“Automation makes population health management feasible, scalable, and sustainable.”

Institute of Health Technology Transformation

The current state of healthcare systems needs substantial improvement, especially in the recent outbreak of Covid-19. These days, Coronavirus has infected almost 215M people, with 4.47 M deaths worldwide. It has impacted the world and its economy drastically. New health app ideas are needed to confront the situation and come up with apps for medical services.

The sector has the potential for innovative trends, like IoT, Big Data, and AI. We will talk about the sectors of the best healthcare apps and come up with some popular applications in the market. The article may give you some good health app ideas that we can turn into a robust project.

How many health apps are there in 2021? 

To understand the potential of the industry in terms of business perspectives and investment, consider statistics data. For 2020, the global mHealth market was valued at $40,05 billion. Fromspecialisationsorganisations021 to 2028, the market is predicted to grow at a CAGR of 17,7%, registering a value of $166.2 billion. The growing penetration of smartphones, 5G technology implementation and the users’ consciousness over health issues provide an unprecedented rise in mobile healthcare technologies. 

The rise of mHealth demand increased mobile apps available in the App Store and Google Play market. Thus for Q1 2021, there were 53,979 iOS healthcare apps and 53,054 apps available at Google Play.

The Benefits of Integrating Mobile Apps in Healthcare and Patient Experience

The integration of healthcare services and innovative projects with the best healthcare apps is one of the ways to prevent epidemic situations and address other, no less important medical issues.

Healthcare automation and digitalisation across most of its sectors implies benefits, namely:

• Removal of bureaucracy
• Minimisation of human errors
• Improved medical treatments

Quicker diagnosis and pre-screening processes

• Remote patient monitoring
• Cutting the operational costs
• Improvement of global health

Speeding up the provision of healthcare service

• Access to the medical service in remote
• Unified and secure medical and patient databases.

How much does a medical app cost?

Mobile health application development is related to the most complicated development processes beyond simple programming. It requires regulations, security, and support. With the rough estimation, the average cost of a health mobile app is $425.000. It is the price of an app enhanced with the latest technologies. The price, though, does not include marketing and support services.

There is no universal pricing for app development. The price depends on many factors, and even the less significant element can change the price. The main cost drivers still remain the app complexity, the app’s features, and the dev team’s hourly rate.

There are more important elements to care about with mobile healthcare apps than, for example, interactive UI/UX. More than anything, healthcare apps should be secure, stable, and user-friendly. Here is a rough estimation of app development costs led by an average-rated dev team.

How to Create a Mobile App for Business?

To make your idea compatible with business prospectives and market demands, app development needs to follow six-step business planning:

1. Developing a business strategy
2. Hiring development team
3. Budgeting and planning
4. Defining app features
5. Marketing strategy
6. Support and maintenance

Which Areas and Sectors of Healthcare can Take Advantage of Innovative Healthcare Apps?

Generally, healthcare can be divided into four sub-sections. Let’s define how each unit may advance from the best healthcare apps and healthcare software development.

• Distinct Healthcare Providers and Services 

These are hospitals, clinics as well as private practitioners that provide medical services and deliver goods. This category also includes general and surgical clinics and other establishments with particular medical specialisations like emergency care, family planning, nursing, and ambulatory service.

These public and private organisations can use mobile healthcare development services to build:

• patient management
• monitoring systems
• doctor schedule & management tools
• planning software
• appointment systems
• inventory management
• urgent care apps and many others.

• Medical Insurance and Consultancy Providers

Insurance companies are an integral part of healthcare systems, especially in developed countries. Aside from health insurance, healthcare consultants can also give users the necessary insights into the hassle-free and the best healthcare plan and insurance policies.

These providers can assist their clients and build educational platforms or client portals. Also, it is possible to create mobile health apps for professional social networks or platforms.

• Pharmaceutics and Drug Manufacturers

It is a huge healthcare sector that concentrates on researching and producing medication. Any drug or medicine needs to receive a license by the FDA or similar and follow a range of laws and regulations imposed by governments. This procedure may take a few years before the official drug release.

Thus, modern technologies can minimise time when the medicine is available to the mass user. The integration of healthcare automation would reduce time to the market and pharmacies.

• Medical Equipment and Hospital Supply Manufacturers 

Firms and faсtories that supply healthcare providers with the necessary medical utilities and equipment fall in this category.

The innovative technologies allow for designing more effective solutions like mobile scanning and logistics applications, inventory control, pre-order and ordering platforms, etc.

Let’s now identify the technologies that can assist the healthcare sectors by removing bureaucracy, manual functions, cutting operational expenses, etc.

Best Healthcare apps in Medical Services

Medical app development that utilises the smartphone and functionality of other smart devices provides an advanced value. To develop the software operating on iPhone devices, applying specific tech stacks and following the platform guidelines is necessary. The same applies to the Android operating system.

To build an iOS or Android client app, it is necessary to use Swift and Kotlin programming languages. Applying technologies like Node.js, Python, Ruby, cloud-service platforms of AWS, EC2, S3, and PostgreSQL or MySQL databases is possible for the back-end developments and server setups.

Here are some of the apps popular in the market.

Doctor On Demand – Telehealth app

This app provides care on demand and by appointment. It is an iOS and Android app and is used in various physical and mental healthcare services.

Heal – Doctor house calls

HealpersonalisedWhen is an app to arrange a house call. It also applies to iOS and Android platforms. 

Maven – Woman’s healthcare

Maven is designed for women and families. It is a kind of “digital clinic” where women and their families can turn for physical and mental health issues.

Fitbit – Activity tracker

This app allows us to monitor the state of health, including heartbeats, calories, fitness time, etc.

Healow – Health records management

Healow is the main communication tool between patients and their doctors. It records data and allows access to healthcare records.

MyChart – Patient portal

This app is also used for communication, allowing access to records, online scheduling, and paying the bills.

UpToDate – Educational portal

This app is designed for doctors and students—a powerful platform with vast medical information. Students and practitioners can have access to expert opinions.

Sonosupport – Ultrasound imaging support

This app is designed for ultrasound examinations. With the use of the app, it is possible to get clinical-grade ultrasound diagnostics at home.

Talkspace – Therapy 

The online therapy platform gives access to psychiatrists and therapists for consulting and treatment via smartphone.

First Derm – Dermatology Services

The free app helps users connect to doctors, consult online, and get treatment and prescriptions for non-emergency skin issues. 

Amwell – Insurance coverage

The application provides on-demand doctor visits and accepts health insurances, including United Healthcare, Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and more. 

ZocDoc – Appointment scheduling

The application connects patients with different medical institutions to schedule appointments without calling or visiting to set an appointment. 

GoodRx – Prescription discounts

It is a huge prescription database with over 75.000 medications where users can search for information and find the lowest medicine price in the area.

Medisafe – Medication reminder

With the app, the patients will never forget to take their prescriptions. Virtual pillbox sends reminders and notifications for taking medications.

Teladoc – On-demand Care

On-demand Telehealth service is an affordable way to connect to physicians and get virtual care for non-life-threatening cases. 

WebMD – Medical resource

It is one of the largest medical resources and information databases that gives access to care directories, a database of medications, etc.

Generis – DNA & Nutrition

This innovative solution helps users understand their genes. The app provides DNA-based recommendations: food and nutrition, fitness advice, supplement recommendations, and much more.

Better Help – Online consulting

It is a quick and cost-efficient way to access mental health professionals. The application is a convenient way to get online help from professional therapists and counsellors. 

MDacne – Acne treatment

The application is instant access to dermatologists and gets instant treatment based on patient’s answers, photos and videos. The app has a built-in chat to provide better communication between patients and doctors.

Leafly – One-stop-shop for cannabis information

The application’s main function is to connect doctors and patients, shed light on medical Marijuana properties, and educate users. 

MySugr – Diabetes tracker

The lifesaver helps patients track blood sugar, carbs, estimated HbA1c and bolus within an app. With synchronised and updated data, it is easy to track changes and take actions if necessary.

EyeCare Live – Online consulting

The application is useful to get instant consulting on eye conditions through pictures and videos. Through visuals, the doctor can resolve the condition and advise treatment.

Heal – Physician house calls

The application is aimed at bringing back the traditional doctor’s visits. The holistic view will help doctors observe the lifestyle of a patient that may help in further treatment. 

Factors to Consider When Building a Healthcare Mobile App 

As one of the growing industries witnessing a boom of mobile integration, every new startup is entering a highly competitive market with global players that use the latest mobile and smart tech solutions. To be in line with global players, there are top factors to be considered when building an app.

• Integration of Medical Things

The IoT may be utilised in any health-related area by uniting medical hardware and software. The system uses different sensors and processors to collect data and share it across the network. The technology can connect not only with one device but also it is possible to create a complex ecosystem of interrelated tools and gadgets.

In the upcoming years, the implementation of IoT solutions is expected to grow, which is a subject of healthcare software development. Statista states that in 2020 almost 161 million IoT devices are going to be delivered and used.

When wearable devices, home medication dispensers, personalised trackers, digital cameras, and other medical equipment are interconnected, it will result in the next-level healthcare service, as stated by Forbes.

Vitals trackings, efficient operations in inventory management, treatments of chronic diseases, telehealth surgeries, built-in emergency response systems, trackers of mood are just a few directions where IoMT software can be implemented.

• Big Data

It makes no doubt that the healthcare industry holds and processes huge masses of different information. Big Data allows effective gathering and elaboration on internal medical documentation and patient data (EHR & EMR).

These operations surely remove bureaucracy among healthcare providers, improve patient diagnostics and care, and add value in medical research and the field of analytics.

• Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence

Advancements in language processing technology create and apply chatbots, voice recognition systems, voice assistants, etc. It is only the beginning of the story related to machine learning use cases. Automated healthcare operations with the help of ML and AI will bring user experience to the next level.

• Blockchain

Blockchain technology is widely known due to the Bitcoin cryptocurrency. However, it is a great one to provide top security and transparency levels within the healthcare industry. The technology removes paperwork and offers fast and secure information sharing.

How can Addevice Help you Build a Healthcare Mobile App?

Still not sure about your health app ideas? The team of Addevice is an experienced offshore software provider that designs and develops top-notch healthcare applications based on IoT and AI. We create solutions for fitness and a healthy lifestyle, patient portals, doctor-on-demand projects. Our team can also integrate and gain data from 100+ medical devices and 3rd party services to build a complex app functionality.

As an example, Addevice has projected and implemented Sentinel hypertension medical care application. The app’s purpose is to help patients with hypertension have safe life keeping health data under control. The application provides clinicians with real-time patient data, medication and symptom management.