10 Things to Know When Building the Best Medical Apps for Patients

What Is a Medical App?

A medical app is an application or software program designed to help people access, monitor, and manage their health and medical data. These apps provide a variety of features, such as the ability to track personal health information, book doctor's appointments, connect with doctors and hospitals virtually, order prescriptions, receive reminders for medication refills and check-ups, find nearby healthcare providers, set up virtual consultations, and more.

While the term "medical app" often brings to mind someone using a phone, these apps can also be used on desktops, laptops, and tablets. In fact, many apps on phones will sync with laptop apps for easier viewing.

The Benefits of Healthcare Apps

While we'll get into the specific uses of such apps below, let's first take a look at why they are important and how they can improve healthcare.

Mobile health apps bring a patient's health to the forefront of their lives. This is especially true for apps that deliver reminders—usually on the patient's phone—that remind them to take medication, report a symptom, or simply get up and get exercise.

These apps can put the patient's health back in their own hands, giving them the agency that many feel they've lost. This alone can improve physical and mental health.

It's also an excellent way to collect better records in real-time, rather than a patient having to remember activities over the course of months...and maybe losing a physical copy of the records in the meantime.

What Do Patients Want in a Mobile Healthcare App?

It's very important to perform the proper research before creating any piece of software or launching any business; you must know what the end-user is looking for. Let's discuss how mobile apps for patients can also work with a HIPAA-compliant website.

Make Sure It's Omni-channel

Omni-channel is a word usually used in eCommerce solutions to describe a customer's experience with a company via many channels: on a phone, on a laptop, at a check-in kiosk, and in the store.

It's not much different in healthcare. Patients need to be able to engage with their hospital or doctor in a seamless way, whether they're using a phone app, visiting a HIPAA-compliant website on a desktop, or checking in at a hospital kiosk.

Many patients using apps may record their health information on their phones and then view the aggregated data on laptops. Ensure that it's a good experience for them from a UI/UX perspective.

Make the App Easy to Use

While some apps are age-specific, most apps will be used by people of every age. Most kids now get smartphones by the age of twelve, and more than two-thirds of Baby Boomers have smartphones. Since both of these age groups may use a diabetes-monitoring app, it's important to make it an easy-to-use app for everyone.

Make the App Easy to See

Nearly three-quarters of people use some form of eye correction. When you combine this with the aging eyes of the elderly—who utilize a considerable portion of healthcare and may already have an aversion to technology—it's easy to see why making an app easy to view is so important. This includes using the right colors and making sites ADA-compliant.

Make the App Secure

Patients want their health information protected. Sometimes it's because their condition could be considered embarrassing, but it goes beyond that. Many don't want their protected health information (PHI) leaked because it could lead to higher life insurance premiums if insurers got ahold of it.

Protecting such information isn't just something you should do; this is something you are legally required to do. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) requires you to. So make sure you create a HIPAA-compliant medical app and website to protect patient data.

What Is the Top Priority in Healthcare Mobile Apps?

Monitoring patient health is a big responsibility, so it's vital that you take steps to prioritize certain aspects of a healthcare app for patients.

Help Patients

The primary goal should always be to create an app that helps patients. Everything should point toward this end.

Give Patients Agency

Patients feel better when they feel they have more control over their health. Creating an easy-to-use—and even fun experience—will make them more likely to keep up with the app.

Give Doctors Good Information

Your app needs to accurately accept, and then transfer, ePHI. This could be from the app to the Cloud and desktop to the Cloud, as well as Cloud to patient and Cloud to the healthcare giver.

Don't Confuse Them

Not every app is the same, just as not every website looks the same or functions the same. When creating an app, a primary goal should be to avoid confusion. You don't want customers putting information in the wrong field, something that will deliver inaccurate information to them and the provider.

Extensive testing should be done with every age group and background to ensure that it's easily usable by everyone, even those with limited app experience.

The 10 Primary Ways in Which Healthcare Apps Are Used

Mobile medical apps for patients can provide a variety of useful information and tools for managing health and medical conditions. Some examples of features that these apps can include are:

Medication Reminders

Apps can provide helpful medication reminders for patients so they know when to take their medication or refill prescriptions. This makes it easier for them to manage their health condition and adhere to the prescribed drug regimen, reducing the risk of adverse drug events or other complications.

For doctors and other providers, these reminders help ensure that their patients are following treatment plans accurately and developing good medication compliance habits.

Symptom Tracking

Apps can help patients track their symptoms over time and provide detailed information to their healthcare provider. This data can be used by the provider to make more accurate diagnoses, monitor the progress of treatments, and adjust medications if needed.

It also allows patients to become more engaged in their own health and have a better understanding of how their condition is responding to medical treatment.

Food Tracking

The food we eat plays a huge part in how healthy we are. Healthcare apps can be used to track food intake and create reminders for eating. The user can set up a personalized nutrition plan, log meals from different sources, and track calories consumed.

With these tracking systems, users can easily stay on top of their nutrition goals. Additionally, the app can provide helpful reminders so that users never miss their meals or snacks.

Appointment Scheduling

A mobile health app can provide a convenient way to schedule appointments with a doctor or other healthcare provider. By using the app, patients are able to view available appointment times and make their selection with just a few taps. This can save time, as well as reduce the need for lengthy phone calls and paperwork when setting up visits. In addition, many online medical apps now offer the ability to check in online before an appointment so that users can skip long waiting lines at the doctor's office.

Calculating Healthcare Costs

The best healthcare apps can help individuals and families calculate their healthcare costs in order to better budget for out-of-pocket expenses. With access to detailed pricing information, users are able to compare different providers and treatments in order to find the most cost-effective solution for their care.

These apps—which are often found in patient-doctor portals—can also provide valuable discounts or other financial incentives, so users are able to maximize their savings on medical bills.

Access Healthcare Documents

Healthcare apps can provide users with immediate access to their patient documents such as medical records, lab results, and prescriptions. A healthcare data management app can also be used to store important information from doctors’ visits, such as instructions for taking medications or follow-up appointments.

By accessing patient documents through these healthcare apps, patients can have an easier time tracking their health and keeping important healthcare and medical records organized.

Educational Resources

Healthcare apps can be a valuable resource for connecting patients to educational information and resources related to their health. With just a few taps, users are able to access articles, videos, and other materials that provide information on various medical topics. This can help improve patient understanding of conditions or treatments so they are more likely to adhere to doctor's orders and engage in healthy behaviors.

The best healthcare apps offer access to expert consultations, so users have the opportunity to receive personalized advice when needed.

Improve Communication with Healthcare Providers

Healthcare apps can help to improve doctor-patient communication by providing a convenient platform for exchanging messages and sharing documents. This can reduce the need for phone calls and lengthy office visits, which can be time-consuming for both parties. An online therapy platform is another way popular reason to create an online medical app.

These apps will often offer features such as alerts that notify users of upcoming appointments or when test results are available. With this type of digital support, it is easier for doctors and patients to stay connected and up-to-date on important health matters.

Connection to Community

A healthcare app connects patients with others who are dealing with the same condition. Such an app could offer a forum where people can share their experiences, ask questions, and provide support to one another. Additionally, many of the best healthcare apps feature one-on-one consultation services so users can receive personalized advice from medical professionals.

This can help provide in-depth information that is tailored to each individual's unique needs. All of these features help create a sense of community among those dealing with chronic conditions or other medical issues. It's a vital part of mental health care for patients.

Connection to Wearable Medical Devices

Healthcare apps can be connected to physical devices, such as wearables, that can provide data on a person's fitness and health. By tracking metrics such as heart rate, steps taken, and monitor trends in sleep patterns, these devices have become invaluable tools for many medical professionals.

Some healthcare apps are able to integrate with home medical equipment, allowing patients to keep tabs on their blood pressure or glucose levels from the comfort of their own home. Such technology allows doctors and patients to monitor conditions in real time and make adjustments quickly when needed.

Building the Best Medical Apps For Patients

Building the best healthcare apps isn't easy. Not only are you dealing with patient health, but you're also tasked with protecting it with HIPAA-compliant app and website compliance.

In other words, building mobile healthcare apps isn't something that should be taken lightly. That's why it's so important to find a healthcare app developer that has experience working with UX UI and ePHI.

If you're looking for a free app demo of top-tier health and wellness apps, we're ready to show you what we can do. Get in touch, we look forward to hearing from you.