The days of commuting to the hospital or clinic to receive healthcare advice are long gone. As mobile apps mark a pioneering dominance around the world, the healthcare department is not an exception to this. Millions around the world have transitioned to online healthcare rather than showing up in a brick-and-mortar facility. Since the features offered by mobile apps are much easier and simpler to follow, people prefer their checkups from the comfort of their houses.
Since appointments can be booked online, organizing 1 to 1 sessions has become the talk of the town. There is also an online home delivery service for the medicines you require. Such a paradigm shift in the healthcare department is the reason why the apps providing such services are in high demand.
iOS apps regarding healthcare constitute a total of 7.61% of the total apps being hosted on the App Store in the past year. Statista states that in the first quarter of 2022, Apple’s App Store hosted 51,370 medical and healthcare apps. Additionally, the market share of medical apps was 2.53% while that of health and fitness apps was 4.71% as of the third quarter of 2022.
Based on the above data, it is proven that iPhone apps are highly preferred and used by people. It is the right industry and the correct time for medical iPhone app development. However, without thorough research, it is not a bright idea to invest in your dream healthcare app. Keep calm and we promise that by the end of this article, you will be more than qualified to envision the development of your dream healthcare app for iOS.
Features to Have in an iOS Application For Health Apps
Before referring to an experienced iPhone app development firm, make sure to understand the ongoing trends in the market for your app. As a result, market research is a priority before you can begin developing. Below mentioned are some of the features you should consider:
1) Signup/Login
The primary feature to incorporate in your app is this one. The user must be able to register his/her credentials in the app via email or phone number. Adding other options to sign up is another way to register the user such as with the help of LinkedIn or Facebook. Make sure to curtail the signup process since the complexity of a long procedure to register might chase the user off. Hence, work on what significant and succinct information needs to be mentioned.
2) Book Appointments For Consultation
One of the most fundamental features to have is booking appointments. The app must be designed in a way that helps the user in spotting the doctor of their choice and book an online appointment with them. As a result, it saves time and instead of standing in a queue waiting for their chance, the users can log into the app on the scheduled time of their appointment.
Not just that, the users will also be notified about their doctor’s visiting time and book appointments accordingly for the future. This feature goes both ways since the doctors will also be notified about the number of appointments and patients they need to diagnose in a day along with the upcoming ones. Make sure to incorporate this feature in your healthcare app to book appointments hassle-free.
3. Engaging UI/UX
People in general are visual creatures, which is why make sure to have a radiant and eye-catching UI/UX design for the app. Furthermore, ensure that your app provides the goals and benefits of your business to the user. Make sure to sideline complex themes and choose minimalism given the complexity faced by your older patients as they might find bright colors too stimulating. Also, make sure to keep the navigations of the app simple and easy to understand.
4. Consultation through Online Chatting
This feature allows patients to ask questions to their doctors. They talk about their diagnoses, medical conditions, ailments, and other complaints. Talking about their diet in general and suggestions on their medical condition can also be discussed. Also, there is much ease with this feature since the users do not need to be physically present in front of their doctor. Simple text or voice notes are used for online consultation.
5. Reminders & Notifications
It is much appreciated by the users when a healthcare app has well-integrated notifications and reminders. This feature helps in tracking the vitals of the user, reminders about their appointments, and the other way around.
Firebase and Twilio are two management systems that help in integrating push notifications. These tools respond to the users’ reactions and learn how they interact with the data which is presented as a dashboard.
6. Personal Coach
For any kind of fitness achievement set by the user, the app will help him/her guide through the process of completing it. This includes your diet and nutrition along with the exercises you need to perform to exude the energy consumed. If you still have any queries regarding the diet plan, you can consult your trainer through the app.
For example, 360 Degree Technosoft has developed the Healthy Nutrition Tracker app, where users can set goals, chat with an expert coach, and get diet and nutrition plans.
7. Symptoms Checking Feature
This is one of the more advanced features you should incorporate in your healthcare app. The feature works by asking the user information about their ailments and upon entering the data provides a brief diagnosis of the health issue they are suffering from. You can also add features in the app that recommend the user to visit their nearest doctor in case of something serious.
8. Video Conferencing
This feature has been in much demand ever since 2021 and 22 which has become quite significant for a healthcare app to include.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many hospitals and clinics around the world have been overrun by patients all over. As a result, video conferencing came in handy which helped people to contact their doctors online from the comfort of their homes. It can also be considered healthy and hygienic in case of a pandemic from spreading a certain virus or disease through human contact.
This is the reason why Facetime videos have substituted face-to-face sessions. It has become much easier and resourceful for both patients and doctors. The need for standing in a long line waiting for your number is no longer required.
9. Monitoring Health Data
This feature allows the user to track his/her health status such as heartbeat, calorie intake, sugar intake, and blood pressure. Keeping track of such data is most important since it can be vital to spot a detrimental symptom that leads to a serious disease.
10. Location-Based Search
Geolocation features included in the app will let the user pick any doctor based on his/her local region or even other regions. The app’s popularity will increase many-fold in the Apple App Store through search-base results. You can conduct a location-based search from your app through the Apple Map function.
11. Online Payment
The addition of different payment methods will simplify how the user can pay. The options for debit cards, credit cards, or UPI payments must be available on the app. It not only enhances the user experience but also helps in gaining positive customer feedback for the services offered by the app.
Types of Healthcare Applications
The healthcare apps are divided into two categories. One is designed for the patients and the other for doctors.
Health Apps for Doctors
- Patient monitoring apps
- EHR solutions
- Appointment booking apps
- Clinical assistance apps
- Reference and database apps
Health Apps for Patients
- Nutrition apps
- Reminder apps
- Women health apps
- Mental wellness apps
- Health monitoring apps
- Education & self-diagnosis apps
Cost of Developing iOS Healthcare Application
There are multiple factors to estimate the price of healthcare app development in iOS. There is no reference price for the app as the factors below will surmise:
1. iPhone App Development Company You Hire
The app development company that you hire is one of the factors impacting the cost of developing an iOS app for healthcare. A company with an impressive portfolio, years of experience, and multi-domain expertise will always charge more than usual. This is because they have experienced developing iPhone apps far longer than others. Although, at such a price, the quality of work will speak volumes to the recruiter as well. Hiring professionals for iPhone app development can solve many of your issues regarding a healthcare app. However, hiring newbies can guarantee you a cheap cost but cannot assure you of the same quality as an experienced iPhone app development company.
2. Features & Functionality
The features and elements of your choice add to the final billing amount. The cost is elevated based on the features and their types, extensively. The best way to reduce the development cost if you are a startup is by MVP. This way you can develop the prototype features of an app and test them right away in the market to see if they are functioning or not. However, if you wish to upload a finished product, it will cost you much higher. Additionally, complex and more advanced features such as VR, AI, AR, and ML will be placed at a much higher rate.
3. Category of the App
Another salient factor is the mobile app development category. Every category includes a bunch of features and functional requirements, security criteria, and design needs. In the case of a healthcare app, it is necessary to keep the data of the patient safe and secure. Enhanced protection should be added to safeguard the medical history of a patient from leakage.
In the case of an enterprise app, it is utilized only by the enterprise team and restricted users. This means that the app will have limited storage due to limited data to store. However, in the case of a general app, it is permissible for everyone to utilize which implies that the cost will be higher due to the high customer base and data storage.
This is why different categories of the app impact the cost of iPhone app development.
4. Timeline
The development cost is also determined based on the number of hours a developer has worked on the project along with the number of developers. There is a fixed price per hour of the developer and the outstanding cost is then determined by the number of hours a developer spent. Such a system is only applicable if you choose to recruit a dedicated iOS developer or with the price-per-hour model for the developers.
5. Location of iPhone Developers
The cost of development is not just time-sensitive but also location-based. There are some locations where the developers charge high rates while at other places they might offer the same product for a cheaper cost. Hence, it is necessary to consider the location & outsourcing of the app development company.
6. Maintenance Cost
The post-development phase does not come any cheaper. Especially iPhone app maintenance which is particularly high. App maintenance requires twice the effort put in while developing the app. This is because it includes tedious tasks such as bug fixing, updating the app on the App Store, improvements via user feedback, and other things. Regardless of the immaculate development, lousy app maintenance can lead to its eventual downfall. To ensure its smooth functioning and operability without any glitches, developers must keep the maintenance of the app top-notch. The maintenance cost is included in the development phase.
Final Words
Now that you have arrived at the end of this article, you are certainly not a novice when it comes to building healthcare apps for the iPhone. Considering the factors above and prospecting your research leads, choose reliable healthcare iOS app developers to build a seamless healthcare application for you.
Not just the patients but also the doctors can benefit from the development of healthcare apps which is why they are in such high demand. Making things easier for patients and doctors across the world, it is rather obvious that this saga of revolutionizing healthcare apps is only going to blossom even further in the coming years.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
1) Why is the iOS platform a better fit for health app development?
There is much better ROI, security, and global reach for the audience when it comes to iOS app development which is why it is an amazing platform to develop healthcare apps on.
2) What is the cost of developing an iPhone app in the healthcare sector?
There are multiple factors determining the cost of iPhone application development such as the complexity of the app, timeline, experience of the developer, and multiple other factors.
3) Why should you develop a healthcare application?
Since every industry has gone digital at this point, it is fairly obvious that the medical side of the world felt the advent of technology too. This step makes things much simpler for both patients and doctors.
4) How much time is needed to develop a health application?
It depends on multiple factors. Some of these are the complexity of the project, the kinds of features to integrate, along the experience of the app development company you recruit.
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