The purpose of healthcare software is not only to ensure remote assistance. Medical apps simplify our life and help us monitor our health more efficiently. That is why there are always good ideas for a medical app if you want to start a business in this niche.
Creating a medical startup requires a detailed analysis of ideas, trends, and development steps. We have prepared a guide that will spell all nuances out, so you will be acquainted with the process, and it will make your thorny path shorter.
Healthcare Trends In 2021
What should you do to implement healthcare startup ideas more effectively? You should monitor trends in healthcare and use them in your app to move with the times. So look through top trends in the medical area.
Data analytics. That is what your app benefits from — Big Data. It helps specialists analyze how many medicines and medical equipment must be purchased. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, this information will be beneficial. Besides, data analytics allows specialists to explore new ways on how to improve the current healthcare situation.
5G connection. Real-time digital interaction means a lot, especially in telemedicine apps, where a high-speed connection is the most important. 5G connection is already available in many countries, and you should think about applying this technology for your app functionality. Of course, it is a hardware feature, and it doesn’t depend on your app development, but you should keep it in mind.
Telemedicine & Telehealth. Apps for direct interaction between doctors and patients play a vital role today. Social isolation may save lives and online communication matters. Telemedicine apps allow patients to hold an appointment with a doctor just about as effectively as possible during a personal appointment.
This article may be interesting for you: Telemedicine App Development
AI-based solutions. Artificial intelligence and Big Data are often combined to improve and accelerate the result. AI allows analyzing and processing of a vast amount of data and facilitates the decision-making process. Moreover, AI computing helps doctors diagnose more accurately and start treatment faster. The capabilities of AI are limitless.
Blockchain. Blockchain is a relatively new cloud technology that divides the stored information into secured blocks, and unauthorized parties cannot access them. Cloud solutions allow doctors to get information about patients 24/7, and patients always know that their data is secure enough and remain unchanged until they grant access for any changes.
This article may be interesting for you: Pharmacy Website Design
Healthcare App Ideas For Your Startup
Apart from existing trends to follow, you need to determine what type of app you will create. There are simple healthcare app ideas many people use every day. Your task is to choose the one that your market lacks.
On-demand doctor app. Such apps contain a listing of doctors who are certified and available for an appointment. Using filters, patients can select a physician by area of expertise, location, availability, etc. Doctors can add their profiles to these apps on their own, but the app should contain a medical license verification algorithm.
Doctor appointment app. This type differs from the common on-demand app since its purpose is to book an appointment with a personal physician, schedule a time, and hold an appointment online. So patients don’t need to leave their homes, especially if they feel bad. You can also read our guide on doctor appointment app development.
Reminder app. This app’s goal is straightforward — it reminds people to take drugs on time or perform specific healthcare tasks. However, we think it is not one of the best ideas for a new app because a reminder feature can be included in the doctor appointment app or any other app.
Chronic disease monitoring app. It is a vital app for people who have a chronic disease, and it should be continuously monitored. Patients input health data every day, and family doctors can check it timely and provide patients with the necessary recommendations.
Fitness apps. This app is created for everyone who leads a healthy lifestyle and wants to monitor their health condition. It helps monitor the number of burnt calories or track the consumed calories when users add the type of food they ate. Also, heart rate level, taken steps, weight tracker are available in fitness apps. However, these apps combine better with wearable devices like fitness wristbands.
Benefits Of Healthcare Software For Patients And Doctors
Why did top medical apps for patients and doctors become so popular? The matter is that they include all advantages of healthcare apps users need. Let’s define the reasons why you need to create a medical app in 2021.
First, improved patient care. mHealth apps (i.e., mobile apps) allow doctors to monitor patients’ health even if they are far away. Doctors can help patients without a personal visit, it saves time, and patients can stay home and treat themselves efficiently.
Second, faster diagnosis. Due to many different sensors on modern smartphones, patients can share all health-related data with doctors, facilitating quicker and more accurate diagnosis. Then, doctors determine the treatment plan for a patient.
Third, convenient processing of EHR. EHR stands for electronic health records, and doctors feel more comfortable maintaining personal records of patients via mobile apps. And it even doesn’t require patients to stay online.
Fourth, remote patient care. As we noted above, social distancing became crucial when humankind faced a new virus in 2020. So remote patient care saves lives, and it lets patients and doctors avoid face-to-face appointments. You can find more benefits of remote medical care in this article.
Thus, all the best medical apps for doctors and patients provide users with all the necessary features for comfortable communication and interaction.
You can also read another article about Top healthcare web designs & development.
Top Medical Startups To Pay Attention To
If you want to succeed, you should provide something unique and exciting. That is what the hottest healthcare startups do. They bring innovative ideas for users and improve their lives. We are hoping you can get acquainted with the five top medical startups that gain the lead today.
Embleema
This is the US-based breakthrough platform that is unparalleled in the world of healthcare. Embleema is a HIPAA-compliant blockchain network that allows patients to share their EHRs with researchers. What’s unique in it? Patients are paid in cryptocurrency for information exchange because health records are required for researchers to analyze it and develop new drugs faster. So both patients and researchers get their benefits.
Qare
Qare is a fantastic example of how French developers care about the French diaspora in London. The Qare platform’s goal is to help French residents find medical specialists in London and France, and the platform includes an exclusive network of French-speaking specialists. It is one of the first telemedicine apps that provide such kind of service.
BenevolentAI
“We envision a world where no disease goes untreated.” This is one of the mottos of the BenevolentAI medical startup company that is based in the USA. The platform can pair drug treatments with proper patients with the help of artificial intelligence. Also, a startup’s primary goal is to find a therapy for previously incurable diseases like Parkinson’s disease, glioblastoma, etc.
MindMaze
It is an international brainchild of two companies located in Europe and the USA. MindMaze is a platform that provides VR neurorehabilitation programs for people with brain traumas and mental health-related conditions.
K Health
It’s one more example of a successful AI application. K Health is a free app that uses machine learning algorithms to analyze anonymous health records received from thousands of patients. All users can share their symptoms, and the system will provide them a list of potential diagnoses. However, it reminds users that self-medication may be harmful.
Reasons Why Medical Ideas For An App May Be Not Enough And Your Project Will Fail
However, not all startups succeed and become famous. Moreover, according to Failory, 90% of all startups fail (note: all types of startups are considered, not only healthcare ones). So how to avoid failures? Read this section to know why startups fail, and even a good app idea doesn’t always work.
Poor USP. Your USP (unique selling proposition) should be elaborated enough to prove that your product deserves to be used. When you promote your product, it is not enough to claim that it is better than others. Why is it better than others? What factors make your app more exciting? Each detail is essential. Be prepared and convince potential users (and investors, if you need to get funding) that your app is a competitive player.
Staying off the radar for too long. It doesn’t mean that you need to create your app as quickly as possible. Haste makes waste, remember. But you should always remind everyone about your app and show that it will be released soon. Each development step should be taken one by one without any delays. If you stay in stealth too long, there are chances that somebody will use your idea to succeed.
The product is complicated. Your healthcare app should improve and simplify healthcare-related processes of patients, not vice versa. That is why we recommend releasing an app for beta testing first to get feedback and evaluate users’ interest in your product.
The lack of a good business model. The profit is the first thing startup owners think about. If this is the first startup you plan to launch, you can partner with a successful healthcare company to build the right business model and then agree on the further profit share.
A weak development team. Finally, app development should be entrusted to professionals. And it is highly recommended to find a software development company, not freelancers. But we will go into more detail in the next section.
Steps On How To Start A Healthcare Startup
As you probably understood, developing the best medical apps for patients is not such a painless and straightforward process. There are many nuances you need to consider. The list of detailed steps will help you avoid mistakes and follow the right way.
Research And Identify The Problem To Solve
The analysis comes first. Why do you create an app? Your goal is to determine the main app’s purpose. So you should conduct detailed research, find out what niches in the market still require new products, what problems your app will solve, why it will be useful, etc.
Besides, making a clone of the existing app leads you nowhere. So you need to build an app that stands out among competitors and provides something new.
Determine Your Target Audience
The second crucial step is understanding who you create an app for. When you analyze the region’s market, you should consider the nuances of location, single out demographic segments, and understand potential users’ preferences. The app should fit the targeted need. Otherwise, it will fail.
Choose The App Type
You have already seen the most popular types of apps above. Thus, it is necessary to figure out what kind of app will be the best-fitting in one or another region during market research. But don’t restrict yourself with the list of types we provided — the market demand may show you that users need something new.
Business Plan Creation
If you want to reduce risks and have more chances for investment attraction, you need to create a business plan. The mobile app business plan should be made following a specific template that will allow you to include all essential information. We have prepared an article that contains a mobile app business plan template and steps to create your business plan correctly.
Get Funding For Your App
If you don’t have personal savings, the only option is to attract funding. The right step to capture investors’ attention is to create a business plan (we have just mentioned it) and pitch your idea to investors. You can find a detailed process of idea pitching in our recent article. However, you can also try to raise capital using crowdfunding platforms or medical startup incubators. And there is also a compilation of crowdfunding platforms Cadabra Studio has made.
Remember About Legal Compliance
If you didn’t know, healthcare apps must comply with local regulations since these apps store and process users’ confidential data. If you create an app for the US region, the app should comply with HIPAA regulations first. In case you don’t know whether your app is HIPAA-compliant or not, check this compliance checklist.
Besides, the USA also has other healthcare-related regulations depending on the type of healthcare apps and medical equipment, so check them before releasing your app.
If the app is created for the European market, then the app must be GDPR-compliant. So before you enter the market, get acquainted with local regulations.
This article may be interesting for you: GDRP Compliance Checklist
Think Through UI/UX Design
An attractive design is vital in any app. However, the visual part is not the only thing to consider. A solid user interface must be combined with thought-out user experience.
Thus, the design should be consistent and intuitive; its goal — smoothly lead the user to the endpoint. The design must be user-friendly, and the fewer interaction points it has, the better experience users get. Also, we recommend to reduce the cognitive load of your app to the maximum.
Proceed To The App Development
We reached the development point. You need to build an MVP first. It will contain basic features only, but you will be able to evaluate its viability with minimum investments.
As we stated above, the process of hiring developers is very responsible since the quality of your product will depend on developers’ skill level. That is why hiring freelancers is a risky approach since you will lose time and money.
Moreover, cooperation with a full-stack development company like Cadabra Studio means that you sign an NDA, and your app idea will remain confidential. Freelance developers and designers cannot guarantee that your idea won’t be stolen or disclosed.
This article may be interesting for you: non disclosure agreement for app development
Thus, a reliable Cadabra Studio team consists of project managers, UI/UX designers, motion designers, web and mobile app developers, QA engineers. So you get a full-fledged scope of services from scratch. Another advantage is cost — the average hourly rate of Ukrainian developers ranges between $35-50, whereas the US-based developers charge about $120-200 per hour.
Bottom Line
The development of a medical app is the process that involves many specialists. And not only the development team. You may hire business consultants who will help you conduct research, analyze market conditions, choose appropriate app ideas, etc.
Then Cadabra Studio engages. We will create a first-rate medical product that will capture the attention of both doctors and patients. The only thing we need to reach a successful result is your detailed list of requirements.
Drop our business development managers a line; they will answer all your questions.
