The recent past has made humans more conscious about health. People with negligible health issues consult doctors and get treatment as early as possible. However, after the hit of COVID-19, the conventional method of getting treatment for a health issue has changed. You can see rapid growth for on-demand telemedicine app development, as consumers prefer apps over physical visits to get cured. These apps are a secure approach to getting medical attention. These apps help users to get a virtual appointment for their minimal health issues and attain medicines at their doorsteps.
The W.H.O has also included a telemedicine app as one of the indispensable services in its course of action. The Telemedicine app has a significant contribution to the health infrastructure. These apps have been remarkably responsive during COVID-19. People who are conscious of visiting the hospitals with Covid patients all around used these apps to accomplish doctors’ attention. The usage of health apps was at its peak during the pandemic.
Besides, as of March 2022, there are 86.3 million users who are using health apps in the US. This includes telemedicine apps in a large number. After reading the above figure, you must have developed an idea about what return to mobile healthcare apps offer you. Apart from that, the era is undoubtedly an exceptional time for the healthcare sector.
The healthcare sector may witness peak ROI, but users, on the other hand, will also witness a lack of services. This has moved several healthcare entrepreneurs to discover a befitting solution with telemedicine. If you also wish to develop one of these apps, read the complete editorial to achieve a comprehensive guide.
Table of Contents
- Indispensable reasons for creating a telemedicine app similar to the doctor-on-demand
- Benefits of creating an application similar to the doctor-on-demand
- Working process of telemedicine or healthcare apps like doctor-on-demand
- Important features that you must look for in a telemedicine app
- Cost of telemedicine app development
- Conclusion
Indispensable reasons for creating a telemedicine app similar to the doctor-on-demand
1. The market expansion
The first and foremost reason for developing telemedicine apps is to expand the telemedicine domain. Pandemic is not the only factor that boosts the market expansion. Instead, many other reasons extend this domain. The market research says that the global telemedicine app market is anticipated to reach 285.77 million dollars by the end of 2027.
These stats express how rapid the expansion would be. Some of the popular reasons for expansion would be the rise of on-demand services. Users these days are more acquainted with achieving services at the doorstep. This comfort has also pushed them to attain medical care as an on-demand service.
The radiant condition of the health app industry says that ROI will be thriving. So, it is the golden time for you to create a telemedicine app.
2. On-demand for patients in need
The second most imperative reason for developing a telemedicine app is fulfilling the patient’s demand. Patients after the pandemic are more dependent on such apps. They prefer telemedicine services on-demand rather than visiting healthcare centers. One of the most fitting examples to explain this situation is, suppose you have shoulder pain at midnight. But you refrain from visiting hospitals, as you feel you might get infected amidst other infected Covid patients. In such cases, you will always prefer using an on-demand app. With the development of these apps, you can fulfill the needs of patients.
Apart from that, there are mere numbers of telemedicine apps found in recent times. Many patients are not even finding appointments in time due to backlogs; in such cases, your app can meet the demands and illnesses of users. You can assist people at the time of their need. So, this is one of the imperative reasons to develop.
3. Rising demand
The Surging cases of COVID-19 during 2020 made people search and download the telemedicine app on a large scale. What made them use the app is the belief that these apps can assist them during an emergency when they cannot even visit hospitals. And the apps have lived up to users’ expectations by helping them in the most needed times.
This eventually increased the demand for the on-demand health apps. Apart from that, people also are well-versed with the fact that Covid is not vanishing anytime soon. So, they are endowing more trust in these apps.
4. Community accountability
Apart from business, you are also accountable to your community. You have a social responsibility to make people more aware of health issues and offer them treatment on time. More than 7% of everyday search on Google relates to health-relevant doubts. It may seem to be mere. But this 7% holds a large number of people in the global population; despite that, several kinds of research also suggest that people searching for healthcare get wrong results. This imperils the lives of those users who are searching for healthcare. As a responsible healthcare organization, you can create a telemedicine app not only to treat patients but can help them with queries and find the best answers for them.
Benefits of creating an application similar to the doctor-on-demand
Now that you know your objective behind developing an app similar to the doctor-on-demand, you should also know what perks these apps facilitate for your organization. Explore some benefits that you will get from an application similar to the doctor-on-demand app.
#1 Offers you better record keeping
The telemedicine apps that you create for your business deploy blockchain technology. Blockchain technology is famous for keeping records and data. Further, in blockchain, you cannot also change or regulate it, as it is decentralized. This blockchain integration allows the apps to become supremely secure. Storing of the data will be improved using such apps. With a few clicks on the app, you can get a complete history and patient information while your physical treatment is as well.
#2 Helps you augment your management
The subsequent perk that you will get from these apps is better management of services. Whether a free consultation or a regular checkup at your healthcare facility, you can manage everything using the app. The app lets you update your prescription, offer consultation at times needed, make an appointment, etc. So, with these apps, you can always improve your management.
#3 Improves your productivity
Another significance of telemedicine apps is an augmentation of productivity. With the easy availability of all medical history and data, you can easily enhance your service to users and patients. Using video healthcare in the apps, you can provide virtual healthcare services. Apart from that, there would also be no constraints on time, and patients can accomplish services 24X7.
#4 Increases the income
The demand for telemedicine apps is at its peak now. Post the surging cases of Covid; you can find several people still using the on-demand apps. It means that people are well-versed in the versatility of these apps. With the help of telemedicine apps, a healthcare organization can reach out to those patients who may not have the efficiency to visit the physical location. So, this gradually helps you improve your revenue. You can earn more revenue with online appointments, medicine selling, and subscription.
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Working process of telemedicine or healthcare apps like doctor-on-demand
The working of these apps commences in a sequence of necessary actions. It is distinctive from the regular app and offers a unique experience to the users. Besides, the Telemedicine apps usually have three modules. It includes the patient’s app, doctor’s app, and admin panel. The Admin gets combined access to the doctor’s app and patient’s app with the help of the admin panel. Here is the complete functioning of the on-demand healthcare app.
- Registration
The working of the healthcare app starts with enrollment. For better treatment and maintenance of records, the patients have to register themselves with the app. Registration brings you patient history. So, the doctors in the future can see your past symptoms. It also creates a complete profile of the patient.
- Advice
After the registered users have furnished some primary data about their health issues. Based on those issues, the doctors offer you some advice to prevent any problem.
- Appointment
If the health issue is too serious and demands a physical visit to the hospital, the app creates an appointment based on the user’s preference to complete the treatment.
- Video consultation
The diagnosis and the treatment that can be done using Video conferences will be made within the app. The doctors on call acknowledge the problem and offer the correct medication.
- Payment
After the treatment, the patient will have to pay using several integrated payment modes. The app will also provide receipts for future reference.
- Redirection
In cases where the app demands special attention from any specialist, the app will redirect the patient to needed authority.
Important features that you must look for in a telemedicine app
The apps like doctor-on-demand often come loaded with a bulk of features. However, what features to keep and what to lose is always a decision based on your choice. As per your budget and idea of the app, you can choose the features you want.
Payment gateway incorporation
It is the best feature of any on-demand service app that you create. With the treatment of patients, it is also crucial for healthcare organizations to pay the doctors their fees for enrolling. In such cases, you can collect the consultation fee, membership fees, and other charges valid on your services.
However, you can collect funds unless and until you integrate the payment module into your user’s app. This is a sensitive feature; thus, you must abide by PCI-DSS rules and achieve all the certifications needed to integrate the payment gateway. You have to take care of all safety measures to prevent any type of leakage of sensitive data.
Push alerts
Another demanding feature to include in your healthcare app development is push alert. You can easily send a notification to the patients about the availability of specialty doctors, discounts, bonuses, and all other latest features. However, you should not use excessive push notifications, as it can ruin the user experience. You can use push alerts rather than notify patients about medicines and appointments.
Calendar
The Calendar integration is another must-have feature in your telemedicine app. Top mobile app development companies in India always add this feature to telemedicine apps as they think it will help patients and users make an appointment with doctors.
The search bar
This is an intuitive feature that every user looks forward to in any app. Users don’t want to navigate the whole app to find the required services. Rather they expect an easy search bar with an autofill option. While using any eCommerce solution, how do you always search for the product in the search bar first rather than searching it in the whole web app! So, you should also integrate an easy search bar with the auto-fill option, so users can easily search for features/services.
Geolocation
Adding geolocation to any app has become an integral part of every app development process. Whether it is a food delivery app or a healthcare app, geolocation helps patients search all the nearby healthcare organizations and pharmacy stores. In the case of a healthcare emergency, users also need instant access to the location. With the help of geolocation, doctors can locate patients, and patients can locate a doctor.
Feedback
Feedback recording is always a useful feature that lets you collect customer experience and improve your services in the future. You can collect reviews and ratings about the services from the patients by integrating the review features.
Chat, Audio, and video session recording
These are also important features that make in-app communication better. Patients can communicate with doctors for better treatment, and the recording of the session allows the admin to have transparent access to communication.
Cost of telemedicine app development
The cost of telemedicine app development depends on several factors. It includes the location of the developers, whether they are on-shore or off-shore. Apart from that, the concept of the app and the features you want in it also decide the cost. Hence, you can expect the cost as per your needs.
The cost of developing a telemedicine app depends on the complexity of the project. Time to develop an app also affects the cost of mobile app development. If the project is complex, it is going to be a bit expensive. The cost also depends on the type of hiring model the client prefers. There are basically three models hiring models:
- Fixed Cost Model
In this model, the mobile app development company knows the requirements of the project and provides an estimation based on it. The price stays the same during the project and the requirement also stays the same. If there is an addition to the project, the price will change accordingly.
- Hourly Based Model
In this pricing model, the price of the project is based on the number of hours the developer works on the project. The price per hour is fixed but the time of development might fluctuate.
- Hire Dedicated Model
Here, the clients have a chance to interview the developers themselves and hire a developer to do your project. the price per hour is fixed and the client pays only for the developers that work on the project and the number of hours they have invested in the project.
Conclusion
On the final note, this is all you must know about telemedicine app development. Now that you know all the basic things about telemedicine app development, you can hire app developers to create a unique telemedicine app for you.