
There are around 53000 healthcare applications on the Google Play store. The growing dependence on mobile phones is partly the reason behind this number, while the other is the increasing need for high and low-spectrum healthcare services. The use of such apps is growing because healthcare application development is bridging the gap between healthcare demand and supply. Due to this, it has become one of the most important app niches in 2022.
If you, too, are an aspiring appreneur, a medical professional or a fitness enthusiast planning to invest in healthcare application development, here is a 6-step guide for you.
How long does it take to build a healthcare app?
On average, healthcare app development takes from 6 to 9 months because it usually requires a team of healthcare experts, compliance with HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), and the development of such features as: Integration with real-time heart rate. Integration with electronic health.
6 Steps to Build a Healthcare App
- Step 1 – Do Market Analysis. As clear as it is, your healthcare app will be a waste of time if it is not valuable.
- Step 2 – Study Your Audience.
- Step 3 – Choose App Type.
- Step 4 – Create Design.
- Step 5 – Make it HIPAA Compliant.
- Step 6 – Build MVP.
1. Generate a healthcare app idea
Healthcare apps include sports and fitness apps, pill reminders, water and exercise reminders, diet and workout challenges and disease and patient management, telemedicine, and appointment booking apps. You can generate a unique healthcare app idea or choose one from these options after seeking inspiration from an existing application.
However, replicating an app model with its monetization strategies isn’t ideal. Because you might not be an early adopter, your app, no matter better in user interface and experience, can still struggle to position itself in the market.
When generating the idea, also look into the monetization models. If the apps are free, they earn through sponsored ads, which is not ideal when it comes to healthcare application development. If you want to launch a paid application, you’ll have to justify the price with the features.
Famous healthcare app Ideas:
- On-demand Doctor App.
- Pharmacy Delivery App.
- Mental Health Apps.
- Women’s Well-being App.
- AR/VR-Based Medical Training App.
- Wellness Tracker and Workout App.
- Diet Planning App.
- Medicine Price Comparison App.
2. Decide healthcare app features
Once you have the niche and the monetization model, it’s time to come up with features you want to add to the application. Remember to keep the app minimalist because of the sensitive target audience. However, if it’s a workout app or a sports management app, then you can choose to add more features.
Here are 5 must-have features for any healthcare application:
- Guest signup and 2-factor authentication
- Multiple payment options
- Easy navigation
- Symptom checker and live support
- Keyword, voice, and image search
- Heart rate and physical movement tracking (if it’s a smart app with bio sensors)
Make sure the app doesn’t overwhelm users and offers a high-end user experience.
Healthcare App Features for Patients
- Easy registration and login.
- Doctor profile look up.
- Appointment scheduling.
- Reminders and notifications.
- Doctor-patient communication through video conferencing.
- Symptom checker and in-app chats.
- Integration with medical devices.
- Access to medical records.
3. Write a development strategy and business plan
Your development strategy will affect the hiring decision. In this development strategy, make sure to add the platform you want to launch the app for, the features for your app, the app development timelines, and the services you want to avail.
After creating a development strategy, it’s time to write a business plan. In this document, make sure to state your financial and app goals, app development budget, estimated revenues, no. of downloads, and marketing budget you have allotted for the first year.
Follow these seven steps to prepare a strategic business development plan:
- Define your target audience.
- Conduct competitor analysis.
- Identify your business development goals and competitive advantage.
- Select a business development strategy.
- Choose business development tactics.
- Determine implementation and monitoring steps.
4. Hire a healthcare app developer
Start your search for healthcare app developers from an independent review website like Clutch. That’s because your developer is the person who can turn your epic idea into a world-changing digital reality.
After shortlisting companies on Clutch, make sure to assess their portfolio, user experience of their previous projects, their development magnitude, their clientele, and social proof.
When making a hiring decision, strike the right balance between price and quality of design and development, deadlines, location, project management, and so on.
To optimize your hiring cost, we recommend hiring from Chicago or Miami. That’s because mobile app development in Chicago and Miami is a competitive niche, and you can get a fully functional team within your estimated budget.
How to hire an affordable Healthcare App Development Company?
India is the biggest hub for IT services because labour is less expensive there. Choose the appropriate Indian mid-scale company if you are on a tight budget and looking for a provider for your healthcare app. Concetto Labs provides reliable, cost-effective, and high-quality healthcare app development services to clients all around the world.
Which healthcare app development company is the best in the market?
There are thousands of companies that offer healthcare app development services, but choosing the right one can be daunting. But, we would recommend Concetto Labs as we’ve served a substantial client base over the years and have a better exposure in this domain.
5. Test the app
You can choose to hire technical testing and QA teams to identify the areas that need improvement. Or, you can share the initial version of the app with real users, seek feedback and fix the errors. Digital experts suggest you perform a mix of both of these options. For reference, app development companies usually offer testing and QA services as part of their contract.
When testing, here are three important factors you need to ensure:
- App performance
App performance includes app loading, speed, user experience, and the existence of viruses, crashes, and bugs.
The launch and load durations, app size, frame rate, compression, and many other factors affect how quickly an app runs. Teams may have an influence by concentrating on a few strategies, and it’s imperative to optimise these aspects of app performance as soon as possible to enhance the user experience.
- App security
App security includes data retention, data privacy, and digital security. Ensure that your app is able to counter hacking attacks, doesn’t send out malicious links, and doesn’t export data to third-party platforms.
How do you secure your apps?
- Safeguard communication between apps.
- Ask for credentials before showing sensitive information.
- Apply network security measures.
- Use WebView objects carefully.
- Use intents to defer permissions.
- Share data securely across apps.
- Store private data within internal storage.
- Accuracy of data and content
Make sure the profiles show exact user data, the copy of placeholders is correct, and it only performs actions when required.
6. Launch the app
Launching the app includes deploying it on respective app stores. Android apps go to Google Play, iOS apps go to the App store, and cross-platform healthcare applications will go to both of the app stores.
Before launching, you’ll have to submit your app for app store approval, which can take anywhere between 2 weeks to 3 months. Some development companies do help their clients launch the app in stores, too, if that’s an option, avail of it!
What does it mean to launch app?
You can create definitions that launch programmes on your computer using the launch application functionality. Arguments that are supplied to the programme when it is launched can be included in a launch definition. The definition may take the form of a URL or operating system command and may accept parameters.
7. Market the app
Healthcare application development is a rewarding business, but to make users download and depend on your app can be a primary task for your business’s success. To market your healthcare app, here are 5 different steps you can take:
- Create a website to direct traffic to the app store listing and increase the number of downloads. For this, you can either start a simple blog on WordPress with download CTA buttons or hire a web development company to create an advanced online presence for your app.
- Perform App Store Optimization techniques in the description of the application.
- Build a social media following. Create pages and groups on Facebook and Instagram, and share videos and players’ reviews and ratings.
- Build an online community on platforms like LinkedIn, Quora, Medium, and Reddit. This will help build a narrative about your game.
- Once the app is ready, ask your development company to publish a case study. This is an ideal way to market the app, increase the number of downloads and forward the narrative.
- Implement a search engine optimization strategy.
- Purchase search ads.
- Implement an app store optimization strategy.
- Run paid promotions in app stores.
- Employ social media marketing.
- Create a content marketing plan.
- Hire influencers.
- Hire marketing strategists or a PR team.
Wrapping Up
Starting and running a healthcare application development business successfully can be a challenging task. But once you have a team that is ready to put in equal time, effort, and development energy into the project, there is no stopping your app from being successful and profitable.