The healthcare industry has seen a remarkable transformation in recent years, with a newfound embrace of technology-enabled healthcare services and practices. This shift has paved the way for the development of telemedicine software, which had previously been met with hesitation from both consumers and providers. The COVID-19 pandemic has been a major catalyst for this change, leading to a 38-fold increase in telemedicine usage compared to pre-pandemic levels. Despite the gradual decline in popularity as the pandemic reaches its later stages, telemedicine services are still utilized by a third of the US population at least once a year.
Benefits of Telemedicine App Development
The potential of Telemedicine App Development is evident, and both doctors and patients can reap the rewards. Consider the following benefits:
Advantages of telemedicine apps for patients
The benefits of telemedicine apps for patients are numerous; 90% of patients report that they would prefer to use a telehealth service to schedule appointments, refill and manage prescriptions, and follow treatment plans. Other advantages of telemedicine apps include convenience and ease of use for patients, like the following:
- Less Time and Lower Costs: Virtual visits are easier to fit into busy schedules and help eliminate the costs associated with traditional in-person appointments such as traveling.
- Easy Access to Healthcare: Telemedicine apps make healthcare services more accessible for the elderly, individuals with limited mobility, children, and those who live in remote areas.
- Preventive Care: Telemedicine apps offer unmatched opportunities to enhance preventive care and adherence of individuals to a healthy lifestyle.
- Lower Risk of Illness: Virtual doctor-on-demand services help decrease the risk of catching an illness as patients have less exposure to others.
Advantages of telemedicine apps for healthcare providers
Let’s take a closer look at why developing a telemedicine app can be beneficial for healthcare providers. This type of app can help to streamline workflows, allow for the easy exchange of health data, and also increase patient satisfaction.
- Lower Costs: Telemedicine allows providers to reduce operational costs by cutting the salary costs of the front desk staff, rent, and losses associated with no-shows. This saved money can be put towards innovations, and telehealth consultations are usually less expensive than in-person visits or calls.
- Improved Work Efficiency: Telemedicine can significantly improve clinical workflow efficiency by establishing a unified data flow and integrating with electronic health records. This allows doctors to have quicker access to health records and use the data for better analysis and decision-making.
- Additional Revenue: By reducing the overload of hospitals and the number of no-shows, providers can attract more online and offline patients and increase the number of patients.
- Higher Patient Satisfaction: Telehealth apps tend to earn more approval than an in-person appointments due to their convenience and accessibility. This increased the patients’ loyalty to the healthcare provider and improved the patient experience.
Trending Technologies for Telehealth App Development
It is essential to keep up with the latest technological advancements in telemedicine if you want to create a successful product. Now that you have identified your niche and target audience, you need to consider which features to include in your telemedicine app. What are the most popular and cutting-edge technologies for constructing a telemedicine platform?
Artificial intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML)
We cannot overstate the importance of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) in the modern world. AI/ML-based technologies are revolutionizing the way we approach healthcare, particularly through telemedicine. AI/ML apps can create individual care plans, while chatbots can reduce patient wait times. Moreover, AI/ML products can process and analyze the anonymized data from millions of people to improve disease treatments, diagnose patients quickly and accurately, and even help prevent potential diseases. Currently, the US Food and Drug Administration has approved 64 AI/ML-based medical devices and algorithms for use, such as the EyeArt algorithm, which uses an AI-based device to analyze photos of the retina and detect signs of diabetic retinopathy.
Internet of Medical Things (IoMT)
The combination of the Internet of Things (IoT) and telemedicine has resulted in the development of the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT). This involves utilizing medical devices, such as EKG monitors, as well as mobile apps, to monitor health conditions. Wearables, remote patient monitoring, medication tracking systems, and other medical devices are all part of IoMT, leading to more accurate diagnoses, complete health data, and improved levels of care.
The CYCORE remote cancer monitoring system is an example of how connected care is enabled by virtual monitoring. A focus group of head and neck cancer patients used Bluetooth-enabled weight scales and blood pressure cuffs to track their symptoms in an app. The data collected was sent to doctors, allowing them to adjust the treatment plan on a daily basis, making the process much simpler for both patients and doctors.
The significance of IoMT has drastically risen in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, emphasizing the need for remote monitoring. It is no surprise, then, that the global IoMT market is estimated to grow from $71.84 billion in 2020 to over $446.50 billion by 2028.
Extended Reality (XR)
The emerging use of Extended Reality (XR) is transforming the way healthcare is delivered. This technology encompasses Augmented Reality (AR), Mixed Reality (MR), and Virtual Reality (VR). XR has already been integrated into telemedicine app development, making virtual care more immersive. As a result, VR is increasingly being used by clinics to provide remote healthcare and there are even several fully XR clinics like XRHealth. VR is beneficial in treating pain, physical injuries, stress, and even respiratory issues caused by COVID-19. Furthermore, the combination of AR and Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be leveraged to reduce in-person contact, as AI-based products enable constant access to patients’ health indicators and can alert medical personnel when something goes wrong. XR not only offers more possibilities for remote care, but also for education. AR glasses, for instance, provide surgeons and doctors valuable guidance during procedures, surgeries, and exams, such as access to holographic images of patients and full body scans to pinpoint ailments.
Blockchain
Due to the constant exchange of electronic health records between a patient and a doctor, the risk of a data breach is high when it comes to virtual care. Blockchain is a potential solution for this issue as it offers a mutually-agreed decentralized and anonymous interaction between parties. This technology enables physicians to have access to their patient’s complete medical history, as well as store more medical records and information securely encrypted in fragmented systems. Furthermore, the mandatory validation of each transaction between parties decreases the number of inaccurate claims allowed into the system, thus reducing false claims and insurance fraud cases.
Despite its apparent efficiency, blockchain is still not too popular. This can be attributed to the cost, the need for specialized knowledge, standardization, and a lack of regulation.
How to Develop a Telehealth App: Final Thoughts
In conclusion, the telemedicine industry is a rapidly growing field with many opportunities for growth, niche discovery, and implementation of the latest technologies. We believe this industry is the future of healthcare and can improve the quality of healthcare services and the population’s health.
In our article, you can read about all the processes of developing a telehealth app, including challenges in telemedicine app development, MVP stages for a telemedicine app, additional features to include, technology stack to use and existing monetizing strategies for this kind of app, as well as find the answer on the question “how much Does it cost to develop a telemedicine app?”
If you have an idea for a telemedicine app, we are here to help you turn it into a successful solution. Reach out to us today to learn more about how we can help you develop your telehealth app.