3 Tips to Keep in Mind When Developing a Healthcare App

The world of mobile apps is evolving quickly, and all of the industries are experiencing the benefits. One of these industries is the healthcare one, becoming more and more mobile every day. In this article, we’ll list a few tips to keep in mind in case you want to build a healthcare application.

The Benefits of Healthcare Apps

All healthcare apps are built with a different purpose in mind, having various features and use-case scenarios. However, when it comes to the world of healthcare, there are a handful of universal benefits, regardless of the purpose of the app.

A large number of the population has access to smartphones, far more people than the ones having access to a personal computer. Because of that, the mobile app industry is accessible to a large number of people. This comes with many benefits.

Because many of the people that own a smartphone are located in rural, and even isolated areas, far from hospitals, this kind of apps could represent something life-changing. Health care apps can allow users to access medical records directly, and to make appointments without having to visit their hospital. For people with severe conditions located in rural areas, this kind of apps represents something revolutionary.

Moreover, the owners of those apps have the opportunity of tapping into a new market, considering how many new people are using smartphones. More users will allow the app owners to earn more, being able to focus on developing even better apps that benefit everybody.

Tips for Developing a Healthcare App

Make it Widely Accessible

When developing a healthcare app, you should take into consideration your target audience and the devices they are using to access the app. If in developed nations smartphones running on iOS are something regular, underdeveloped nations are using Android because of its lower costs.

Understanding that, and building your app to be accessible from all operating systems should be a focal point if reaching a large user base is your aim. Besides the operating system, you should also aim to make your app accessible from any mobile device configuration and screen size.

Building an app with a responsive design will make it usable on any smartphone and tablet, regardless of the screen size. This can come in handy considering that medical staff is usually using tablets, while the clients are using smartphones.

Intuitive Design is Essential

Going back to the point from above, you should build your app and its design with your target audience in mind. Although a large number of mobile users grew up familiar with these devices, older users are still facing troubles operating gadgets. Even if the future generations will be technology geniuses, your healthcare app should still have a design as intuitive as possible.

If your audience mostly consists of older people, you should make the app as simple and helpful as possible, making sure they can operate it. If your users have troubles understanding your app, you might experience a low user retention rate which can greatly impact your app’s progress.

The app should have a design that anybody can use, regardless of their age or technology background. Make it simple, concise and with a supportive design that makes it pleasant for your customers to use.

Have an Increased Security

More and more of our data is getting stored online today than ever before. Privacy concerns are at an all-time high considering all of the implications regarding our online personas and the data we store online.

Considering that a healthcare application will store sensitive information about its users, having increased data security is a must. You want your users to feel as safe and supported as possible when using your product, and a way of doing that is by reinforcing your app’s security.

Implementing an end-to-end encryption system and only utilizing secure communication channels could prevent most data breaches. However, even if your system is secure now, you should keep it under constant updating because the threats are always increasing along with the technology developments.

Conclusion

The mobile industry has a lot of untapped potential considering how many new users have access to smartphones. Because of the increased growth the app market experienced, healthcare apps have started becoming a lot more popular lately.

Building such an app can come with a lot of benefits both for the owner but, also for the user. Taking into consideration the three essential tips mentioned above could help your app succeed, and ensure a higher user retention rate.