After revolutionizing much of the business world, mobile apps are readily making an impact in the healthcare industry.
A growing number of medical help/ healthcare professionals are showing an impeccable trust in the promising technology of mobile apps as of late. And for all the good reasons, thanks to Covid-19!
Apart from being a faster mode of communication, mobile-friendly apps offer plenty of benefits to health care providers and patients alike.
Some of them include instant access of medical records, round the clock support in terms of virtual care and telemedicine, prescription drugs receipts/ refills, online payment options, and much more.
Apart from that, you could also add a wide range of features to your health app tailored specifically to your needs and those of your patients’.
In order to do that and make the most out of these apps, all you need is a good mobile app development company by your side.
What is Mobile App Development?
As the name suggests, mobile app development refers to the process of designing and developing mobile apps for phones, tablets, and digital assistants.
There are several phases or steps to building a mobile app starting with conceptualisation or ideation, analysis & planning, design & development, and testing & deployment of the same in real time.
A good mobile app developer will not just stop there but also help you maintain and modify your health app from time to time as new technologies come to life.
Using the most advanced mobile app development softwares or platforms known as MADPs, they can create stunningly rich and user-friendly apps for a variety of operating systems including Windows, Apple, and Android.
What’s more, is that you can choose between different types of apps for your healthcare business from mobile to web to native to hybrid that works across both smartphones as well as desktops.
Why A Mobile App is Needed for Healthcare Business?
Just like any other field, mobile apps have a massive potential to alter or streamline most of the administrative and management tasks that are involved in the provision of healthcare services.
From registration to detection to initial diagnosis, there are plenty of actions you can take using a healthcare app without having to ask the patients to visit the hospital or clinic.
Mobile healthcare apps are especially beneficial for those who are located in remote areas and do not have access to competent healthcare solutions.
Integrating healthcare apps into medical care have the following benefits:
- Instant access to medical care.
- Enhanced communication between doctors and patients.
- Timely detection of diseases in the early stage.
- Reduction in human errors.
- Telemedicine and virtual care.
- Digital transformation of the healthcare industry.
- Centralized database for all types of medical info.
- Custom-made solutions and treatments.
- Better management of patients’ records.
- Integration of health and fitness apps.
- Improved tracking and monitoring of patients’ health.
- Convenient payment options.
- Prescription drugs refill.
- Alerts and notifications.
- 24/7 support and consultation.
As you can see, mobile healthcare apps cover almost everything there is about availing medical services to your advantage except for running tests and medical treatments such as operations and surgeries.
Other than these obvious procedures, most of what the healthcare sector has to offer can be met by instigating a mobile app right at your fingertips. At the same time, it reduces the number of patients, their waiting time, and the space needed to manage them and their subordinates.
Speaking of which, using a healthcare mobile app can be extremely time-saving.
How long does it take to build a Healthcare Mobile app?
On average, building an app from the ground up can take up to 4-7 months depending on how complex or featureful it is.
For a healthcare mobile app, it may vary between 3-6 months depending on the type of app and the ability of the developers that you have hired.
Here’s a complete breakdown of the time-period required to build a mobile healthcare app to your preference phase by phase:
1. Ideation and Planning (1-2 months)
This is where it all starts. From the moment the idea is sparked in your mind to gathering all the data such as your app’s motto, target audience, and necessary functions to laying the groundwork, the whole stage takes about a month or two before you’re ready to start working on the design phase.
2. Designing the Prototype (1-2 months)
Once you have prepared the blueprint for the kind of app you want, comes the part of bringing it to life.
As the first beta or preliminary version of your healthcare app, it gives you a firsthand experience of the product and how it’s going to be felt or used by an end-user.
This phase usually takes another month or two depending on how fast or efficient your app development firm is.
3. Development and Testing (3-6 months)
Perhaps the most important part of building an app is none other than its development stage which takes about 3-6 months, or the longest.
This is where all your efforts and planning comes to fruition as the app is fully developed using the most advanced frameworks and programming languages possible.
Upon development, the app is tested and scrutinized for any errors or changes that need to be rectified or modified respectively.
4. Deployment and Maintenance (in real-time)
And finally, the app is launched and displayed across various app downloading channels such as iOS App Store and Google Play Store from where users can easily install it and use it on the go.
Contrary to early stages, this phase of the mobile app development is an ongoing process that goes on for as long as the app exists.
Most healthcare mobile app development services offer post-launch support for round the clock maintenance, bug fixing, and updates from time-to-time.
You can also contact them for any changes or modifications at a later time which may or may not cost extra depending on your initial contract with the app development agency.
How much does it cost to create a Healthcare Mobile App?
Similar to the time-period, the cost of creating or developing a healthcare mobile app may also vary depending on a lot of factors.
The type of technology or platform, the nature of the app, the number of features, its design and UX elements as well as the kind of services you’d like to avail post-deployment are some of the things that can greatly affect the overall cost of making a healthcare app.
To give you a rough estimate, a basic healthcare app may cost anywhere between $50,000 to $100,000; whereas a more complex type of healthcare mobile app may fall upwards of $300,000 or more.
The pricing of healthcare app development may also change based on the region and extra regulations (if any) more or less.
In general, the basic formula for deriving the final cost of a mobile healthcare app is the multiplication of invested hours with the rates per hour. That is,
Final Cost = Total Development Hours X Hourly Rates.
Again, the formula is just a general representation of the calculation and by no means a fixed equation. That’s because some companies may charge you on hourly basis; whereas others may have different rules for pricing like a fixed rate for the whole contract or separate charges for different services.
For instance, integrating AI and other autonomous technologies into your mobile app may come at a higher cost than developing a traditional application.
In any case, it is better to clarify or negotiate the net cost of mobile app development well before finalizing the deal.
To give you a hint, here are some of the most popular healthcare mobile apps and their respective costs.
Popular Global Healthcare Apps and Their Development Cost
While the adoption of mobile healthcare apps is on the rise, some of the well established and popular global health apps include:
1. Teladoc Health - Telehealth (for 24/7 medical support)- $40,000 and $300,000.
2. WebMD (for comprehensive health information)- $45,000.
3. Medisafe Medication Management (for easy medication management)- $14000 to $15000.
4. HealthTap - Telehealth Doctors (for health-related guidance from real doctors)- $35,000 to $55,000.
5. Pocket Pharmacist (for instructions on the treatment of various illnesses based on the symptoms)- around $40,000.
6. Healow (for accessing a large database of healthcare records)- $100,000 to $500,000.
7. Talkspace Counseling & Therapy (as an alternative to in-person therapy sessions)- about $50,000.
8. Amwell (for on-demand doctor visits on the go)- $90,000 to $200,000.
9. GoodRx (for those seeking affordable prescription medications)- $25,000 to $50,000.
10. Doctor on-demand (for online care by medical practitioners and professionals over live video calls)- $8,000 - $25,000.
Hope this gives you a fair idea of the cost and scope of medical/ healthcare apps.
Nonetheless, as I said before, there are several factors that can affect the overall cost of your healthcare app.
Factors Affecting the Cost of a Healthcare Mobile App Development
1. Type of the framework or platform used
Perhaps the most important factor that changes the overall cost of developing a healthcare app is the type of mobile app development platform (MADP) used in the first place. For instance,
For a hybrid healthcare app, you may have to invest anywhere about $600,000 give or take.
On the other hand, using a Native framework for app development may cost you up to $400,000 to start with.
Some of the most popular MADPs that you can use are Xamarin, Flutter, Android Studio, Zoho, React, React Native, and Native Script among others.
2. Features and design elements
The next most important factor that affects the cost of creating a healthcare app is the number of features and UI/ UX elements that you opted to go with.
The more the features, the more the cost. Similarly, the simpler the design, the lesser the price.
3. Maintenance and support
Another integral aspect of devising a mobile healthcare app is the cost of maintenance and after-support that comes with it.
While some mobile app developers may offer it for free (given the extra cost is already included in the initial cost of development), others may charge you extra depending on the services you are willing to take.
4. Compliance and regulations
Last but not least, the local rules and regulations may also play a substantial role in defining the total cost of building mobile-oriented healthcare apps.
In that, some of the rather considerable acts worth looking are:
- The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
- The type of Data Security.
- Patient Data Privacy like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).
- Clinical Validity including the set norms and guidelines.
- FDA Approval.
- Accessibility as per the regional disability act
Apart from that, the time invested and the rates of services per hour may also impact the overall cost of making mobile-friendly health apps.
With that said, there are certain ways in which you can significantly reduce the entire cost.
How Can You Reduce Healthcare Mobile App Development Costs?
Start by choosing the right type of MADP required to meet your ends.
For eg., using a hybrid app development platform would naturally cost you lower than a native platform due to the extra efforts required to write separate codes for different operating systems.
Keeping the user-interface (UI) design simple as in a minimalist style would also cost you way less than an intricate or complex design. Besides, the simpler the design, the easier it is to use, which is way too important.
Be mindful of any extra costs that may come with the development and maintenance phase.
Stick to the rules and regulations to avoid any potential legal and financial penalties.
Once you have that taken care of, you can easily hire an affordable and efficient healthcare mobile app development company.
Hire a Healthcare Mobile App Development Company in USA
While there are countless options when it comes to hiring a suitable healthcare mobile app development company, one that’s making all the headlines is none other than tecHindustan.
Known for their keen eye for all things digital, tecHindustan is a group of talented individuals all the way from India. In a very short span of career, they have made an unforgettable mark in the digital realm.
With an impressive 4.97 rating in Google Reviews, the company has worked for some of the most reputed healthcare clients in the world including WebMD.
For a free quote, click here and get started with your mobile healthcare app development right away.