The global healthcare IT market is growing, poised to reach $1.8 trillion by 2030. It translates to a CAGR of 15.8% from 2024, fueled by several trends, including the use of smartphones.
As the number of smartphone users grows, so does its application in healthcare. Remote patient monitoring through mobile apps is becoming increasingly popular, allowing for improved care outside hospital settings.
A patient engagement mobile app has the potential to revolutionize healthcare delivery. These apps can empower patients to be more active in their health and well-being, leading to improved health outcomes and reduced costs.
Benefits of using a patient engagement mobile app
Patient engagement mobile apps can help people and healthcare institutions in several ways:
1. Improved communication: apps can provide patients with secure access to their medical records, appointment information, and test results. They can also facilitate communication with doctors and other healthcare providers through messaging, chat, or video calls.
2. Enhanced self-management: the patient mobile app can help patients track their symptoms, adherence to treatment, and other health metrics. They can also provide educational resources and personalized guidance to help patients manage chronic conditions.
3. Increased engagement: apps can make healthcare more engaging and interactive for patients. Gamification elements, rewards, and social features can motivate patients to continue their treatment plans and adopt healthy behaviors.
4. Reduced costs: by empowering patients to manage their health more effectively, apps can help reduce healthcare costs. Lowering costs can be achieved through fewer hospital admissions, emergency room visits, and doctor appointments.
Custom patient engagement mobile app development
While more than 350,000 patient engagement apps are already available on the market, sometimes a custom solution that will suit your requirements is the best fit. You can refer to a healthcare software development company to develop the app.
Custom patient engagement mobile app development can be effective for healthcare providers and patients. It allows for tailored functionalities and features that cater to specific needs and goals, potentially leading to improved patient outcomes, increased patient engagement, and streamlined workflows for healthcare professionals. IT consulting services can help to clarify your project’s requirements and make some rough estimations on resources.
Let’s take a close look at building a custom patient engagement app.
Custom app development benefits
Here are the significant custom patient engagement mobile app development advantages:
- Targeted features: address specific patient needs and workflows, unlike generic apps.
- Integration with existing systems: seamlessly connect with Electronic Health Records (EHRs), lab results, and other vital data sources.
- Branding and user experience: align with your hospital or practice’s branding and create a familiar, user-friendly patient experience.
- Scalability and future-proofing: adapt and grow with your needs, adding new features and functionalities as required.
- Improved adherence: encourage medication adherence and appointment attendance through reminders and educational resources.
- Improved data collection and analysis: gain valuable insights from patient data to inform care decisions.
Overall, custom patient engagement mobile apps offer a win-win scenario for patients and healthcare providers, promoting better communication, improved healthcare management, and, ultimately, better health outcomes.
Considerations
Here are several points to remember when deciding on custom mobile app development. Knowing them in advance will help you avoid the pitfalls of building your perfectly-tailored application.
Cost: custom development is typically more expensive than pre-built solutions.
Development time: creating a custom app takes longer than implementing a pre-built one.
Technical expertise: you may need to hire internal developers or partner with an external development agency.
Maintenance and updates: ongoing maintenance and updates are your responsibility.
Features to regard
What are the main features to include in a custom patient engagement mobile app? Here is a breakdown of the most common aspects to consider:
1. Appointment scheduling and reminders: allow patients to book, reschedule, and receive appointment reminders.
2. Secure messaging: enables secure communication between patients and healthcare providers.
3. Health data tracking: integrate with wearables and devices to track vital signs, medications, and other health metrics.
4. Educational resources: provide patients with personalized educational content and support materials.
5. Self-management tools: offer tools for managing chronic conditions, medication adherence, and lifestyle changes.
6. Remote consultations: facilitate virtual consultations with doctors and specialists.
7. Feedback and surveys: gather patient feedback to improve the app and healthcare experience.
If you are still unsure about your future patient engagement mobile app, consider using third-party support.
Development process
The development process of patient engagement mobile apps is similar to every other app development and consists of several distinctive stages. They are:
Needs assessment and planning: defining your goals, target audience, and desired features. At this step, you also identify patient needs and pain points, analyze compliance considerations, and prioritize essential features based on user needs and feasibility.
Design and prototyping: creating user interfaces and workflows that are intuitive and user-friendly. Building a user-friendly and intuitive interface that prioritizes accessibility and ease of use.
Development and testing: building the app, ensuring security, functionality, and performance. This step ensures the implementation of robust security measures to protect sensitive patient data, provision of API integration, and rigorous testing on various devices and operating systems to ensure functionality and user experience.
Deployment and maintenance: launching the app and providing ongoing updates and support. Improve the app by addressing user feedback, fixing bugs, and adding new features.
Popular examples of patient engagement mobile apps
A wide variety of patient engagement mobile apps are available, each with unique features and functionalities. Some famous examples include:
- MyChart: the app from Epic Systems allows patients to view their medical records, arrange appointments, and communicate with their doctors.
- Apple Health: a pre-installed app on iPhone helps users track their health data, such as steps, sleep, and heart rate.
- WebMD: the app provides patients health information, symptom checkers, and medication reminders.
There are a lot of other patient engagement mobile apps, each catering to different aspects of healthcare and wellness. Their application areas include appointment scheduling, medical management, chronic disease management, telehealth, and mental health.
Conclusion
Custom patient engagement mobile app development offers a powerful way to improve patient experience, communication, and health outcomes. However, carefully consider the cost, time, and resources involved. By carefully planning, partnering with the right team, and focusing on user needs, you can create a custom app that makes a real difference for your patients.
