Healthcare Mobile App Development
We Build Custom iOS, WatchOS, & Android Apps for Healthcare Organizations
At Medical Web Experts, we specialize in designing and developing industry-leading custom healthcare apps for companies ranging from startups to medium- and large-sized healthcare enterprises. No matter the size or type of your organization, we’re committed to the success of your project, and it shows in everything we create.
Why a Healthcare Mobile App?
The healthcare app development market is experiencing rapid growth, driven by the increasing adoption of mobile applications in the healthcare industry. The COVID-19 pandemic only highlighted the need for efficient and personalized healthcare solutions, accessible by patients on their mobile devices. However, the trend toward greater mobile adoption started before the pandemic and has continued to grow since then.
Why Build A Healthcare Mobile App: The Numbers
- 90% of Americans own a smartphone
- 15% are “smartphone-only” internet users
- 60% use health and fitness apps
- 40% use patient portal apps
- 34% use wearable health devices
Source: Pew Research Centre, Morning Consult, Insider Intelligence
A custom mobile app can:
- Encourage better patient outcomes
- Improve communication
- Offer greater convenience for patients
- Simplify your internal workflows.
With the global digital health market expected to reach $660 billion by 2025, but with 8 out of 10 healthcare apps failing to satisfy patients, there are significant opportunities for innovation and improvement in patient care, especially regarding mobile apps.
For a mobile healthcare app that exceeds patient expectations, complies with all applicable regulations, and aligns with your business goals, you can trust Medical Web Experts.
We’re Experts in Custom Medical Mobile App Development
Our custom health app developers use the latest healthcare software development technologies to create innovative, custom solutions to our clients’ most difficult challenges. We understand the unique needs and challenges that healthcare organizations face, and we offer solutions that address pain points and help your organization meet its goals.
Medical Web Experts services include:
- iOS healthcare app development (for iPhones and iPads)
- WatchOS healthcare app development (for Apple Watches)
- Android healthcare app development (for other mobile devices)
- Cross-platform healthcare app development (for both Apple and Android devices)
- Healthcare web application development (for mobile-responsive web services)
- Medical device software development (for specialist devices, e.g., heart monitors, smart prosthetics, scanners)
We work with each client to provide a solution that’s strategically aligned at all levels of the organization. This means improved usability, as well as improved availability of data across the broader organizational health IT ecosystem.
We Build Healthcare Mobile Apps for:
Mobile App Development Success Stories
Baylor Heart and Vascular Center
Baylor’s award-winning app provides educational resources for patients like videos, podcasts, and blog content, as well as guided meditations and useful features like navigation. The app also integrates with Apple Watch in order to provide heart rate data.
Westmed Medical Group
Westmed Medical Group’s custom-branded app, built on the Universe platform by Medical Web Experts, offers patients a variety of digital health services such as provider search, urgent care wait times, and news access. The app enhances patient control with features like prescription refills, multilingual support, appointment scheduling, online bill pay, and integration with Bridge Patient Portal, earning it multiple eHealthcare Leadership Awards in 2018 and 2019.
SUFU
The MyBladder app, developed for the Society of Urodynamics, Female Pelvic Medicine, and Urogenital Reconstruction (SUFU), is available on iOS and Android. It assists patients with overactive bladder treatments by allowing them to log daily bladder activities, monitor progress, manage medications, and access educational resources to improve bladder health.
Mobile vs. Web Apps: Why Build a Mobile App?
Even if you already offer online services through your website, a mobile app can make or break your healthcare business. Mobile apps, downloaded from app stores, leverage unique smartphone features like location tracking, Bluetooth connectivity, and biometrics, offering personalized and offline functionalities. Conversely, web apps run in browsers, are cheaper, faster to develop, and can be easily converted to mobile apps using versatile coding languages. Web apps are also more commonly used for accessing patient portals, though mobile device usage is on the rise.
Choosing between a healthcare mobile app and a web app involves considering various factors such as development time, cost, patient accessibility, and feature performance.
Healthcare organizations must assess their specific needs, such as the importance of certain features and long-term goals, before deciding. A phased approach can be practical, starting with a web app and expanding to a mobile app as needed to balance initial costs with future adaptability. For optimal results, consult an experienced healthcare app developer to discuss which approach best suits your needs.
Comparison Table: Healthcare Mobile Apps vs. Web Apps
Key Advantages of a Mobile Healthcare App
A mobile medical app offers several benefits over a healthcare web application (which is accessed via the user’s browser and does not require the user to download the app).
Benefits of Healthcare Apps for Patients
Healthcare apps offer numerous benefits for patients, including:
Benefits of Healthcare Apps for Providers
Healthcare apps also provide significant advantages for healthcare providers:
Different Types of Healthcare Apps
There are various types of mobile applications in the healthcare industry designed to address different needs. Popular types of mHealth apps include:
What Features Should Your Healthcare App Have?
Different types of healthcare apps can prioritize different functionalities, but there are some common features that benefit healthcare apps across the board. To ensure a successful healthcare app, consider including these essential features:
Our development process starts with an open and thorough discussion of your goals, ensuring that your healthcare app will have the full functionality required to achieve them.
Why Choose Medical Web Experts for Healthcare Mobile App Development?
1. Medical Mobile Apps With Rich Features and Functionality
As an industry-leading healthcare app development company, Medical Web Experts has extensive experience in developing medical software and custom HIPAA-compliant mobile app development.
Our medical app developers build apps with features and functionality that address your organization’s key needs.
- Bill pay
- Rx refill requests
- Physician search
- Location search
- Urgent care wait times
- Telehealth solutions
- Integration with wearable devices, including Apple Watch
- Secure messaging
- Appointment scheduling
- Patient notifications/reminders
- Navigation solutions
- CCDA-based health summaries
- Lab results
- Symptom checker
- News and events
- Video library
- Gamification and goal-setting
- Educational hub
- Biometric ID/login
- Reporting and analytics
2. Integrate With Your Existing Systems
We build custom interfaces and integrations that allow your app to integrate seamlessly with the systems your organization is already using.
- Electronic health record (EHR) or electronic medical record (EMR) software
- Revenue cycle management (RCM) software
- Practice management (PM) systems
- Laboratory information system (LIS) or lab information management systems (LIMS)
- Radiology information system (RIS)
- Pharmacy information system (PIS)
- Health Information Exchange (HIE)
- Pharmacy benefit manager software
- Patient portals
- Patient scheduling software
- Customer relationship management (CRM) software
- Custom databases
3. HIPAA-Compliant Healthcare Apps
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) mandates strict privacy protections for patients’ health data, making compliance essential for healthcare app development.
Ensuring HIPAA compliance should be a continuous priority from the initial planning stages to the app’s maintenance to avoid legal issues and protect patient information.
Additionally, healthcare organizations must also consider other regulations like the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to ensure comprehensive compliance.
HIPAA compliance is vital for companies providing healthcare software for several reasons:
- 1. Legal Obligation: Companies handling protected health information (PHI) must adhere to HIPAA regulations to avoid significant legal penalties and sanctions. These rules ensure that proper security measures are in place to protect sensitive patient data.
- 2. Maintaining Patient Trust: Ensuring HIPAA compliance helps build and maintain trust with patients by safeguarding their personal health information. Patients are more likely to engage with healthcare software when confident that their data is secure, fostering better patient-provider relationships.
- 3. Preventing Data Breaches: Adherence to HIPAA guidelines helps protect against data breaches and cybersecurity threats. By implementing strict security protocols such as encryption, secure authentication, and regular audits, companies can significantly reduce the risk of unauthorized access to PHI.
- 4. Operational Efficiency: HIPAA compliance promotes efficient operations by establishing clear procedures for handling PHI. This includes secure data management, safe communication channels, and proper disposal methods, enhancing security and operational effectiveness.
- 5. Reputation and Competitive Edge: Demonstrating a commitment to HIPAA compliance can enhance a company’s reputation, making it a trusted choice in the healthcare software market. This can provide a competitive advantage, attracting clients who prioritize data security and regulatory adherence.
HIPAA-Compliance Dos and Don’ts
✘ Never Store PHI on a Phone
✘ Never Include PHI in a Notification
✅Always Use a HIPAA-Compliant Hosting Service
✅Always Get a BAA
Key guidelines include avoiding storing Protected Health Information (PHI) on mobile devices to prevent unauthorized access and potential data breaches. Notifications should never include specific PHI to maintain privacy, and patient data must be stored on HIPAA-compliant hosting services, such as Amazon Web Services (AWS).
Additionally, securing a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with any third-party service provider is essential to share responsibility for managing patient information securely. Compliance with HIPAA, along with other regulations like ADA and GDPR, is crucial for safeguarding patient privacy and maintaining trust.
4. We Have Health App Development Down to a Science
With over 20 years of experience in healthcare app development, we know what it takes to make your project successful.
MWE follows an Agile approach to development. Projects begin with Discovery & Prototyping phases to align client stakeholders and the project team on requirements before proceeding to Development, Deployment, and Growth phases. Work is organized into two-week sprints, with daily check-ins to track progress and assess roadblocks.
Whether you’re looking for end-to-end development, or a partner to join an existing endeavor, our deep experience allows us to work with clients in any of the following project stages:
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1. Discovery Knowing what business objectives a
project aligns with and how the success and value of a custom health
application will be measured is vital to creating a high-value
solution. This includes:
- Outlining a clear set of features and functionalities aligns our team with yours and places a set direction and scope on project implementation.
- Establishing a roadmap and order in the design, development, testing, and deployment allows clear milestones to be defined and checkpoints to be established between our team and yours.
- 2. Design Ensuring ease of access to and usability of features and functionalities increases the effectiveness of any custom health application.
- 3. Development Our health app developers bring your custom health application concept to life. This includes thorough testing to ensure that you make a quality first impression with your application’s end users.
- 4. Deployment Now that your application has gone from concept to reality, it’s time to start using it. The first days of your app’s availability will determine its reputation among users. Our experts will be on hand to ensure a smooth launch.
- 5. Maintenance With Medical Web Experts, you have a software partner that’s with you for the long haul. Once an app is live, we’ll support you through any issues that may arise, keeping your app secure, usable, and up-to-date.
- 5. Growth Tracking, measuring, and analyzing usage helps your organization increase the overall value of its health application. Choosing a long-term software development partner like Medical Web Experts allows you to iteratively improve and enhance the functionality and performance of your custom medical app.
5. Post-Launch Ongoing Services
Many software vendors in the healthcare sector neglect or provide only minimal post-launch services, leaving healthcare organizations vulnerable to cyberattacks, bugs, and outdated software.
With MWE as your software partner, you can access an “IT department down the hall” that includes consultants to gauge business needs, measure project success, and perform continuous discovery and prototyping for post-launch phases. MWE will fully manage this team and be responsible for all development processes, know-how, and internal platforms, cycling resources on and off projects as needed to maintain cost efficiency.
MWE believes in building fruitful long-term partnerships with clients, providing comprehensive post-launch services that ensure the continued efficiency, security, and compliance of your systems.
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Hosting Services
HIPAA-compliant Enterprise Hosting: Secure data and PHI management with TLS/SSL certificates, elastic load balancing, microservices orchestration, cloud security layers, web application firewalls, and HIPAA-compliant backups.
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Maintenance and Support
Proactive and Reactive Maintenance: Ensures system stability, scalability, security, compliance, and an optimized user interface by addressing issues as they arise and preventing potential problems.
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Advanced Cybersecurity
AI and ML-Powered Security: Detects and resolves vulnerabilities through automated penetration testing, static application security testing, and real-time cybersecurity analysis for immediate threat response and enhanced security.
Custom Healthcare App Development vs. Off-the-Shelf Solutions
Healthcare organizations require HIPAA-compliant software solutions to enhance patient access to care and reduce administrative burdens. These solutions, whether custom-built or off-the-shelf, can significantly improve organizational efficiency and patient satisfaction. While off-the-shelf products may be initially convenient and quick to implement, custom software is tailored to meet specific needs and offers rich functionality and unique features that can provide a competitive edge.
Custom healthcare apps allow for extensive branding and integration with existing systems, enhancing patient trust and operational efficiency. However, they come with higher upfront costs and longer development times. Off-the-shelf solutions are cost-effective at first but may lack the flexibility and scalability needed for long-term growth. Ultimately, the choice depends on the organization’s specific needs, strategic goals, and budget.
We Speak the Language of Healthcare IT and EHR Interface Development
We have extensive experience using the following transport, messaging, and coding standards in our healthcare interface development projects:
| Comparison | Custom Healthcare App Development | Off-the-Shelf Solutions |
|---|---|---|
| Feature Set | Tailored features to specific needs | Generic features, may include unnecessary ones |
| Branding | Fully branded to the organization | Limited or no branding options |
| Integrations | Seamless integration with existing systems | Limited integration capabilities |
| Cost | Higher upfront cost, lower long-term inefficiencies | Lower initial cost, potential high long-term costs |
| Scalability | Highly scalable to meet future growth | Limited scalability, potential high costs for upgrades |
| Time to Deployment | Longer development time, phased approach possible | Quick deployment, typically 1-2 weeks |
Choosing between custom and off-the-shelf solutions requires careful consideration of long-term goals, scalability, and specific organizational needs.
- Custom solutions, though more costly and time-consuming initially, offer greater flexibility and integration capabilities, making them suitable for organizations with complex needs and growth plans.
- Off-the-shelf solutions, while usually more straightforward to implement, may fall short in adaptability, compatibility, and long-term efficiency.
Ultimately, if you are serious about offering a competitive healthcare app that plays a major role in your company’s services, it pays off to have your own branded software that integrates with your preferred tools and is adaptable to your needs.
Getting Started With Healthcare App Development
When choosing a healthcare app development company, it’s crucial to ask specific questions to ensure you partner with an experienced and capable team.
Here are six key questions to consider:
6 Questions For Potential Software Partners
- 1. What is the app development process?
- 2. What’s their level of expertise in UI/UX design?
- 3. Do they consider security?
- 4. What are the real costs?
- 5. Are they fully compliant?
- 6. Are they experts in healthcare app development?
Ask your potential healthcare app developer about its:
- App Development Process: Ensure the company has a transparent development process that you can understand and track. Clarify whether the app will be custom-built or based on a template, and confirm ownership of the codebase. Essential features to consider include patient education, bill pay, secure messaging, and appointment scheduling.
- UI/UX Design Expertise: User experience and interface design are critical for a successful app. Top developers recommend creating a graphical prototype to visualize the app’s functionality and design before coding begins. This helps in optimizing the design for usability and ensures there are no surprises during development.
- Security Considerations:Choose a company that understands the importance of healthcare app security, including encrypted databases, role-based access control, and multi-factor authentication. This is vital for protecting patient health information and complying with regulations.
- Cost Transparency:Before discussing costs, define your app’s requirements. Understand the company’s pricing structure and ensure their quote includes all necessary services. Ongoing maintenance costs are also important to consider, typically amounting to 20% of the initial development cost annually.
- Compliance Expertise:Ensure the company is knowledgeable about healthcare regulations and compliance, such as HIPAA, FDA, and ONC/CMS Cures Act. This includes signing a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) and meeting specific technical and security criteria.
- Healthcare App Development Experience: Partner with a company that has experience in the healthcare industry and is familiar with standards like HL7, FHIR, and SMART. Reviews and case studies can provide insight into their capability to deliver compliant and effective healthcare apps.
By asking these questions, you can better evaluate potential healthcare software development partners and select one that meets your organization’s needs. For more information about how Medical Web Experts handles every one of these aspects to the highest standard, contact us.
Learn more: How to choose the right healthcare software development partner.
How Much Does Healthcare App Development Cost?
The cost of developing a healthcare mobile app can vary widely based on the complexity and features required, with costs ranging from around $50,000 to $300,000 or more
Here’s a few examples:
- An IoT-enabled minimum viable product (MVP) for tracking heart rates starts from $55,000
- An secure application with communication features for monitoring and reporting the use of home medical equipment might cost around $180,000
- A comprehensive telemedicine solution could cost around $260,000
- A full-cycle practice management platform might exceed $380,000.
The specific type of healthcare app significantly influences the budget needed for development. We work with every client to find cost-efficient solutions that meet their needs while avoiding unnecessary expenses. Contact us for more information on pricing structure and we work with you to save you money.
Transform Your Healthcare Services – Partner With the Experts
Optimize your healthcare services with our expertise in healthcare mobile app development. Let Medical Web Experts help you create the perfect solution for your needs.
FAQs
What is the typical cost range for developing a healthcare app?
The cost to develop a healthcare app generally falls between $50,000 and $350,000+. This variation is influenced by factors such as the chosen platform, technology stack, the number of features, and other specific requirements of the project.
How long does it take to build a healthcare app?
Developing a healthcare app usually takes between 3 to 18 months. The timeline can vary significantly based on the app’s complexity, the number of features, and the development process specifics.
What are the best technologies for healthcare mobile app development?
Common technologies for healthcare app development include Python, JAVA, Flutter, Swift, Kotlin, and R Programming. It’s advisable to consult with your development team to select the best technology stack that aligns with your app’s requirements and budget.
Why is HIPAA compliance essential for healthcare apps?
HIPAA compliance is crucial for healthcare apps that handle protected health information (PHI). It ensures that patient data is encrypted and securely managed, which is vital for maintaining privacy and meeting legal standards for patient data protection.
What are typical reasons for healthcare app failures?
A: Healthcare apps often fail due to issues like inaccurate health information, lack of practical application in clinical settings, failure to adapt to user needs, and inadequate security measures. These challenges can be mitigated early on with the expertise of a skilled development team.
What factors contribute to the success of a healthcare app?
Successful healthcare apps typically provide detailed, actionable information that helps users monitor and manage their health effectively. Ensuring the app delivers accurate and helpful content can significantly enhance user engagement and satisfaction.