Mobile applications, while bridging the gap between patients and healthcare providers, have several integrations and features to offer. They help transform healthcare delivery, improve patient outcomes/experiences, and so on. Let’s find out how these new developments are helping shape better healthcare mobile apps and also offering tangible benefits to patients and providers.
Enhancements to your existing Healthcare application
Let’s look at the different use cases where enhancements are possible.
Enhancing User experience
- Navigation System: A good idea is to create a navigation system to find its way into hospitals, fitness centers, and clinics or add this feature to the existing software solution. It improves the experience since, in real life, visitors and patients always ask for directions. Often it can be rather challenging to find your way around in a vast medical center, and most probably, you would need to ask the medical staff at least 3 times till you get to your destination point. The same functionality can be proposed for new medical personnel and optimize staff time while being interrupted each time they are asked.
- Alerts & Reminders: Well-settled notifications inside medical applications can be absolute lifesavers. This feature can be devoted to tracking health vitals, reminders of appointments with doctors or lab analysts, etc. Chronic disease management binds users to take prescribed medication on time and at the correct dose. These push notifications are usually integrated from Firebase and Twilio. These elements collect information about how users react to them and present this data as a dashboard. Then, medical personnel access these statistics, evaluate the patient’s condition and update the treatment plan.
- Security-Compliant Live Chats & Video Conferencing (HIPAA Compliance): Video conferencing is a top-notch functionality that removes distance barriers. It allows for remote visits, the usage among medical professionals for educational purposes or emergencies. The feature should follow the security guidelines (HIPAA, GDPR, etc.), and its top-notch implementation lies in end-to-end messaging encryption. Live chats can be introduced as a solution to getting support, administrative advice, booking an appointment with a therapist, and receiving answers 24/7/365. Alternatively, live chats can be embedded on the medical website in a magnet and increase used traction. The extra service of a live chat can be advanced with the help of Artificial Intelligence, aka chatbot.
- Seamless Payment Methods: The payment feature is utilized in any sort of application development. Making a transaction should be seamless and allow easy mobile payment for medical services, medicine, or insurance. The fewer steps the payment process involves, the greater the user experience is. This functionality can be implemented with the use of Braintree or Stripe payment gateway technology. Also, there is an advanced option of Apple Pay and Google Wallet integration. These payment gateways should employ PCI-DSS regulations and high-end security standards since payment information is also subject to personal data.
- Feedback System: Well-designed feedback systems will assist the healthcare industry in obtaining comprehensive and deep insights from the markets and end-users. Collecting feedback from inpatients and outpatients can be integrated into iOS & Android apps or via online and web surveys.
User Engagement and Interaction
- Sign Up / Sign In and User Dashboard: Create a personalized user experience from the start, allowing patients to manage their health data and preferences. The registration process sets the stage for user engagement. By offering options for social media-based sign-ups and straightforward registration, healthcare apps ensure that users can easily access their personalized accounts.
- Scheduling Features: Offer online appointment scheduling, reducing waiting times and enhancing patient-doctor interactions. Waiting in long queues for appointments can be frustrating. Healthcare apps with scheduling features allow patients to book appointments with a few clicks, minimizing wait times and enhancing the overall patient experience. This can also be synchronized with calendars on both ends providing notifications for upcoming appointment
- Real-Time Updates: Ensure accurate and updated patient information for both healthcare providers and patients. Real-time updates within healthcare apps ensure that both patients and healthcare providers have access to the latest medical information. Whether it’s recent lab results, treatment plans, or prescription updates, real-time information improves communication and decision-making
Integrations with different Hospital Software
Let’s take a look at the different integrations:
Clinical data collection and distribution
- EHR Integration: EHR (electronic health record) has simplified the medical services data inflow and paperwork. Traditional patient registration and medical history are now digitized, saved, and secured in one place. HIPPA-approved apps may have EHR synchronization and access to the hospital’s internal system allowing synchronization of health data from the app with EHR. Doctors may take the patient’s data and update the EHR within the app.
- Progress Tracking: The patient’s progress and health changes are the priority of the doctor. To have the option to track changes and dangerous deviations is vital to deliver quality service. Progress monitoring through the app or integrated IoT device with doctor’s access improves doctor-patient interaction. The progress feature also helps users track health changes and balance them with activities.
- E-Prescriptions: E-prescription technology proved to be critical during the lockdown. The convenience of requesting and getting prescriptions online saved time, and resources and minimized the interaction. Integrating E-prescriptions allows doctors to send pills with all the relevant data.
Remote Monitoring
IOT Device and Wearables Integration: The Internet of Things in the healthcare area is a growing trend and is its innovative future like remote surgeries with the help of robotics. The study conducted by Business Insider informs that 80% of users want to wear such fitness gadgets in general. Thus, wearable devices like smart health watches, medical gadgets like ECG or blood pressure monitors, fitness trackers that collect the necessary information are increasing demand.
Such wearable technologies will benefit patient monitoring and increase the client lifetime value. Hospitals can decrease the number of patient visits and, at the same time, help patients track health conditions. This can only happen when such applications are built using the data regulations from CMS and then integrated with the mainframe/EHR in a providers network.
Apple Health and Google Health Integration
Apple Health Integration: Apple has a special HealthKit offering many tools for iOS and watchOS to design and develop a deeper and richer medical application. Health Records API gathers user information like allergies, health conditions, labs, medication, health vitals, etc. With its help, it is possible to perform necessary operations inside the app. Other healthcare APIs from Apple related to medical research and care help connect apps to fitness accessories and gadgets.
Google Health Integration: This is a crucial function of any health app built for Android. Cloud Healthcare API and Google Fit SDK allow for developing secure and innovative applications operating on Android. Like Apple HealthKit, these technical tools assist healthcare app developers with design and development guidelines and detailed supporting documentation
Technological Commandments for Developing Healthcare Applications
These are the three main headers to keep in mind when developing a mobile app or building enhancements on one.
Cross-Device Accessibility
In the very first stages of business plan development, the stakeholders define the buyer persona with all their preferences. One can build an app for one of the platforms depending on the target audience ratio, but it will mean that the smaller audience will be neglected, losing valuable assets. The best option is to build native apps for both platforms. This has been made easy by the introduction of SMART on FHIR
CMS and Reporting
CMS reporting is more of an administrative function that patients don’t use but is vital for providers seeking reimbursements and incentives. The reports and analytics for applications allow providers to increase engagement, reveal pain points, and work on future updates. Thus, increasing their credibility in front of CMS.
Smart Mobile Technologies: Block-chain, Cloud Storage, AR & VR
Mobile apps are getting smarter with new technologies. Each new technology delivers better functionality, security, and user engagement. Block-chain is responsible for data security and encryption soon to be used as the best means to provide a united secure system. Cloud storage will provide big data storage and processing without losing any information. Thus, when developing we need to utilize them or keep room for future upgrades.
Benefits of these Integrations
The integration of these features offers a range of benefits to patients, healthcare providers, and the healthcare ecosystem as a whole:
- Enhanced Patient Engagement: Patients become active participants in their healthcare journey, leading to improved health outcomes.
- Efficiency and Convenience: Seamless integrations streamline processes, reducing administrative burdens and enhancing user convenience.
- Access to Remote Care: Telemedicine and remote monitoring integrations expand access to healthcare services, particularly in underserved areas.
- Data-Driven Insights: Integrations provide valuable data that can be used for informed decision-making, personalized treatment plans, and healthcare research.
Conclusion
The world of healthcare is evolving, and mobile applications are at the forefront of this transformation. By integrating these features, your healthcare mobile application can offer an enriched patient experience, promote better health outcomes, and contribute to a more connected healthcare ecosystem.
We at Nalashaa have been developing healthcare applications for more than a decade now. We understand the different integrations and enhancements that are required in this present era of technology. Connect with us info@nalashaa.com
Mitrajit Das
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Hey,
This article is very informational and kept me interested till the very end. Hoping to read more like this in the future. Thanks!