How to Build an App for the Healthcare Industry

Healthcare, like any other industry, is becoming increasingly digitalised. However, healthcare applications may come with a unique set of requirements and challenges. 

In this article, we will provide an overview of the different types of healthcare apps, as well as a step-by-step guide for how to build an app for healthcare industry. To ensure information accuracy and comprehensiveness, we interviewed Binisha Sharma, account manager at EB Pearls for personnel.

Let’s get straight into how to build an app for the healthcare industry! 

There are three main types of apps to consider for your mobile app development project:

Healthcare apps for providers enhance clinical efficiency by streamlining patient management, facilitating remote consultations, and providing quick access to medical records and diagnostic tools.

Perhaps the most common type of mobile healthcare app for providers is an appointment scheduling app. This gives both patients and healthcare providers numerous advantages. Binisha Sharma cites three important such benefits:

There are numerous healthcare apps designed for patient use. These apps enhance self-care, promote health education, and facilitate easier access to medical services.

Recent years have seen a rise in mental health apps such as Calm (an app designed for better sleep) or BetterHelp (an app that provides online talk therapy services). Because of the delicate nature of such apps, they require special design and development considerations from the app builder.

Binisha Sharma stresses the importance of prioritising user experience and making the user interface easy to navigate. “Users should have the ability to navigate the app even during times of urgency or when experiencing poor mental health.” 

Moreover, collaboration with mental health professionals is a must to gather valuable insights.  

Last but not least, doctors can also benefit from digitalising certain aspects of their profession. 

Healthcare apps for doctors streamline clinical workflows, enhance diagnostic accuracy, and facilitate secure communication with patients and colleagues, ultimately boosting efficiency and the quality of medical services. 

It is a testament to how advanced today’s technology is that doctors have the possibility of finding patient monitoring systems in app stores. These apps help doctors track patients’ vital signs, symptoms, and medication adherence remotely.

However, Binisha Sharma warns that there are a number of unique challenges and considerations when it comes to developing apps for patient monitoring. These apps have to ensure patient privacy by keeping data secure, have easy-to-use UX/UI, integrate with various healthcare systems, and follow strict local regulations. 

Teams have to do extensive research before beginning the design process to ensure that their app is up to the standards of the healthcare industry.

All the app types aforementioned can be created by following a tried-and-true formula for successful app development.

Before developing your own app, you need to analyse the market you plan to launch it into. By doing market research, you should be able to determine how your app idea fits into the current landscape of healthcare apps, and what your positioning should be. 

With how competitive the app landscape is nowadays, no app development company underestimates the importance of this step.

To determine your target audience, think about the people who will get the most out of your product. 

Tailoring your offerings to match specific requirements and expectations involves evaluating demographics, interests, and habits. Especially when it comes to marketing and consumer interaction, knowing your audience is key. 

Settling on the app type involves deciding the primary function and design of your application based on user needs and market gaps. 

Whether it’s mental health and well-being, management, or compliance-focused, the type dictates the app’s architecture, user interface, and functionalities, aligning closely with the intended user experience.

The results of the market research and audience identification phases are brought together in the app design phase, which is centred on making an interface and features that cater to the individual preferences and requirements of the target audience. 

In this stage, you make sure the app is easy to use, has good accessibility, and has attractive graphics so that your target audience can enjoy using it.

When creating a healthcare app, it is essential to check that it complies with all applicable local standards. Here, we make sure that the app complies with all local regulations on healthcare, data protection, and industry standards in each region where it will be utilised. 

In order to protect user data, keep privacy, and stay out of legal trouble, it is crucial to follow these regulations. Binisha Sharma recommends involving a legal expert early on in the process, to ensure these things are well taken care of right from the beginning.

Building, launching, and testing an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) is a pivotal stage in healthcare app development. This process involves constructing a basic version of the app with essential features and launching it on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store to gather real-world feedback.

Launching this preliminary version allows developers to test its functionality and usability in a live environment. The user feedback collected is crucial for identifying any issues and making necessary improvements, ensuring the app is well-optimized and meets user expectations before a full-scale rollout. 

Based on the feedback collected from your MVP, you should be able to design the final version of your app (for now). All that is left is for you to launch it; however, this is hardly where your job ends.

Once the app is live, you must ensure ongoing support for users, as well as continue to collect feedback and provide updates and fixes. Technology is always evolving, and your app should evolve with it.

If you work in the healthcare industry and want to create an app, then this article should have given you the information you need to get started with your journey. However, it’s important to stress again that healthcare applications have special requirements that must not be taken lightly, especially when it comes to the local regulations of the healthcare industry.

Because of the immense responsibility that comes with developing such apps, it is often better to leave the development process in the hands of a seasoned app development agency. 
EB Pearls has extensive experience with such apps and can be your best friend in this app-building journey. Contact us and let’s start developing your healthcare app!