6 Steps to Developing Mobile Health App: Insights from Onix

So, you are going to start mobile health app development. And we hope it's likely because you've identified a real-world problem that needs solving – not just because it's a trendy or lucrative market.

 

Now that you've identified the passion and pinpointed the industry's pain points, you're probably wondering: what's next? How do you turn your idea into a viable mobile health app?

 

Well, our guide is here to walk you through the essential steps of building a mobile health app that can truly make a difference.

 

In this article, we

 

• explore various mobile medical solutions available today
• demystify the steps involved in creating a health mobile app
• explain all the technical nuances
• our real-life experiences to illustrate development beyond theory

 

So, let's dive in. 

The white-label solution that enables healthcare at home developed by Onix

Types of Mobile Medical Apps You Can Build

When you explore the variety of mobile medical solutions available today, you'll notice they typically serve three main groups:

 

• patients
• medical professionals
• and administrators.

 

Understanding these audiences is essential before diving into mhealth app development.

Below we provide a breakdown of different types of mobile health apps designed for these three groups.

 

Mobile health apps for patients

 

• Appointment scheduling and reminder apps
• Self-diagnosing apps
• Mental health apps
• Habit tracking apps
• Fitness and wellness apps
• Social networking apps
• Telehealth apps
• IoT medical product integration apps
• Women’s health apps

Mobile health apps for healthcare providers

 

• Electronic health record (EHR) apps
• Telemedicine apps
• Clinical decision support apps
• Medical reference apps
• Patient monitoring apps
• Healthcare communication and collaboration apps
• Medical education and training apps

 

Read more: Benefits, Use Cases, and Challenges of Teledentistry in Healthcare

 

Mobile health apps for medical administrators

 

• Practice management apps
• Healthcare analytics and reporting apps
• Revenue cycle management (RCM) apps
• Patient engagement and communication apps
• Inventory and supply chain management apps
• Electronic health record (EHR) management apps

 

Functionality for Mobile Health App

Start with a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) to quickly validate your app concept and gather user feedback. 

 

 

Focusing on essential features speeds up development and reduces time to market.

 

MVP features for a mobile medical app:

 

• Patient and doctor profiles
• Health tracking
• Appointment scheduling
• Secure messaging
• Telehealth capability
• Educational resources
• Notifications and alerts
• Feedback and support
• Data security and compliance

 

Read Also: How to Implement Telehealth for Chronic Care Management

 

Next-gen features

Once your MVP is up and running, you can add extra features to your mobile health app to make it even more valuable and effective for users and healthcare providers.

 

Below, we list advanced technologies for mhealth apps you can integrate:

 

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

 

• Chatbots for patient support. AI-powered chatbots can provide 24/7 assistance, answering patient queries, offering symptom checks, and scheduling appointments.

 

• Personalized health recommendations. AI algorithms can analyze user data to provide personalized health advice, diet plans, and fitness routines.

 

• Predictive analytics. AI can predict potential health issues by analyzing historical and real-time data, enabling preventive care and early intervention.

 

Machine Learning (ML)

 

• Disease diagnosis. ML models can analyze medical images (X-rays, MRIs) to detect diseases such as cancer, diabetes, or cardiovascular conditions with high accuracy.

 

• Patient monitoring. ML can process data from wearable devices to monitor vital signs and alert healthcare providers of any anomalies.

 

• Drug interaction alerts. ML algorithms can predict potential adverse drug interactions based on patient medication histories and known drug interactions.

 

Virtual Reality (VR)

 

• Pain management. VR can be used for distraction therapy, helping patients manage chronic pain or anxiety during medical procedures.

 

• Rehabilitation. VR-based exercises and simulations can assist in physical rehabilitation, helping patients recover mobility and strength.

 

• Medical training. VR provides immersive training environments for medical professionals to practice surgical procedures and emergency response scenarios.

 

Augmented Reality (AR)

 

• Surgical assistance. AR can overlay digital information onto the surgeon's view during procedures, providing real-time guidance and improving precision.

 

• Patient education. AR apps can help explain medical conditions and treatment plans to patients using interactive 3D models.

 

• Remote collaboration. AR enables remote specialists to assist and guide on-site healthcare providers during complex medical procedures.

 

Internet of Things (IoT)

 

• Remote patient monitoring. IoT devices like smartwatches, glucose monitors, and heart rate monitors can continuously track patient health and send data to healthcare providers.

 

• Smart medication dispensers. IoT-enabled dispensers can remind patients to take their medication and track adherence.

 

• Home health monitoring. Smart home devices can monitor elderly or chronically ill patients, detect falls or other emergencies, and notify caregivers.

 

Natural Language Processing (NLP)

 

• Clinical documentation. NLP can automate the extraction and entry of clinical data from doctor-patient interactions, reducing administrative burdens.

 

• Voice assistants. NLP enables voice-activated assistants to help patients with medication reminders, health tracking, and accessing health information.

 

• Sentiment analysis. NLP can analyze patient feedback and reviews to gauge sentiment and improve healthcare services.

 

Big Data Analytics

 

• Population health management. Big data can analyze trends and patterns in large datasets to improve public health strategies and resource allocation.

 

• Predictive healthcare. Analyzing large volumes of patient data can predict disease outbreaks, patient admission rates, and other healthcare trends.

 

• Personalized medicine. For more effective care, big data analytics can tailor treatments to individual genetic profiles and health histories.

 

6 Steps to Build a Mobile Health Application: Insights from Onix

From a developer’s point of view, the steps to building an app for the healthcare sector are not much different from any other, e.g., a fitness app or messenger.

 

The standard app development process involves these key steps:

But let's dive a little deeper.

 

Below, we focus on the healthcare-specific aspects of the process.

 

The following mobile healthcare application development steps are non-linear because some of them may occur simultaneously, overlap, and shift.

 

1. Build a strategic vision

To kickstart mobile health application development, our experts advocate adopting a lean inception approach. This method ensures a seamless integration process and maximizes potential benefits.

At Onix, our Lean Inception process begins by assembling a diverse team of stakeholders, including product owners, developers, and designers. This collaborative workshop typically spans one to two weeks and follows a structured agenda to achieve specific goals:

 

• Define the project's vision, objectives, and success criteria.

 

• Create detailed user personas to represent the app's target audience and ensure features meet end-user needs.

 

• Conduct exercises to prioritize features based on importance and feasibility.

 

• Visualize the user journey through storyboard sessions to optimize how users interact with the app.

 

• Develop a roadmap outlining tasks and milestones for building the MVP within a specified timeline.

 

By initiating development with Lean Inception, Onix ensures that every step, from vision-setting to feature prioritization, is meticulously planned to deliver a mobile health app that meets user expectations and business objectives.

2. Choose a development approach and suitable technologies

There are two main approaches to mhealth app development:

 

1. native app development
2. cross-platform app development

 

Each approach has its own strengths, supported technologies, and ideal scenarios based on your project goals.

 

Below, we've gathered all the essential information you need, providing a comprehensive overview of each approach and a list of reliable technologies.

 

Native development

Native app development involves creating separate app versions for each platform (iOS and Android) using platform-specific languages and tools.

 

Best suited for:

 

• Apps needing high-speed data processing or complex algorithms (e.g., AI/ML) that require native platform capabilities.

 

• Projects with a larger budget and a longer development timeline.

 

• Apps prioritizing platform-specific UI/UX guidelines to deliver a seamless and familiar user experience.

Cross-platform app development

Cross-platform app development lets developers write code once and deploy it across multiple platforms.

 

Best suited for:

 

• Projects with limited budgets, as it reduces development costs associated with maintaining separate codebases for iOS and Android.

 

• MVP development and testing app concepts quickly across multiple platforms to gather user feedback and validate market demand.

 

• Apps with standard functionalities that do not heavily rely on platform-specific features or require high-performance capabilities.

 

3. Design a visually appealing and functional mobile health app

At Onix, we prioritize creating a seamless and engaging user experience through a structured design process tailored to mobile health applications.

 

Here's how we can approach it when designing a mobile health app:

 

• User research and analysis. We gather insights through surveys, interviews, and usability testing to inform the app's design.

 

• Information architecture. We organize content and features into a clear and intuitive structure.

 

• Wireframing and prototyping. We visualize and refine design concepts using low-fidelity wireframes and high-fidelity prototypes.

 

• Visual design. We thoughtfully use color, typography, imagery, and design elements to create a cohesive and memorable user experience.

 

• Responsive design. We optimize designs for all devices to guarantee a consistent and seamless user experience.

 

• Interaction design. We enhance usability and engagement with animations, micro-interactions, and other techniques.

 

• Design systems. We develop scalable design systems for consistency across all digital products.

 

• Accessibility. We ensure your app is s usable for all, including those with disabilities, by implementing inclusive features.

 

4. Mobile frontend and backend development and quality assurance

 

Mobile frontend development includes:

 

• Building the user interface
• Ensuring a smooth user experience
• Conducting usability testing

 

Mobile backend development includes:

 

• Setting up the server infrastructure
• Database management
• API development

 

Quality assurance includes:

 

• Testing for functionality
• Performance testing
• Security testing
• User acceptance testing

 

5. Implement security standard

At this stage, one of the nuances of developing a healthcare mobile app is the necessity of building it according to various security standards.

 

A mobile health app typically collects and contains many sensitive personal information, so security becomes vital. An encrypted format and secure connection are needed.

 

Depending on your app type, you may need to delve into:

 

• HealthKit integration (iOS)
• Android.os.health package
• Various medical software standards (e.g., ISO27001 or IEC 62304)
• Additional regulations, such as HITECH Act

 

In addition, a mobile health app should meet the applicable security standards established by the government. Different regions have different standards, for example:

 

• Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) (USA). This act regulates sensitive medical data flow between servers. Any mobile health app that deals with protected health information (PHI) needs full compliance with HIPAA. Note that personal health apps fall into the non-HIPAA category.

 

 

• Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) (Canada). This act sets rules that regulate personal data usage and sharing.

 

• General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (EU). This regulation clarifies how businesses can and cannot use personal data; i.e. everything that can be used to identify a person, from a name to an IP address.

 

• Data Protection Act (DPA) (UK). This act partly replicates the GDPR. It sets the rules on using and storing personal data and requires that privacy policies contain relevant information.

 

It generally shouldn’t matter where a mobile medical app is created. If it uses consumers’ data from a specific region, it should comply with that region’s privacy and security requirements.

Example of HIPAA-compliant mHealth app development by Onix

 

6. App launch and maintenance

Before launching your mobile health app, choose a suitable hosting service. AWS and DigitalOcean are popular, affordable options that offer secure file storage.

 

For apps on the Google Play Store or Apple App Store, you'll need to go through their respective approval processes, including signing agreements with Google and Apple.

 

Our mobile health app developers work in an isolated environment for maintenance to avoid disrupting the live app. After thorough testing, updates are deployed to production, ensuring the app remains stable and up-to-date.

 

Remember, to ensure everything goes according to plan and runs smoothly as we've described, it's crucial to select a trustworthy technical partner who knows precisely what needs to be done and how to do it.

 

Cost to Create a Healthcare Mobile App

Creating a healthcare mobile app involves multiple factors that can influence the overall cost.

 

Here's a breakdown of the key elements that affect the cost and what you can expect:

 

Platform Choice

 

• Single platform (iOS or Android). Developing for a single platform may cost from $20,000 to $50,000 for basic apps.

 

• Cross-platform. Frameworks like React Native or Flutter allow simultaneous deployment on iOS and Android, which can save time and money. Costs range from $50,000 to $100,000.

 

Design and User Experience

 

• Basic design. Simple, functional designs are more affordable but might not provide the best user experience. Costs can be around $5,000 to $15,000.

 

• Advanced design. Includes custom graphics, animations, and a highly intuitive user interface. Costs can range from $15,000 to $50,000.

 

Backend Development

 

• Basic backend. Includes simple databases and server-side logic. Costs can range from $10,000 to $30,000.

 

• Advanced backend. Involves complex server-side logic, integration with multiple databases, and high-security measures. Costs can exceed $50,000.

 

Integration with Third-Party Services

 

• APIs and SDKs. Integrating third-party services like payment gateways, telemedicine platforms, or EHR systems can add to the cost. Expect to pay $5,000 to $20,000 for these integrations.

 

Compliance and Security

 

• Basic security. Ensuring your app has basic security features is essential. Costs can range from $5,000 to $10,000.

 

• Advanced compliance. Meeting regulatory requirements like HIPAA can be costly and complex. Costs can exceed $20,000.

 

Maintenance and Updates

 

• Ongoing support. Post-launch maintenance, including bug fixes, updates, and new features, typically costs 15-20% of the initial development cost annually.

 

Below, we provide a rough estimate based on different app complexities:

Note: Please remember that the costs mentioned are approximate and may vary depending on your project's complexity, specific needs, chosen vendors or service providers, location, and current market rates.

 

Onix's Experience in Building Mobile Medical Applications

To see our expertise in action, you can check out our case studies:

Digital health company

About an app: This is a white-label solution to enhance home-based care for a digital health company.

 

We've assisted our client in developing iOS/Android apps and dashboards to monitor, coordinate care needs, assess risks, view analytics, and get guidance.

 

InnerAI

About an app: InnerAI is a meditation and mindfulness guide that leverages AI to tailor every meditation session to each user’s unique needs and preferences.

 

Onix developed a minimum viable product with the core feature set required to provide personalized meditation sessions and a basic intuitive user interface. The client gave us one month to deliver the MVP.

 

Scheduler for medical doctors and clinic administrators

About an app: This is a medical management system integrated with real-time records to optimize workflow.

 

Onix developed an appointment app integrated with EHR, a progressive web app for doctors, and implemented a route optimization algorithm with intuitive UI/UX.

A client’s assessment of collaboration with Onix on mHealth app development

 

Summing Up

Building a healthcare mobile app may be challenging, but it doesn’t make it less fruitful. The modern world is plagued by pandemics, economic crises, environmental pollution, climate change, and other problems, and yearns for new healthcare solutions.

 

There is no universal mobile health app development guide that offers a thorough, step-by-step strategy to guarantee success. Consistently keeping your end-user's best interests front and center will help you build a valuable and successful product.

 

If you have any questions or are looking for an experienced team to build your app for the healthcare market – please contact us! We will be happy to help.

 

FAQ

 

How long does it take to develop a mobile healthcare application?

The timeline for developing a mobile healthcare app can vary based on its complexity and features. Generally, developing and launching a fully functional app can take anywhere from a few months to over a year.

 

How do you ensure the security and privacy of healthcare mobile apps?

We apply security measures such as data encryption, secure authentication methods, and compliance with regulations like HIPAA. Our experts also conduct regular security audits to maintain the security and privacy of healthcare apps.

 

How do I choose the right development team for building my healthcare mobile application?

Consider factors such as the team's experience in healthcare app development, their understanding of regulatory requirements (e.g., HIPAA compliance), portfolio of similar projects, technological expertise, and client references.

 

How can I get an accurate cost estimate for mhealth app development?

To get an accurate cost estimate, it's advisable to consult with experienced developers or development agencies. Providing detailed project specifications and discussing specific features and functionalities desired for the healthcare mobile app will help obtain a more precise estimate.

 

Share your app idea with us, and our experts will calculate your app development costs.