Apart from high-quality care, personalization, and transparency, patients are eager to have more control over their time and day-to-day health activities with easy access to accurate medical information.
A healthcare mobile app is a perfect tool to satisfy all these needs. mHealth apps don’t aim to replace doctors and medical devices but to revolutionize the healthcare system by improving healthcare delivery.
The revolution in digital health development can potentially exceed customers’ expectations and help attain a higher level of clinical engagement.
As wearable technology and mobile devices have already created a new tone of connectivity within the patients-HCPs-pharma triangle, the demand for mobile applications in pharma has become immense.
In this article, you’ll find more about mobile health app development, its enormous role in HCP engagement, and the principal outcomes of including mHealth apps in your multichannel or omnichannel marketing strategy.
What Is an App in Healthcare?
Healthcare apps, or healthcare applications, are software designed to provide users with health-related services, such as online consultations, live chats, appointment scheduling, and more. mHealth apps help professionals deliver more personalized treatment, assist patients worldwide, and collaborate with other experts. Due to the increasing demand and technological advancements, the mHealth market is projected to surpass $269.31 billion by 2032.
Healthcare Mobile Apps: A Brief Statistics Overview
- The number of healthcare apps downloaded worldwide is expected to reach 8.6 billion by 2025.
- According to Statista, more than 52,000 healthcare and medical apps are available on the Google Play Store worldwide, and over 53,000 mHealth apps are available on the Apple App Store;
- By 2023, nearly 30% of American adults regularly utilized a health-tracking or management app multiple times daily;
- The global mHealth app market will reach $68.77 billion in 2024.
How mHealth Apps Are Changing Healthcare
Hospital in a pocket
Patients can take advantage of healthcare services while staying home. With the help of a mobile device, they can get consultations and prescriptions and even send payments.
Entire workflow in a mobile device
Mobile apps can help healthcare workers remember their daily tasks, browse the documentation, and optimize communication within their teams. Healthcare professionals can conduct quick online checks, access information about their patients within seconds, monitor their health, prescribe medicine, and so on.
Mobile platform for pharma
Pharma companies can develop a healthcare mobile app where their staff can send propositions, close deals, and do other business activities with partners and clients.
Personalized care
Users can receive personalized treatment plans, answers to their questions, and medical advice through healthcare apps within a few clicks. This decreases the time needed to contact a doctor and makes healthcare resources more accessible.
AI-powered assistance
AI-enhanced technology has completely changed the course of the pharmaceutical industry. Apps with AI technology integration offer instant assistance with various patients’ requests, providing them with around-the-clock support. Moreover, AI-driven algorithms can help healthcare organizations analyze patient data, find more effective ways to assist them, and offer better treatment.
Benefits of Mobile Apps in Healthcare
More powerful brands
Revolution in mHealth has stepped ahead. Assistant apps are helping pharma brands boost awareness by approaching the maximum number of smartphone customers.
It means pharma brands can quickly improve their marketing campaigns with intuitive navigation to company data such as contacts or other first-hand details, which are always available, accessible, and visible on apps.
Improved time management
Due to constant direct contact with the audience, applications in healthcare can help physicians save plenty of time and effort. It will streamline HCPs’ workflows, improve productivity, and maintain patient communication agility. Not to mention that people who need medical assistance can schedule or cancel an appointment with a nearby physician using the app.
Patient loyalty
Mobile medical apps significantly increase transparency with the help of constant remote monitoring, support, and online interactions. It keeps users engaged and involved in each step of their healthcare journey.
Data harvesting
Mobile health apps can work as a single hub for all medical information — from numerical data to their preferences, emotional reactions, and current behavior patterns. It provides professionals with a complete pack of insights valuable for further care and treatment enhancements.
Real-time response
Doctors can respond to people who receive medical treatment proactively using mHealth apps while providing effective treatment anytime and anywhere. Patients can request assistance whenever they need it, and an available doctor can consult them immediately. Moreover, mobile app users can avoid going to the doctor over minor problems or questions and just receive all the answers they need right in the app.
Main Types of Mobile Healthcare Applications
Many types of apps help patients manage and improve their health independently and assist healthcare professionals with multiple tasks. Here are some mobile health applications examples:
Patients’ apps
- Symptom checkers;
- Reminders and alerts;
- Applications for remote monitoring;
- Support for patients with chronic diseases;
- Health plus applications;
- Health insurance apps;
- Mental health apps;
- Fitness apps;
- Diet apps.
Apps for healthcare professionals
- Medical calculators;
- Prescription management;
- Appointment reminders;
- Pharma guides and surveys for eLearning.
Medical salesforce apps
- Remote communications;
- eDetailing scripts and guides;
- Informational materials.
Most In-Demand Patient Engagement Healthcare Apps
Medical education
Patient engagement healthcare apps support and strengthen learning processes. Instead of wasting time on long-turning educational sessions, these apps give permanent access to up-to-date medical materials, prescription guidelines, diagnostics, and more.
Apps for clinical communications
Apps of this type simplify interactions between healthcare providers and facilitate quick responses with virtual functionalities, such as voice calling, video conferences, messaging, and beyond.
Calculators
Such healthcare mobile apps for patients can calculate dosage or offer dosing suggestions based on multiple complex formulas and individual medical parameters.
Disease management and diagnostics
Various symptom checkers are among the most popular apps used in healthcare. Doctors and other HCPs can stay in touch with their patients to keep track of their drug adherence and lab results, check current health conditions, and coach them in their health journey.
For example, doctors use the SkinVision app to identify skin cancer in its early stages. It reveals the diagnosis immediately.
Drug reference
Such healthcare apps for doctors provide health information about medicine, pharmacology, indications, dosages, interactions, contraindications, costs, and beyond.
Patient education and engagement
mHealth apps designed specifically for patients can include educational content such as treatment options, health issues, prevention methods, and more. It results in a better experience and a higher satisfaction rate.
For example, TalkLife is one of the healthcare apps that help patients talk to people with the same symptoms or illnesses. They can ask for advice or exchange their experiences if they need it.
Mobile telemedicine
Another great feature in mHealth apps is an implemented video service technology that can provide remote patient monitoring. Doctors and other healthcare professionals can deliver real-time medical assistance to patients through remote video functions. It concerns those who cannot access their healthcare providers directly or get needed care due to remote location or physical disorders.
For example, Dr. Now is one of the best healthcare apps for patients to make a video call and reach their physicians anywhere they want.
Top Use Cases of Mobile Apps by Viseven
Here are some of the best health apps for patients and healthcare professionals Viseven has developed:
- Dosage calculator for children’s caregivers. The app can calculate dosage and the frequency of pill or suspension administration. All the medical data is based on the criteria of disease as well as on the little patient’s weight;
- Dosage calculator for parents and HCPs. This app provides instant access to medicine instructions and allows parents or physicians to calculate the accurate dosage;
- Offline application. This app provides patient care recommendations for specialists in the oncology sphere (adjuvant, neoadjuvant, and surgical therapy);
- Versatile medical reference app for pharmacists. The app offers diagnostic possibilities and helps users identify a type of pain depending on its location, duration, or intensity. Osteohelp also allows choosing among the best treatment alternatives, investigating its pharmacological properties, route of medical administration, and beyond;
- Pharmacist’s guide. This app offers a wide range of up-to-date medical education materials for HCPs with various reference videos for clinical procedures;
- Health app for tracking health. Based on PhoneGap, this hybrid app has a built-in video module and BMI Calculator technology. The mHealth app provides users with the needed medical records regarding their disease, sets up custom pill reminders, and allows them to keep track of their current health situation;
- Life Plus App. This mHealth app allows program members and pharmacists to share offers with clients. It includes various options such as promotions for top products, redeems and redemptions, and eVouchers. Users receive the latest information continuously and always stay updated.
Core Usability Principles for Healthcare Apps
The best healthcare apps for patients and HCPs have the following features:
- Intuitive user experience (UI) and excellent user experience (UX);
- Simple installation and flawless functioning;
- Synchronization of data across devices;
- Safety and security of personal information.
Innovations in digital mHealth technologies help augment clinical efficiency, provide accurate diagnoses, and help pharmaceutical brands stand out.
mHealth application development includes business analysis, UI/UX design, backend, app development, and quality assurance.
As for operating systems, Android and iOS are still at the top. However, Android remains the lead platform for mobile health application development.
Need a mHealth app? Viseven is an app healthcare provider that can develop a hybrid, native, or web app for your pharma, healthcare, or life sciences brand, considering your marketing strategy and the needs of your target audience.
Download our case study or fill out the form below for more information. We’ll get back to you shortly!
