74% of American users confirmed their readiness to visit a physician virtually. This trend for telemedicine was catalyzed by the pandemic and still doesn’t lose its power. In the face of new threats, the interest and demand for the opportunities to get access to the certified medicare is booming, and users are getting used to receiving prescriptions, recommendations and other documentation in electronic format. In this light healthcare app development feels like a timely and prospective direction for digital entrepreneurship. Moreover, there’s a garden of ideas for fruitful experiments in the industry. And if you are intrigued by the diversity of paths leading to in-demand and profitable business, the detailed guide on healthcare mobile application development tailored by the Purrweb experts will serve as a source of professional hints and a map for navigation in the issue. 

What is the situation on the market of healthcare app development?

Every businessman knows that it is the most lucky time to enter the market when it goes uphill: blooming opportunities for taking the first places are teasing.  

The amount of  healthcare and medical apps available on the Google Play Store exceeded 54,000, and the competition becomes more tough. The statistics and analysts predict growth of the segment up to $11 bln in 2025. 

Four factors bring more points to the score of healthcare app development at the moment. 

1. All-around digitization of services couldn’t help impacting on the trend in the industry, and nowadays about 40% of medical specialists apply specific applications in their work. Definitely, the percentage will grow as well as the loyalty of experts and users. 
2. Widespread high speed internet available in various parts of the country entails growth of the audience for different remote services, and medicare apps aren’t an exception. 
3. Government investment in the industry fosters healthcare app development to speed up, and the state funding also makes new technologies more adopted for the wide audience. 
4. Popularity of wearable devices leads to accumulation of personal data which can be applied for the diagnostic and health tracking tasks. This trend also is pushing the healthcare app development up.

Which types of health related apps are trending?

First, decide who are those people that will solve their specific problems via the app: 

• Professional physicians or other doctors;
• People who need medicare or expert consultation. 

Regarding the specifics of the app, focus on the essential functionality that matters in the specific case. 

Professional apps are honed to alleviate doctors’ work: have instant access to all the information about suffering visitors (results of analysis, previous prescriptions, related requests etc). Records in electronic form let doctors accumulate the data they need for tracking patients’ health. Moreover, the power of artificial intelligence can be implemented in order to fasten the diagnostic and searching for treatment work. So, one of the required types for professionals is diagnostic and knowledge base apps.

The apps targeted at a wide range of customers are usually subdivided into several types. 

Health monitoring apps are now skyrocketing in popularity as people used to track their health parameters via wearable devices. The compatibility with diverse gadgets is a significant condition for the high demand of this type of solution. The algorithms for analyzing indicators and qualified recommendations have a chance to push your app to the top.

Healthy lifestyle molding apps are seeking ways to influence the user behavior in order to follow proper nutrition recommendations, regime, timetable of physical activity and so on. Concentrating on the separate sides of humans’ excellent well-being, it’s possible to make a leading app in the narrow domain. For example, Calm is a top-rated product people apply when faced with the necessity to keep their psychological equilibrium and learn more about meditation practice. 

Telemedicine apps & telehealth consultancy apps

Looking for prospective direction in healthcare app development, pay attention to the spheres which are going to play a noticeable role in the future. We’re talking about remote interaction between doctors and people who need their help. By creating a full functional platform for both sides of the process, you increase the possibility to make a difference in the domain. Implementation of AR/VR tools makes healthcare app development ultra contemporary and entails the unprecedented level of services in the digital field. 

Which are the competencies your developer should be able to demonstrate?

The more relevant experience your contractor has, the higher guarantee you’ll receive a completely working product you kept in your imagination. If you’re planning to perform a specialized product for neurologists, it doesn’t mean the IT team should be doctors in the past. Instead, you have to do meticulous research to find out which features will be definitely helpful for doctors and articulate clear technical specifications. What really matters when you hire mobile app developers to bring to life your product is this set of qualities.

1. Outstanding communication skills are a must-have for perfect comprehension between you and the team. Otherwise, how you can transfer your vision of healthcare app development if they are on a different vibe. 
2. Deep expertise in the industry presupposes that your contractor knows exactly what to do to get your customers satisfied with product interface and features’ architecture, puts enough effort to deliver the solution without errors or fix bugs instantly if required. 
3. User centered approach serves a guarantee that the guys you’re dealing with are able to put on your users’ shoes and see what and how should be organized to add value into healthcare app development: eye-pleasing look, effortless navigation, fast uploading, absence of bugs and data leakage. 

The hidden threats: what to avoid when starting healthcare app development

1. Absence of legal compliance

To give prescriptions via the internet or keep records about persons’ health, owners of the application should have permissions and licenses for the specific activity. Agree all the  aspects of the business with HIPAA in order to have no problems in the future. 

2. The lack of personal data security

Since the app stores sensitive data related to the health and financial side of life, it should be reliably protected from various sorts of frauds. To keep users’ data safe, apply all the achievements of up-to-date technologies. For example, when it comes to healthcare app development, the Purrweb team implements an obligatory feature: two-factor authentication. Face ID, fingerprints and other tools can be tried to prevent illegal intervention. 

3. Extremely complicated app

Don’t spray your attention between the plethora of various features: you’re at risk to pulverize the budget and receive the mediocre product. Start with core functionality, and then you can grow something more complex. It’s much better to create the world’s best reminder for taking medicines than a multi-featured incomplete app. 

Wrapping up

Though healthcare app development feels as an extremely sophisticated sphere, you can start your business here smoothly, if you choose the right direction, right contractor, and focus all the efforts on reaching goals.