Trends in healthcare app development

We live in a digital age and we increasingly use mobile devices to solve the majority of our daily problems. They have grown significantly to support technological expansion. And what continues to grow as well, especially when the COVID-19 pandemic started, is the demand for innovative healthcare applications. This article focus on current leading trends in the digital healthcare market as well the results of digital transformation. Getting to know what’s popular, helps in improving the operations, services, but also taking the competitive edge.

COVID-19 influence on healthcare tech 

Long before the pandemic hit, the healthcare app industry was doing well and was worth a lot. What the COVID-19 has revealed, was how medical care systems throughout the world are understaffed and overloaded. The way to avoid this in the future is by investing in healthcare technology. Ongoing problems are on the way, and the digital revolution of mHealth apps is happening now.

To fight the developing cluster of the virus, experts around the world recommended using contact tracing technologies. This included identifying and quarantining affected people. Google and Apple have collaborated to develop a COVID-19 exposure notification system to help government agencies with the pandemic. A poll of European health experts states that patient-owned health data will be the most significant mHealth development trend in the next years. And what’s most important, the market is also attracting a lot of investors.

According to Statista, the number of medical apps downloaded during the pandemic increased by 65% worldwide. It’s not surprising that the virus forced the growth of health-supporting technologies. It showed off the unsustainability. The digital transformation has never been more urgent with digital technology at the core of it.

Digital transformation for the mHealth market

Digitalization provides up dozens of new possibilities for healthcare, including better efficiency, cost savings, financial security, and management. When a company decides to transform into a healthcare application, it has to determine what it hopes to achieve. The company has to pick the right technology and implement it with a clear emphasis on enhancing the whole business. Smaller and larger businesses working together provide great potential for digital technology to improve many areas of people’s health.  

Be aware that healthcare mobile app development is the process of developing mobile healthcare digital services, while mHealth means the use of mobile devices to support a healthy lifestyle. As for trends, they arise when something new is needed to adjust to changing circumstances.

Trends shaping healthcare apps development process

Every passing day, technology evolves. It’s critical to be aware of uprising trends to remain ahead of the competition by implementing new technologies ahead of time. These advancements are in nearly every sector, including mobile health apps.

Telemedicine

Telemedicine uses telecommunications technology to allow healthcare providers to diagnose and treat patients from a distance. Although telemedicine is no longer regarded as an original innovation in healthcare, it’s the most popular mobile health trend. Its solutions are useful in many situations. Many apps also feature licensed therapists or nutritionists. 

You may have already thought about incorporating telemedicine solutions into your business, and you can be sure that consumers will back you upon it. Approximately 71% of patients prefer their doctors to use mHealth applications. This healthcare app development trend is beneficial to both patients and medical staff. 

Blockchain

Blockchain is a method of storing data that is difficult or impossible to hack or defraud. Following its disruption of every other business for the greater good, blockchain technology is now being employed widely in the healthcare industry in a variety of ways. To be clear, blockchain technologies in healthcare can aid in the improvement of three key issues: clinical trials, medicine traceability, and record management.

While Blockchain-based electronic health record systems allow for safe data interchange between medical practitioners, the technology also aids in the management of the pharmaceutical supply chain.

AI and prognostic healthcare

Artificial Intelligence is critical in the healthcare industry’s transformation. Check-ups, X-rays, or test scheduling that need human interaction may be handled solely with AI. More important advancements are predicted from AI, particularly in the fields of self-examination. We can also predict that machine learning in healthcare digital products will boost the organizational side of the industry. Algorithms are already outperforming radiologists in detecting tumors. Furthermore, we must face the reality that we continue to deal with a lack of knowledge about the causes of uncommon diseases and the relationship between these diseases and the characteristics of persons who are affected by them. In this vein, several machine learning startups assist the industry by developing innovative ways for evaluating and tracking characteristics in patient images.

Personalized treatments and Big Data

Companies have to use data to analyze and influence behavior to customize health treatment. Many digital businesses are now attempting to study behavior patterns as a result of their growing importance. One of the projects we’ve worked on, LabPlus, is a system that enables automatic diagnosis based on test results and personalized medical history. It’s using the diagnosis based on leading medical societies.

Although Big Data is used in many healthcare applications, it’s predicted that in upcoming years it will be given even more attention. Maintaining health records and enhancing healthcare service quality are just a few of the many areas where the technology may help.

Virtual and augmented reality

Everyone in 2021 has heard of at least one use of augmented and virtual reality technology. AR/VR is largely employed in the entertainment industry, as is the case with the bulk of cutting-edge digital technology. But VR-enabled goggles and helmets can be used for more than just pleasure. It’s possible to use AR/VR in the healthcare business as a study aid for medical students and patients with depression, cancer, or visual impairment.

The Internet of Things (IoT)

Devices that can be worn at all times are becoming increasingly popular, and many patients have no objection to wearing them at all times. Existing software includes a wide range of technologies, including fitness trackers, blood pressure watches, headbands, and many more wearable devices. They’re used in hospitals, but also within smartwatches.

Cloud-based solutions

Through the use of cloud-based technologies, electronic medical records and electronic health records may be accessed easily. As a result, mobile app services are more accessible, resulting in improved data delivery at a lower cost. Virtual care, telemedicine, medication adherence, and resource inefficiencies may all be improved via the use of cloud computing in healthcare. For starters, the cloud enables companies to expand their operations.

Educational applications

Educational apps that aid in research will grow in the future. They will by themselves get useful information from medical literature and journals, helping clinicians to learn by reading articles. It will result in faster research results than the usual manner. Healthcare workers will become a key audience for all the new sorts of mobile apps solutions.

Gamification

Gamification in healthcare refers to the use of game design techniques and mechanics to enhance health outcomes. The common thing about medical treatments is stress and exhaustion. Gamification may be used to make it much more enjoyable. By incorporating aspects of gamification, Steppie’s founders were able to raise awareness of the influence of lifestyle on our health. In-app rewards are used to improve the client’s health. By this, users are motivated to use the Steppie app more often to earn additional prizes, like life insurance discounts, because they feel engaged.

Attempts to gaming concepts to enhance patient clinical outcomes are gaining momentum in medical app development. Gamification in a mHealth app benefits both users and healthcare app developers. Users appreciate their app experience, while app developers engage users and enhance their overall happiness with the app and the brand. As a result, more users are attracted, and client retention is increased.

The future of healthcare mobile application development

New experiences necessitate new and more exacting design and development criteria. Healthcare organizations that include these technologies in their digital transformation plan will have a major advantage over their competitors. The demand for really helpful solutions is the key trend in the health-related application business. And the quality of usefulness of the application is now given top attention.