Introduction
Today every sector is transforming itself, updating its legacy system, and getting digitized. Among these, healthcare is one of the first and fastest sectors to lead digital transformation. As a matter of fact, today consumers look for mobile applications for booking appointments with providers. Also, healthcare apps that track their health stats, such as heart rate, oxygen levels, blood pressure, step counts, etc. As users move from offline mode to online services for their healthcare needs, the same can be seen adopted across the healthcare ecosystem.
With this in mind, various healthcare technology is becoming prominent to provide connected healthcare facilities and convenient healthcare outcomes. Healthcare digitization was already in progress, but the year 2021 expedited the investment. In fact, the Global healthcare mobile health app market is estimated to reach $189 billion by the year 2025.
Most healthcare applications streamline in-patient management, simplifying remote healthcare using technology, also providing seamless patient experience, and supporting better decision-making through big data analytics. While there is a continuous influx of patients, it is difficult for the healthcare provider to gratify each patient individually. Hence, to streamline the workflow of healthcare providers, mobile healthcare apps are more valuable today than ever.
How do healthcare apps help providers and patients?
Apps help patients and healthcare provider, rethink their approach to health. Healthcare mobile app assists patients in taking a healthy decision before any small problem escalates or worsens. Many healthcare apps provide medical facts and data to help patients know about their health status. Also, major healthcare organizations are now looking for Telemedicine app development solutions to help patients to explore conversations with healthcare providers. As a matter of fact, medical apps assist patients in getting the most from their doctor visits.
Here is a quick reference to the number of mobile app users in the USA from 2018-2022.
Year | Number of Patients (in Millions) |
2022 | 86.7 |
2021 | 84.0 |
2020 | 87.0 |
2019 | 68.7 |
2018 | 62.7 |
Top 5 Technology-Assisting Healthcare Apps
As technology has advanced the healthcare regime, the leading mobile healthcare app development companies are further setting their priorities right on mobile health app development. Moreover, these companies develop mobile applications powered by the technologies mentioned below:
1. Wearable Devices & Sensors
This is one of the emerging and also prospective healthcare solutions for all as wearable devices and sensors try to bridge the gap in delivering effective services. Moreover, wearable technology is the revolution in healthcare that assists in the following:
- Managing health conditions via devices
- Offering remote care to patients
- Providing preventive care to senior citizens and also intensive care unit
ESG monitors, blood pressure monitors, biosensors, etc are also a few standard wearable devices used in care homes and hospitals.
2. Artificial Intelligence
AI-powered healthcare services provide automated and quick services to healthcare entities and also are expected to go beyond 6.6 billion USD in the coming years. Its necessity can be understood as it helps in:
- Gathering, storing, and processing a large amount of data
- Provides data insights through analytics and also information patterns
- Chatbots
3. Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality
No matter the industry, virtual or augmented reality is leading the way, and in healthcare, in fact, it is changing the lives of patients and providers through typical virtual reality applications. For example, helping surgeons and medical staff in operating procedures, providing better research materials for R&D in healthcare, enabling team collaboration, and a lot more.
Augmented reality is also extending its hands by bringing real-time insights and connecting patient providers together. Not only collaboration in healthcare assistance but augmented reality also assists medical students in anatomy learning.
4. Cloud Computing
Yet another lucrative technology for the healthcare sector. As in any other industry, cloud computing services in healthcare help enable autonomous systems to increase productivity and streamline data flows, enabling data storage and also remote access to authorized persons. Cloud computing in healthcare allows seamless integration and collaboration between care teams, henceforth streamlining doctor-patient communication.
5. Big Data & Blockchain in Healthcare
There has been a significant surge in Big Data & Blockchain technology used in healthcare. While Blockchain in healthcare ensures secured data and access, Big data offers improved management techniques and preventive care.
Big Data in healthcare assists in:
- Maintaining health records
- Ensuring on-time assisted & preventive care
- Effective and credible data collection
Blockchain fits in by enabling better insights to collect, manage & process bills & patient data for faster & reliable transactions. It also ensures enhanced app performance & maximum data security as per compliance.
As we talk about the best ten healthcare applications going forward, it's important to realize, that let us quickly review some essential features in any healthcare application.
- Quick sign-up & Login
- Simple yet attractive user interface
- Real-time notifications & updates
- Patient Privacy
- Patient's progress monitor
- Multilanguage
- Quick data insights
- Chatbots
- Instant diagnosis & assistance
- Quick collaboration with a care provider
In the healthcare industry, integration is key to providing patients with the best possible care. By integrating different healthcare applications, providers can get a more complete picture of a patient's health and also make informed decisions about their treatment. Healthcare businesses can benefit from and also save money with the help of EHR and EMR integration into healthcare applications. Healthcare integration also makes it easier for patients to access their medical records and schedule appointments. As a result, healthcare integration is transforming the healthcare industry by making it more efficient and effective. In the future, healthcare integration will only become more important as more and more applications are developed.
7 Types of Trending Healthcare Apps
In the healthcare industry, active healthcare app development has made more than 95,000 healthcare apps available on the Apple app store and Google Play. These healthcare applications are sorted into three categories:
- Patients application
- Doctor application
- Hospital or vendor-side application
Based on these categories, here we bring you the most trending healthcare apps.
A. Electronic Medical and Health Record App (EHR and EMR)
Mainly known as the clinical and diagnosis assistance application, EMR and EHR app streamlines healthcare workflow. Also, it mimics the doctor's prognosis and facilitates online patient check-in, billing, and e-prescription writing. Apart from this, EMR also captures and maintains advanced EMR, billing, medical record, and e-prescriptions. EHR applications are much more comprehensive as they provide access to patients' diagnoses, lab reports, treatment regimens, existing conditions, and also all the health information to medical staff on the go.
B. Doctor On-demand App
Facilitates appointment, video conferencing, and chat with the specialty patients require. Such Telehealth app development applications are on the trend among providers and patients. In fact, these applications offer online consultations and are extremely helpful in emergencies. Some examples available on the marketplace are Good Rx Care and Teladoc.
C. Medicine Delivery App
These are compelling applications as they assist in mitigating dosage default and ensure patient compliance with medication. The App reminds by vibration or different alarm beeps and displays drugs to be taken with food or before. It immediately informs the family or guardian or caretaker if doses are missed. Some of such health apps also include a pharmacy. Other available apps are Medi Safe pill reminder and Script Save RX. Yet another addition to the medicine reminder applications is the medicine delivery app that has gained immense popularity across the globe. It connects pharmacies, care providers, and also patients on the same platform to ensure the supply of relevant medicines. As a matter of fact, throughout the pandemic, this application was a boon to many.
D. Health and Fitness App
This App focuses on educating its users and keeping them informed about visit plans, health stats, cholesterol, also heart rate, etc. Health and fitness apps have significantly increased app downloads, especially during the pandemic. Some of the most used apps under this are healthy diet apps, food tracking apps, daily fitness tracking, healthy eating, activity tracking, infant growth monitoring, also pregnancy cycle, etc. It also includes symptoms-checking apps that evaluate signs of common health problems, with preloaded symptoms to check health status.
E. Remote Patient Monitoring or Chronic Ailment-Specific App
Such an app is of great help as most expenses are linked to chronic diseases (diabetes, Cancer). It is difficult for a patient to travel and get treatment in such critical conditions; hence, chronic care apps assist in remote patient monitoring and receiving real-time treatment by connecting with specialists and doctors in the nearby area. Examples of such apps are Diary, Ada, and Web Med.
F. Women Wellness App
These are especially women's health-focused apps. 15 million women around the world use such apps. Such apps have two segments:
- Pregnancy tracker apps: Help check the status and health of the fetus and growth by entering the due date of delivery. This app also suggests helpful tips during pregnancy.
- Period & Ovulation Tracker: This app uses data to predict and help women with menstrual cycle patterns. It helps to know the upcoming cycle date and plan a pregnancy or birth control.
G. Emergency or Urgent Care App
This helps call with one click ambulance or emergency health provider. It also directs care receivers to the nearby emergency care facility, which is cost-efficient & quick to care. The app also suggests journey time, to-do instructions, insurance alternatives, appointment availability, waiting time, and more.
Healthcare App Development Compliance and Regulations
We are giving you a brief of prevailing laws and rules to adhere to if you want to develop healthcare apps in the following top countries.
For the United States, the app must comply with HIPPA (health insurance portability and accountability act) & HL7 regulations.
In European countries, the app must comply with privacy directive 2022/58/EC and data protection cat 1995/46/EC.
For the Canadian region, the app must comply with set parameters for businesses to use personal data under the Personal information protection and electronic document act.
Conclusion
The global healthcare system is undergoing a gigantic shift. It has become a technologically driven industry. As a matter of fact, studies have revealed that businesses across the industry will witness numerous benefits of the digital model. They can improve operational efficiency by 40%, customer satisfaction by, 35%.and also market growth by 36%. The healthcare sector can in cashing on this opportunity by adapting healthcare app solutions. Healthcare apps offer global access to medical care through telemedicine and remote monitoring. Also, the healthcare app helps correct misdiagnosis, and diagnostic with AI-powered clinical reference supports healthcare providers' clinical decisions.
In a nutshell, healthcare apps changing the way the industry functions. They are not only associated with fitness and wellness, expanding and growing beyond to become more innovative and also more helpful in improving patients' health. The healthcare app solution improves costs, coverage, accessibility, short wait time, and better patient engagement and outcome. Healthcare app development for your business would assist in resolving issues and adjusting every person in the healthcare ecosystem.
Emorphis Technologies provides cutting-edge healthcare software development that helps providers save time and money through our Telemedicine app development. With over 10 years of industry experience, we have compiled the greatest expertise in this area to ensure success!
Contact us today if you're seeking a dependable healthcare application provider.