just a feature. It’s essential. For healthcare providers, storing patient data in a secure cloud infrastructure is crucial. A significant factor in the healthcare industry’s exploration of blockchain technology and its decentralization capabilities is the necessity of maintaining data security. 

10. Reporting and Analytics

Analytics and reporting are the final features on our list of must-have healthcare app features. Every healthcare mobile app development company strives to create a dashboard for stakeholders where they can track their health, patient count, finances, and other critical sector and health-impacting factors. 

Benefits of mHealth apps for healthcare professionals and patients

– Easy access to medical reports

Now, patients no longer need to rush to hospitals to obtain their medical reports thanks to a mHealth mobile app development. Instead, they can access the report online at any time. Users can then consult the doctor as needed, saving them the trouble of leaving the reports at home or misplacing them.

– Timely care at remote locations

One of the most significant advantages of mobile health technology. By scheduling video calls with healthcare professionals, the vast majority of people in remote locations can now receive timely care. Patients can avoid visiting clinics on a regular basis because doctors can monitor their patients via video or audio calls. Furthermore, the push notification system in apps can provide users with important health tips and precautions. 

– Reduced risk of misdiagnosis

When doctors or physicians handle patients’ records manually, there is a high risk of diagnostic error. Every year, diagnostic errors affect more than 12 million people in the United States. An estimated 40,000 to 80,000 people die each year as a consequence of complications from these misdiagnoses. 

Given that mHealth apps for patients keep track of all prescriptions, communications, and treatment options, the possibility of diagnostic errors is reduced. Healthcare providers can offer data-driven treatment to their patients while also protecting themselves from malpractice lawsuits.

– Optimized person-hours

Physicians’ long work hours are a problem in the healthcare industry on a global scale. The resources of healthcare organizations are put under strain, there is excessive stress, and the quality of care suffers.

Healthcare professionals can communicate with patients without wasting their time with the help of mobile health technology, which also allows them to monitor treatment processes and have all records in one place.

– Convenience in paying bills

Dealing with bills is a difficult process for both patients and hospital staff. It takes time to manually track patient bill payments and chase insurance companies for bill clearance. This time-consuming procedure, however, can be reduced to a few minutes with the help of health-related mobile apps. Patients can also choose their preferred payment method, pay online, and connect to their insurer (if necessary) using apps.

– Real-time communication

Patients can use mobile health apps to collaborate, consult, and share information with doctors all over the world in real-time.  These mobile health systems benefit patients by allowing doctors from all over the world to share knowledge in real-time. On top of that, real-time communication allows doctors to keep a constant eye on their patient’s health.

How to build a mHealth app?

Now that we have discussed the key benefits of mHealth app development, let’s discuss the steps to build a successful application.

• Problem identification

When developing a mHealth app, it is critical to understand the needs of the end user. Determine the problems they are experiencing and how your application can help them. At this point, you may also dig deeper and select a medical field where you’d like to launch your app. For example, your mobile healthcare solutions could revolve around diabetes or anxiety disorders.

• Deciding the platform

The next step is to decide whether your app will be deployed on Android, iOS, or the web. It is important to note here that elderly patients prefer to visit a website, whereas teenagers prefer to use apps. Your market research will be useful when selecting platforms for your application.

• Hiring a development partner

Hiring a reputable healthcare software development company will guarantee your app has all of the most up-to-date features and functionalities.

An organization that specializes in mobile app development has a team of UX/UI designers, skilled app developers, and market experts who provide knowledgeable recommendations and always take your vision into account. The company also provides access to the most recent technologies and the latest industry expertise.

Also Read: Proven Ways to Enhance Your Healthcare App UX for Better Experience.

• Select a monetization model

All applications, regardless of genre, are intended to be profitable. The healthcare industry typically revolves around two types of revenue streams when discussing how to monetize an app:

• Subscription-based model
• A freemium model with paid access to premium services
  

• Build an MVP

Create an MVP rather than a full-fledged application to ensure that the proposed solution is thoroughly tested and validated before it enters the market.

To create a successful MVP, work with a healthcare app development company to identify the key features of your solution and then build an app accordingly. MVP software development also allows users to share their experiences with your app and tell you which functions they would like to see integrated into it.

• Testing the application

When developing mobile healthcare solutions, testing is an important step. Everything from user experience and interface to content should be tested. Proper testing will aid in the identification of bugs, reduce development time and cost, and greatly enhance your reputation as a service provider.

• Launch and track performance

Once your application has been thoroughly tested, it is ready to accept users. Utilize the in-app analytics tools you integrated during the development process to monitor the performance of your application after it has been released. Respond to user feedback and requests, and roll out updates to keep users interested.

Estimated Cost of mHealth App Development

– Estimated Duration

A healthcare mobile app can take about 3 months to develop on average (this is a rough estimate). More time can be set aside for code polishing, testing, and ongoing maintenance (updating the app in accordance with a long-term plan).

– Development Team

Minimal team size ranges from 1-3 developer(s), 1-2 QA specialist(s), and 1 project manager (PM) in early stages to 1 developer, 1 QA specialist, and 1 PM in later stages.

– Estimated Cost

Hiring and managing a team of specialists in the United States can be a costly endeavor depending on the technologies and components involved in application development. A typical mHealth app development project can cost $80-100,000 or more.

– Optimal Estimated Cost

Your project costs can be minimized if you choose a mHealth app development company like DianApps, which has a remote R&D branch. 

The Scope Of Healthcare Apps In The Future

Over the past two years, the global COVID outbreak has increased the use of mHealth mobile apps. Approximately 37% of healthcare providers communicate with their patients via healthcare applications, according to market research. Additionally, 56% of physicians use mobile healthcare apps to instantly monitor their patient’s health conditions and make the necessary medical decisions.

To seize the market opportunity, healthcare service providers are attempting to develop the best healthcare application. They are looking for the top mobile app development companies in the US and Australia to help them develop their app.

Summarizing

It’s pretty understandable that creating apps for healthcare providers is a worthwhile initiative. But you’ll have to wait a while. Of course, not until the entire healthcare market has reached saturation. Later on, you’ll find it difficult to compete with other apps in the same niche because the market will be flooded with them.

If you have any questions about why you should hire DianApps as your on-demand app development partner, get in touch with our experts. We would be delighted to assist you. Our development team is highly skilled and dedicated to their work. With their experience as well as extensive knowledge of the development of mobile applications, they are all decked up to address all the challenges posed by the mobile healthcare industry. 

So without any further ado, contact our app development experts today to start creating the healthcare applications of your dreams!