The telemedicine industry has seen tremendous growth over the past decade and it’s no wonder why. Telemedicine apps offer a convenient and cost-effective way for patients to access medical care from the comfort of their own homes.
For instance, you have a severe stomach ache at midnight. What will you do in this scenario? In such scenarios, telemedicine apps can be proved very useful. You can connect with a medical professional in just a few minutes and seek medical assistance at any time from any place.
Because of this assistance provided by telemedicine apps, they are in huge demand right now and many companies are eagerly looking forward to developing a telemedicine app to serve patients well in emergency situations.
So, in this blog post, we’ll discuss everything you need to know about how to build a telemedicine app from scratch to finish.
Telemedicine App – A Glimpse Over Some Recent Numbers
Following are some recent figures reflecting the future of the telemedicine app market.
- According to the survey in 2022, about 38% of patients used telemedical apps for receiving medical assistance.
- It is estimated that the total revenue from telemedicine apps will reach $101.2 billion by 2023 — and an astonishing $455.3 billion by 2030.
- The telemedicine market is expected to grow from approximately $104.4 billion with a CAGR of 20.5% to reach $272.8 billion in 2027, as per research by Mordor Intelligence.
- According to another survey, 84% of doctors are utilizing telemedicine apps to serve their patients, which was 36% in 2019.
- As per the IQVIA report, as of today, there are about 350,000 telemedicine apps on the market, and this number is expected to touch 500,000 by 2025.
Telemedicine apps are the best tools to provide remote medical treatment to patients while also staying virtually connected with them. This is an excellent method for ensuring continuity of treatment and increasing patient satisfaction.
Besides this, Telemedicine also reduces costs, making healthcare more affordable and accessible. The development of a telemedicine app can help bridge the gap between patients and medical experts while improving overall healthcare outcomes.
Now, let us read about the basic features a telemedicine app must have.
Key Features Of Telemedicine Apps
Telemedicine applications have evolved into an essential component of the healthcare industry. They enable doctors and patients to securely communicate with one another despite physical distance.
A telemedicine app must have certain features that benefit both the medical professional and the patient in order to provide a successful health treatment.
Doctors’ Dashboard
The doctor’s dashboard must have several features to serve their patients well. These features include :
Scheduling – This feature allows doctors to schedule telemedicine visits with their patients.
Online Consultations – An online consultation feature allows doctors to communicate with their patients virtually, through text, audio or video chat.
Virtual Waiting Room – This feature allows doctors to manage their appointments more efficiently and allows patients to join virtual waiting rooms ahead of their appointment.
E-prescriptions – E-prescription capabilities allow doctors to quickly and easily send prescriptions to their patients electronically.
Medical Records – It is the most important feature of any telemedicine app. This feature allows doctors to store patient information securely and access it whenever required.
Patients’ Dashboards
Different from doctors’ dashboards, the patient dashboard consists of other features. These features include:
Secure Messaging – This feature allows patients to consult their doctors securely and confidentially 24/7 from any place.
Appointment Scheduling – Patients can easily schedule appointments with their doctors through this feature in their telemedicine app.
Video Conferencing – This feature helps patients greatly by getting an up close and personal consultation with their doctor without having to physically visit a clinic or hospital.
Medical Records – Patients can access their medical records securely through this feature, as well as allowing them to access important information about their health and treatment plans.
Insurance Verification –This important feature of the telemedicine app allows patients to quickly and easily verify their insurance details and get their claims processed quickly.
Now as you know the key features a telemedicine app must have, let’s proceed with the development process of the telemedicine app.
Telemedicine App Development Process
Building a telemedicine app requires a comprehensive development process. From the initial concept to the final release, there are multiple steps involved in the process that need to be managed effectively.
The development of your telemedicine app includes 8 stages. These stages are:
- Define The Target Audience For Your Telemedicine App
Identify who your target patients are, and what you intend to accomplish with your app. What type of patients will your app serve or what facilities will you provide in your telemedicine app? Execute deep market research to determine trends, gaps, and possibilities in the telemedicine app industry.
- Create A Concept & Wireframes For Your Telemedicine App
Afterwards, create an app design and wireframes that illustrate the user interface, functionality, and flow. This will greatly help you in visualizing and refining your ideas before moving on to the development process.
- Design The UI & UX Of Your Telemedicine App
At this point, you can employ a startup app development services provider to create a visually appealing and user-friendly app interface. You must ensure that the design complements your brand and attracts the people you are targeting.
- Start Your Telemedicine App Development Process
After the UI and UX have been designed, it is time to hire an app development team to build the telemedicine app based on your wireframes and specifications for the design. Also, test the application to see if it has been optimised for performance, security, and scalability.
- Test Your Telemedicine App
The most crucial stage of development of your telemedicine app. At this stage, you need to fully test the app to ensure that it is free of errors and bugs. It is highly advisable to test the app on various devices, platforms, and networks to ensure that it functions properly in an array of settings.
- Launch Your Telemedicine App
When your telemedicine app development process is finished, submit it to the app stores for review and approval. While building your telemedicine app, make sure to adhere to the app store’s standards and norms.
- Promote Your Telemedicine App
Most people neglect this step in their app development process. Form a marketing strategy for promoting your telemedicine app to the people you want to reach.
To increase awareness and boost downloads, you can use social media, email marketing, influencer marketing, and other promotional tactics. As per a top Android app development company, you can also collaborate with medical professionals to market your telemedicine app.
- Monitor & Update Your Telemedicine App
You must regularly monitor app performance and feedback from patients and update your app with new features, upgrades, and bug fixes. Iterate and enhance the app on a regular basis to keep up with your users’ changing demands and preferences.
The design and development of a telemedicine app is a complex process, but it can be accomplished effectively and with excellent outcomes with an established roadmap, approach and professional assistance.
Make Your Telemedicine App Future-Ready!
The development of a telemedicine app requires the use of cutting-edge technology to make sure that it is up-to-date and able to provide a smooth experience for both patients and doctors.
This can include various technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Metaverse, Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR), Blockchain, and more.
- Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence can be used to make the patient experience more personalized. AI can provide virtual assistants to patients which can respond to their queries and make personalised recommendations. AI can also assist doctors in diagnosing and treating patients online.
- Metaverse
Metaverse is an open-source technology for creating 3D virtual environments with realistic physics. It is used to build fully immersive spaces for remote medical services like virtual consultations, where patients can communicate with their physicians in three dimensions.
- AR/VR
Because of their ability to provide immersive experiences for both physicians and patients, augmented reality and virtual reality (VR) are becoming increasingly prominent in telemedicine.
AR, for instance, can be used for patient monitoring and diagnosis, enabling doctors to examine three-dimensional images of a patient’s body. VR can be used for virtual surgeries, enabling surgeons to remotely operate robotic arms.
- Blockchain
To guarantee secure data storage and transfer, blockchain technology can also be used in the development of telemedicine apps. Blockchain is a distributed ledger system that safely stores data and stops tampering or unauthorised access.
- IoT/IoMT
The Internet of Things isn’t an unusual concept, and collecting health data with an external device isn’t either. However, an increasing telehealth market trend is the linking of more devices to enhance health, such as glucose monitors, nutrition monitors, mobility data, and so on.
It allows healthcare professionals to come to more accurate and up-to-date decisions by using more reliable and current information. According to the a report, telemedicine is not necessarily a new way to serve healthcare, but rather an improved method of facilitating healthcare management.
The incorporation of these technologies into the development of telemedicine apps can make the overall experience more interactive and engaging while also assuring data security.
Telemedicine apps, with the proper technological advances, have the potential to transform how healthcare is provided in the 21st century.
Now, let us discuss the estimated cost of developing your telemedicine app.
Cost Of Developing A Telemedicine App
The cost of developing a telemedicine app highly depends on various factors such as the complexity of the project, the type of platform you choose, the development team you choose, the country of development, and much more. It’s important to keep in mind that investing in quality app development will pay off in the long run.
Summing Up
Telemedicine apps have great potential to revolutionize the healthcare industry and deliver improved outcomes for patients. Telemedicine apps are the best options to provide cost-effective medical services to patients.
The success of any telemedicine app depends on its usability, user interface design, scalability, and many other factors. Thus, you need to execute the development process carefully. Moreover, you can conetact an app development firm to develop your telemedicine app.