5-Step Guide to Healthcare Mobile Application Development

Nowadays, app development for healthcare is a process of creating software that will work on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. The main purpose of such an application is to provide convenience and accessibility for patients and clinic staff, as well as to optimize medical processes.

Healthcare application development is now a complex and multi-stage process that requires careful planning and consideration of all the clinic’s needs and peculiarities. It can be implemented through off-the-shelf health solutions or in-house hospital app development, allowing you to create a unique and customized application.

An Overview Of Healthcare Market

Statistics describing the current market of health apps:

• In 2023, the mHealth market size was valued at $94.5 billion.
• Nearly two-thirds (63.4%) of US adults are using mobile health apps.
• 59% of National Library of Medicine study participants have installed and utilized 1–3 health-related apps.
• Businesses and digital health investors invested over $523 billion in digital healthcare projects in 2024.

If you’re hesitating about medical application development, these statistics show that now is the time to pump your business with a mobile app.

What Is An App In Healthcare?

In healthcare, an “app” refers to a mobile application designed to assist with various health and medical care aspects. These apps can serve numerous purposes, including:

1. Patient management
2. Telemedicine
3. Health monitoring
4. Wellness and fitness
5. Medical reference
6. Mental health
7. Emergency services

Medical apps for patients aim to improve patient outcomes, enhance the efficiency of healthcare delivery, and promote overall well-being.

Pros Of Healthcare Mobile Apps

Here 4 main advantages of apps for clinics:

1. Quick access to online appointments. Health mobile apps allow patients to create an appointment online quickly and comfortably. With its help, clinics can unload phone lines.
2. Notifications and reminders. The app can send patients notifications and reminders about upcoming appointments, test results, or the need to perform certain actions.
3. Another way to promote the clinic. A mobile app can be an effective tool for marketing a clinic by providing information about services, promotions, and events to patients in a non-competitive environment.
4. Access to medical data. A mobile app can allow patients to view their medical data, test results, appointments, and other information.

Overall, medical application development can significantly improve communication with patients, improve the quality of service, add uniqueness to the clinic, and set the brand apart from competitors.

Out-Of-The-Box Mobile Application For Healthcare

An out-of-the-box healthcare mobile app is pre-built software that is developed in advance and offered for use by various clinics without the need for significant changes in functionality. It has a certain set of standard features designed to meet the basic needs of clinics and their patients.

The main characteristics of an out-of-the-box healthcare mobile app:

• Standard functionality. The out-of-the-box healthcare app provides a wide range of standard features such as making an appointment, viewing test results, information about doctors and services, notifications, etc.
• Low cost and quick implementation. The out-of-the-box health apps are often affordable, making them an attractive solution for clinics with limited budgets. They also require less health app development time, as the core functionality is already pre-installed.
• Limited customizability. An off-the-shelf application may provide a basic set of features. Still, there may be a limited selection of customization options to meet the clinic’s specific needs.

It’s important to note that off-the-shelf applications may be a good solution for many clinics. Still, they may not fully meet the individual needs of some clinics, which may require more specific features and customizations. In such cases, custom medical application development is a better option.

Custom Mobile Health App Development

An app tailored to the clinic’s and patients’ unique needs, as opposed to an off-the-shelf mobile app, allows for specific features and functions that best suit the clinic’s requirements and business processes.

Key characteristics of a custom hospital app development include:

• High cost. The high cost compared to out-of-the-box healthcare apps is due to the uniqueness of in-house development. Various integrations, such as integration with payment systems, laboratory databases, online appointment systems, telemedicine, and other services, influence the cost.
• Individuality and uniqueness. Custom health app development occurs specifically for a particular clinic, considering its peculiarities, specialization, business processes, and patients’ needs. This allows for creating a unique solution that maximally corresponds to the clinic’s specific services and directions.
• Full control over the app. The clinic has full control over the application as its licensor (note: A licensor is a legal entity or individual possessing exclusive rights to the result of intellectual activity).
• High flexibility and scalability. The application can be flexibly adapted and scaled according to the growing needs of the clinic and its users.

It is important to understand that in-house mobile healthcare software development is a more time-consuming and financially expensive choice compared to off-the-shelf applications. Still, it provides maximum flexibility and customization, which is especially important for clinics with unique requirements and business processes.

5 Steps To Develop A Healthcare Mobile App

The process of developing a mobile app for a clinic involves the following steps.

Health App Idea And Planning

In this step, the main goals of the app, its functionality and requirements are defined. The market and competitive apps are also analyzed here to determine the unique features and benefits of the proposed app.

User Interface And User Experience (UI/UX) Design

Creating a user-friendly and intuitive interface is important in health mobile app development. At this stage, the structure, design, and user interaction of the application are determined.

Health Application Development

At this stage, programmers start creating code for the application’s functionality. This may include creating server-side and databases and developing the user interface for mobile devices.

Health App Testing

Once development is complete, the application is tested to detect and fix bugs and errors. Testing is done on different devices and operating systems.

Health Application Release And Support

After successful testing, the application is ready for release. It can be published on app catalogs such as App Store or Google Play. After release, support for the app begins, including updates and bug fixes.

OS-System – Reliable Healthcare Mobile App Developers

If you are looking for reliable healthcare mobile app developers, we can help you! We are a Ukrainian development team consisting of diverse tech experts. Here is why you should choose our healthcare mobile app development services:

• Experience, knowledge, and expertise. We have been working in mobile development for 15 years and have completed more than 300 projects during this time. Our apps get awards and recognition from users. We are ready to utilize all our skills for the benefit of your project.
• Partnership approach. We will create an app based on your business’s desires and needs. We will suggest the best technical solutions and honestly explain what will help the application develop and what is better to abandon.
• Gradual product launch. We will start developing your project with MVP and introduce the features necessary for a quick launch. This way, it will start bringing the first profit after a few months of development, and we will continue to develop it and increase its functionality in the meantime.

If you still have questions regarding medical app development, please contact us. We will happily advise you and estimate the time and cost of healthcare application development.