MedTech app development is gaining momentum as more medical app ideas prove successful and popular with users of all ages. An increase in wearable technology like smartwatches has also helped drive healthcare app development.
Even if you already have a great idea for a healthcare app, it is beneficial to understand what features and app ideas are resonating with and delighting users. Let’s take a closer look at some of the important healthcare app ideas that are driving MedTech app development.
Trending Medical App Ideas
If you want to develop a healthcare app, you need to understand who you will be serving. Do you want to create an app for patients, providers, or both? Most healthcare apps are targeted towards either patients or doctors, but perhaps you could blend multiple app ideas to create an app that serves both audiences.
Some trending medical app ideas and features you should consider include:
- On-Demand healthcare
- Access to medical records
- Self-test
- Mental health
- Health reminders
- Medical reference and training
On-Demand Healthcare
Tech advancements have significantly changed our societal expectations. Modern consumers expect fast delivery and service, and the healthcare industry is not immune to these current demands. On-demand healthcare and access to a doctor have been gaining popularity, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
There are healthcare apps, such as Doctor on Demand, that seek to connect users with real doctors over the Internet. Creating a healthcare app that helps connect users with medical professionals for quick queries and treatment is a good idea. This app or feature idea has been tried, but there is a ton of room for innovation.
Take the healthcare app, Luna, for example. Luna helps connect patients with physical therapists. Instead of going to an office and waiting around to be seen, Luna sends physical therapists directly to a patient’s home. This benefits therapists by allowing them to craft their own schedules and focus their time and energy on their patients, and it allows patients to get quality physical therapy care from the comfort of their own home.
A healthcare app that could quickly connect patients with the appropriate doctor or specialist on video could help save resources and time. Patients who only require advice and a treatment plan can quickly get prescriptions and other medical orders without having to visit the office. Meanwhile, patients who might need more detailed medical attention can confirm with a doctor and schedule an appointment for further evaluation.
Doctor’s offices can help manage their patient load and reduce the number of people who need to visit the office in person by taking advantage of telemedicine.
Access to Medical Records
Record keeping has gotten a lot better as technology has improved, but it is still far from perfect, especially in the healthcare industry. Currently, patients have limited access to their own health records. This can create problems if they are traveling and need to see a doctor while they are away from home or if they have moved to a new state or country.
A robust medical records app would be a major convenience not only to patients but also to doctors. If a person were able to pull up all of their medical records on an app, they could share important notes and observations made by previous providers with their current doctor or specialist.
There are some medical records apps already in the market, but these apps really just help patients keep track of their own records. A person still has to contact their provider to get records and scan or enter them into the app on their own.
There is a lot of potential for a universal medical records app that can be updated by any doctor and patients as care and treatment are provided. A healthcare app like this that uses blockchain technology would help provide better healthcare services to patients.
When handling medical records, app developers must ensure that their offerings remain HIPAA compliant. This legislation will be a key concern in the development of a medical records app, and adhering to HIPAA guidelines should be a priority at every stage of development.
Self-Test
Wearable technology and healthcare apps have been really adept at tracking vitals and monitoring health conditions. The next logical healthcare app idea is being able to test for certain conditions using this same technology.
Conditions like high blood pressure are low-hanging fruit that a healthcare app could help patients test for on their own. This type of feature would help people take more control over their own health, and it would help doctors manage the flow of patients visiting their practice giving them more capacity to handle more pressing issues.
The challenge will be ensuring that self-test results are reliable and accurate to a high degree. Furthermore, a self-test would likely still need to be reviewed by a doctor in order to ensure that the proper treatment is being administered.
Combining self-testing features with on-demand healthcare can help patients get a test and speak to a doctor about their results without ever having to leave their homes. Not only does this help people with busy schedules, but it is also valuable when there is a global pandemic and visiting a doctor in person might make you nervous.
Mental Health
Our society is understanding and valuing mental health a lot more than we have ever before. As such, there are a lot of opportunities for healthcare startups to create healthcare apps that address mental health.
One thing that people who live in rural areas struggle with is access to mental health services in their area. An on-demand mental health app that helps connect people with therapists is a very popular idea, and it has proven successful already for a number of companies.
One thing that hasn’t been approached with the same tenacity is on-demand psychiatry. Typically, therapists are unable to prescribe medicines. There are many people who drastically improve their daily lives by taking medicine for their mental health. However, people can have difficulty finding a psychiatrist near them who is accepting patients.
A healthcare app that can help connect people to crucial mental health services like psychiatry would be very valuable. There are other ways to address the mind as well. This includes meditation, yoga, and other exercises. Just because your app idea helps connect people with providers doesn’t mean you can’t add guided meditations, peaceful music, and other mental health assets to your app.
Health Reminders
Sometimes it is easy to forget, which is why a reminder is valuable. If you need to take medicine every day at a certain time, have a busy schedule full of healthcare appointments, or are just forgetful, a health reminder app can be a huge help.
Many users who have to take multiple medications at various times throughout their day find reminders to be extremely important. An engaging healthcare app with a user-friendly UX is much better than setting multiple alarms on your phone in order to make sure you are taking your medication at the right times.
There is a lot of potential to create a health reminder app for users. With an app like this, you can allow patients to enter all of their medications and instructions and timing for each. You likely won’t have to worry about HIPAA or other regulations either. How you deliver reminders and notifications is up to you, and it gives your healthcare startup a chance to be creative and show off your individuality.
Medical Reference and Training
Doctors, nurses, medical assistants, and other healthcare professionals don’t always have a lot of time on their hands. A healthcare app that provides educational material and training is a valuable resource to professionals working in the healthcare industry. An app that can help medical personnel identify and treat conditions quickly is valuable not only to providers but also to patients.
Besides reference apps, there is a big demand for medical training apps as well. Students in medical school, nurses, medical assistants, and even doctors can benefit from medical training. Apps that share the latest information, effective treatments, etc., can help make healthcare professionals better at providing quality treatment to their patients.
Final Thoughts
If you are a healthcare startup with an idea for an app, reach out to an app development partner. There are a lot of important concerns when building a healthcare app that need to be considered. In most cases, the app development process for MedTech apps requires specialized knowledge of federal law and regulation, specifically in regards to HIPAA compliance.
A partner can lend you expertise and industry experience when you’re ready to turn your medical app ideas into a reality.
