HOW YOU CAN BENEFIT FROM TELEMEDICINE APP DEVELOPMENT

The radical changes in the modern healthcare industry dictated the need for breakthrough solutions. Due to the pandemic, the whole medical sphere has been thrown out of whack. Today, healthcare companies are seeking to provide their services from a distance, hence the need for telemedicine software development. The telemedicine market value worldwide is expected to reach $175 billion by 2026. Today, the interest in such services is boosting and is projected to elevate further. Therefore, if you are planning your own telemedicine app development, right now is an excellent time to start.

Telemedicine app

Reasons Why People Choose Telemedicine Apps

Today electronic healthcare products are getting more and more trust. People become less cautious in relation to them. Telemedicine startups are getting more appreciated because they are:

  • Fast. In case people have insignificant health problems or feel too ill to visit a doctor in person, they save the time that would be spent getting to the hospital, medical forms filling as well as sitting in a waiting hall.
  • Urgent. Telemedicine apps help to reduce to a minimum emergency room attendings as they assist in treating colds, certain respiratory diseases, skin and eye problems, allergies, burns, muscle strains, and cuts.
  • Convenient. Thanks to medical app development, it becomes easier to get required doctor’s notes, medical certificates for work or school when a patient needs a day or two to recover. As soon as the form is filled out by the doctor, a patient gets a notification that it is possible to print or email the note.

Why Develop a Telemedicine App?

Today, when the whole world is going online, people still need to consult healthcare specialists. While the number of individuals requiring such services is rising, the options are still underdeveloped. Along with the several popular solutions, such as Doctor on Demand and MDLive, entrepreneurs are working on other reasonable alternatives to start telehealth businesses.

How do Telemedicine Apps Work?

Primarily, a telemedicine app should provide a reliable alternative to a physician’s visit. The relevant app should ensure functionality that makes it equal to a doctor’s in-person consultation. Furthermore, it is vital for an application to offer easy management of patient and doctor data and an ability to access a healthcare professional quickly. The main benefits of telemedicine include:

  • Greater access to medical services;
  • Time-saving and convenient medical care;
  • Preservation of medical records;
  • A consolidated system of patient monitoring;
  • Enhanced time management of healthcare professionals;
  • More efficient administrative operations.

Technical Side of Telemedicine App Development

Answering the question of how to build a telemedicine platform, you should make a list of features as well as choose telemedicine software development tools. So, what hardware and software are used for telemedicine? Any telemedicine app includes two sides such as the patient’s side and the doctor’s side. These sides will also have different feature sets depending on their roles.

Among the telemedicine app features for patients are:

  • Registration,
  • Profile management,
  • Search & filters,
  • Video conferencing,
  • Text chat,
  • Calendar,
  • Payment details,
  • Rating system.

Feature list of telemedicine app for doctors should include:

  • Physician profile,
  • Calendar management,
  • Viewing EHRs,
  • Communication.

Which Challenges Can You Face in Telemedicine App Development?

Entrepreneurs seeking to get started with telehealth might be interested in what the telemedicine application development process will look like. The five main development stages that we follow in our routine are as follows:

telemedicine development-stagesSource: DevCom

While moving throughout the indicated stages, you can meet several challenges that need to be addressed.

  • Data security.

A developer must ensure the non-compromised protection of personal data and other healthcare information. According to our experience, such tools as multi-factor authentication and high-end encryption protocols are efficient security measures.

  • User experience.

One part of your application is intended for patients and the other one – for doctors. Make sure you maintain style consistency while working out excellent UI/UX implementation. Generate the overall logic, layout, and navigation to suit the needs of the target user.

  • Backend integration.

Another issue you can face during the development of a telemedicine application is the incorporation of a backend allowing you to coordinate the data exchange between patients’ and doctor’s apps. Third-party providers can ensure this type of connectivity. We have the experience of building into a telehealth device and integrating the apps with the backend. Noteworthy, we apply the safest data exchange protocols to reliably guard patients’ sensitive information.

  • Lack of trust.

Despite the thrive of telehealth services, telemedicine applications are still lacking trust. The measures that would help raise interest and engagement with potential users include a transparent monitoring framework, evidence of doctors’ expertise, and meticulously developed marketing.

  • Alignment with healthcare legislation.

Each country has its specific regulatory standards with regard to healthcare services. When working out a telemedicine app, you should study the respective legislation as well as international rules for medical software processing.

How Much a Telemedicine Startup Costs?

Before getting started with building your telehealth service, you should appropriately plan your budget. The overall telemedicine startup cost will depend on the app’s concept, development approach, functionality, and the selected development vendor. The rough estimate for the first viable version can range from $50,000 to $60,000. This price covers applications for both doctor and patient and an admin panel for a platform at an hourly rate of $30. You can choose whether to develop medical applications for Android or iOS or both. The duration of the development process can vary from 3 to 5 months. The cost of a telemedicine system with greater complexity and higher functionality, however, can exceed $100,000. Dedicated Teams boasts a huge experience in web development that helps maximize the benefits for your customers while reducing telemedicine costs.

What is usually included in telemedicine software development cost?

You already know the average telemedicine app development cost, but there are so many variables in this equation. The crucial point is selecting between hiring an in-house team or going for remote telemedicine software development services. Besides, you shouldn’t forget that each development process is one-of-a-kind, but still, there are common characteristics.

Discovery

The Discovery phase is the initial one, so all the groundwork of the telemedicine app development is made at this stage. The volume of work includes: research of the market and building a go-to-market plan, defining the infrastructure, and selecting the application’s architecture. Telemedicine app design also takes place at this stage of the process which is the base of the whole MVP. All the work is running in parallel at this stage as every part influences the others.

The time spent at this stage will depend on the scope and depth of the work, so it may take a different amount of time – from weeks to months to complete. The Discovery stage of product development will require at least a Business Analyst, an Architect, and a Designer.

MVP Production

Just as all is settled from the business perspective, the development process can be started. Like in the previous stages, it depends on the scope of the project, it will be necessary to hire one or a couple of the following specialists: Tech Architect, a Project Manager, Quality Assurance Engineers, Developers, and Designers.

MVP is needed to let you test the conception and define if the idea is relevant in the market.

Usually, this phase lasts more than two months, but surely its length depends on the depth of groundwork done in the Discovery phase. You shouldn’t forget that it’s much more important to make it exist and circulate rather than to make it perfect. As it’s known, MVP contains bugs and are lacks features.

Support

Just after launch, you should start work on support and further development. At this point, the QA team identifies existing bugs, and BAs work on the product flow and define the next steps.

At this phase, the team of developers could be smaller than the originals team of developers. This phase is ongoing and it goes on as long as the product exists. That is why there are no real timing or costs.

Read also: Software Developer Levels: How to Obtain the Right Talent?

Which are the Best Telemedicine Apps?

best telemedicine appsSource: MLSDev

Want to get insights based on the others’ experience? Here are some examples of telemedicine applications that gained success in 2019.

  • Doctor-on-Demand.

The app provides three-minute video conferences for patients with doctors. Experts ranked it in the top 20 apps in the medical category.

  • Medici.

This telemedicine startup is relatively new; however, it is already a game-changer in the industry. The application provides patients an opportunity to connect to all their doctors directly and safely through video or text messaging.

  • American Well (AmWell)

The service has been present on the market since 2009. Offering the SaaS platform for medical institutions, it is utilized by a variety of customers in the medical sphere, as well as the government and individual patients. The range of prices spans from $59 for urgent services to $95 for online therapy.

  • Babylon.

This innovative telemedicine app aims to deliver medical services worldwide. By using AI technologies, the service provides prescriptions as a chatbot, thus eliminating the need for a doctor’s presence.

  • MDLIVE.

The service offers digital doctor consultations and treatments for common medical and behavioral concerns. The average cost of one consultation is about $40-$50.

How to Start Building Your Own Telemedicine App?

The telemedicine industry is continually altering the traditional healthcare approaches, and this market segment is demonstrating impressive growth. The benefits of telehealth apps are hard to overestimate, especially considering the modern challenges society is facing globally. So, it is an excellent time for entrepreneurs to run their telemedicine projects development. The main characteristics of the efficient telemedicine application include the following.

  • A simple and user-friendly service.

Do not make things too complicated for your users, as they are not tech-savvies like you. Apply minimum steps for the registration and request only the data necessary for authentication. Remember about compliance with the legal regulations.

  • A carefully developed design.

Make sure that the design of your application corresponds to its target audience. Use a sensitive color combination and clearly readable fonts. Also, ensure the ADA requirements compliance.

  • An opportunity to integrate the app with a calendar.

Patients will not forget about their appointments with a healthcare specialist if they have a respective reminder.

  • An ability to work under a slow internet connection.

Some patients and even hospitals may have a poor internet connection. Therefore, your app must be able to work under such conditions as well.

  • Availability of full support.

Conclusion

Telemedicine services are gaining the trust of more and more users thus becoming a well-promising and prospective solution for business owners. Using technologies you are able to create a hospital with no construction operations, make doctor appointments without having lots of paperwork, and finally, the patients can get medical help and treatment with no need to leave their homes.

Your service should ensure full in-application support to all its users. Thus, they will enjoy the app’s benefits properly, and your clientele will grow. A highly skilled software developer, Dedicated Teams can offer expert advice and practical help in the creation of successful telemedicine platforms. Our professionals will help you create an application that provides a superior user experience and is compliant with all regulations. You will be able to boost the benefits of the telemedicine app while minimizing the expenses on product development.

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