As per valuates reports, “The global digital healthcare market size is poised to hit $386 billion by 2025 from $103 billion in 2019.”

The COVID-19 outbreak has increased the demand for healthcare app development at a global level. Based on the current scenario, healthcare is the most active & funded sector for mobile innovation.

Steps to consider before building a Healthcare Mobile App

There is strong competition in the healthcare industry. You need to reach the target audience and receive maximum downloads to ensure success.

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But what process should you follow to build a high-performance and appealing healthcare mobile app?

Here are the points to consider before developing an app:

Step 1 — Identify a Problem/Query in Healthcare that needs to be solved

If you want to develop a healthcare mobile app, figure out an issue people actually want to get solved.

As per the survey, only 11% of the healthcare mobile apps provide the patient with the most desirable functionalities.

These include:

  • View doctor’s profile and photo
  • Call a doctor and avail an emergency aid
  • Track & monitor weight
  • E-prescriptions
  • Ability to book, change or cancel the doctor appointment
  • View medical records
  • Get notifications for the latest hospital news & events

So, if you want to build a mobile app, make sure your app is addressing the pain points of your target audience.

Mobile apps can also act as a means for bringing good health to people present in remote areas. As per Rural Health Info, large distances can act as an issue in terms of time & cost in the healthcare industry. With the assistance of such apps, means are provided for more virtual visits especially in this time of the pandemic.

Identify your target audience so that you can offer exactly what they want. Your product needs to have a unique selling point (USP).

For example, From the classic diet to one customized as per the genetic factors, if you are paying for a DNA test, the USP of lifesum app is the availability of a wide range of diets.

Based on the preferences of your target audience, you can choose the right technology (native iOS and Android or cross platforms like Flutter & React Native) for your healthcare mobile app.

Step 2 — Abide by healthcare app regulations

You need to make sure that the healthcare apps are compliant with regulations based on your country:-

  • Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) — The United States of America
  • The Data Protection Law Enforcement Directive — European Union
  • General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) — European Union
  • Electronic Health Records (EHR) — Singapore
  • HITECH Compliant — The U.S.A.
  • FDA or USFDA ( Food & Drugs Administration ) — The United States of America
  • California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) — The U.S.A.
  • Data Protection Act 1988 — The United Kingdom
  • PCI-DSS Compliance — Canada
  • Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) — Japan
  • Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) — Singapore
  • Protected Health Information (PHI) — The U.S.A.

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The aim of fulfilling all the regulations is to protect data privacy and establish legal transactions which are of the utmost importance.

Step 3 — Design & Develop an Effective App

One major challenge that lies in developing a healthcare mobile app is user-friendliness and sustainability. I would like to recommend the addition of quizzes while designing a healthcare mobile app. It will allow the users to keep up with the medical terms in a more simplified & scalable manner.

You need to look in for the best functionalities and features such as follows: –

  • Appointment scheduling/ Booking section
  • Dashboard with some important indicators like patient waiting time, satisfaction, confidentiality, medication errors, follow up and many more
  • Regular push notifications and reminders/alerts for timely response
  • Online Payment Portal integration for transactions
  • Integration with wearable technology devices
  • Video conferencing for online diagnosis or treatment
  • Security
  • User/Patient Profile
  • Reporting and charting functionality (Analytics)
  • Social login
  • Photo gallery
  • Geolocation

Step 4 — Promote Your App

There are essential healthcare app marketing strategies:-

  1. App Store Optimization — ASO is one of the best practices for attracting targeted users to download the app based on search queries, title, rating & additional ranking factors. It can help in driving high-quality traffic to your healthcare mobile application.
  2. Organic Channels — It is an efficient & cost-effective way in which you can:
  • Use innovative banners
  • Target the right traffic
  • Content marketing

3. Paid Advertising — Social platforms can help you reach the right audience. Also, pay-per-click campaigns through Google AdWords will assist in driving maximum users in a single click.

4. Influencer Marketing — You can gain trust by adapting to the following means: –

  • Choose the right platform & influencers carefully
  • Focus on storytelling.

5. Press Release Coverage — Bloggers, journalists & distinct websites can increase the awareness by adapting to below measures: –

  • Customizing the press release pitches
  • Creating a media kit to drag the attention of users before the launch of healthcare mobile app

6. Video — It can attract the target audience on a quick note. So, it will be good to include reward videos & user-generated content.

7. Email Marketing — Drive customers & notify them about your healthcare app through email marketing.

8. Referral Programs & Invites — Healthcare mobile app provides a chance to reach maximum people at a minimum cost by making referral codes that are easy to share and go beyond cashback.

9. App Demo & Free trials — It is a great way to engage customers by allowing the first users to use it free of cost.

Conclusion

Like any other industry, there is a lot of potential for healthcare mobile app development. So, what are you waiting for? Don’t miss a chance and go ahead with this profitable business idea!

With 15 years of experience, FATbit Technologies specializes in building secure, easy to use, functional, and intuitive healthcare mobile apps. Mobile app development companies have a technically sound & proficient team of developers who are well versed in building apps to help the businesses gain an upper hand in the competition. You can reach out by filling our contact form.

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