In the shifting landscape of 2022, telemedicine is becoming a hot trend. People are finally embracing virtual health care, thanks in large part to the coronavirus. Billions are now being quarantined, which may be the catalyst for telemedicine's global acceptance.
In the year 2019, the global telemedicine market was valued at USD 30.7 billion. It is already estimated at USD 31.4 billion during the 2020 pandemic crisis and is expected to reach USD 75.2 billion by 2027. Most experts agree that telemedicine will give a new dimension to the healthcare sector in the nearest future. So, while this industry is still in its early stages, it is a good idea to try to become a part of it. In this article, we will discuss what telemedicine is, what benefits it provides, why one should consider developing a telemedicine app in 2022, how to do so, and how much it can cost.
What exactly is a telemedicine app?
Telemedicine is a practise and a set of services provided by healthcare professionals using information technology. Unless there are urgent symptoms requiring an in-person evaluation, the ultimate goal of telemedicine is to enable the efficient evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of a patient from a remote location. The following are the most common telemedicine use cases:
- Real-time interactive virtual consultations
Online follow-up visits
Remote health surveillance
Exchange and discussion of test results
Medicine prescription or prescription renewal
As a result, under certain conditions, patients may be able to receive the medical care they require without leaving the comfort of their own homes. Being present at the hospital to be diagnosed and treated becomes unnecessary as a result. Now, healthcare specialists can provide remote care to people using modern telemedicine solutions in the form of mobile apps and software for PCs.
Doctor-on-demand apps facilitate the delivery of telemedicine services. As time goes by, they are growing to be ever more widely appreciated as a way to connect healthcare services providers with patients. On-demand software platforms such as streaming services, taxi mobile apps, and food-delivery apps are quickly becoming the norm. As a result, telemedicine apps have followed suit.
Furthermore, everything that happens in the world in 2022 contributes to the accelerated growth in the popularity of telemedicine applications. As a result, telemedicine applications that previously targeted a rural population, the physically disabled, corporate employees, or other specific social groups are now available to everyone.
A telemedicine app's advantages
Software solutions for telemedicine make it possible to manage various facets of healthcare operations on a single platform. As a result, using them regularly can be extremely beneficial for both doctors and patients. In particular, telemedicine apps reduce the amount of red tape and increase accessibility, cost, and efficiency of healthcare services.
1. Increased availability under any circumstances. Telemedicine apps enable patients to cut back on in-person follow-ups. It allows people to virtually connect with their doctors at any time by installing an app on a device of their choice. People tend to put off going to the doctor until they can. They have many other things going on in their lives, so they see no point in changing their schedule because of a minor health problem.
However, such a habit has the reverse side, too. When this problem gets truly nagging (and this can happen unexpectedly), there can be no chance to book an appointment with a specific healthcare provider. A shortage of doctors is a problem in developing countries and advanced economies as well. The following is a list of the best restaurants in the area. Telemedicine apps can help to alleviate some of the burden: doctor appointments via an app take less time and effort; they are generally easier to arrange and thus more accessible.
2. Economic viability. Telehealth applications have the potential to be profitable for practitioners while also allowing patients to save money. It is widely believed (and not for nothing) that telemedicine is not only a more efficient way to treat patients, but it's also a handy way to expand a clinic's or specific practitioner's revenue stream. Reduced staffing costs, a larger patient pool, and a broader selection of health specialists are all distinct features associated with telehealth apps that contribute to the app's cost-effectiveness.
One of the possible and the most viable options is when a healthcare business already has a physical facility associated with it. A hospital, clinic, or medical centre can be used. Then, telemedicine will become an additional source of revenue for this establishment. An mHealth application will enable doctors to serve more patients on a daily basis. Medical facilities will save money on nurses' salaries, as an app with the right technologies in place will complete those tasks even more accurately and efficiently. In addition, patients will have the opportunity to receive better services at a lower cost.
3. Reduced excessive bureaucracy. Most businesses avoid red tape like the plague. However, the healthcare industry is such a sector of the economy that has a historically close relationship with the red tape. Indeed, regulations such as HIPAA are impeding the delivery of quality healthcare services via apps. Nonetheless, everything is changing nowadays.
Telemedicine apps for iOS and Android send all incoming data to servers. Conversation recordings, patient health records, and other private data may be illegally (either accidentally or on purpose) disclosed. However, all of that data usually improves interactions between doctors and patients. And suppose sufficient security measures are taken to protect that information. In that case, a telemedicine software platform can actually help optimise the process by requiring only the necessary data to be entered by a patient and a healthcare provider.
Telehealth app features
During the coronavirus, doctors advise patients to use apps instead of in-person visits. Telemedicine applications, which were developed initially to serve rural patients, have evolved into a tool for connecting those two parties: patients and healthcare workers. They keep people at a safe distance from one another and, no doubt, play a critical new role during the COVID-19 pandemic.
But what features do these telehealth apps require to effectively serve their purpose? First and foremost, there must be a distinction between a patient app and a doctor app. Furthermore, there is a significant difference between a telehealth app's essential features and its advanced features. Let's look into this and see what a telemedicine app should include.
Must-have features of a patient app
Patients who face difficulty when attempting to visit their doctor's office in-person are the first to benefit from telemedicine. A telehealth app assists in the development and maintenance of an excellent patient-provider relationship, which is critical to ensuring advanced patient care and enabling the seamless reduction in the average cost per visit to a primary care physician. Patients can use a telemedicine app to consult with their doctor even if they are physically separated. Thus, the expertise specialists' expertise is leveraged remotely, aided by the following features:
Authentication. The top priorities in software development are security and usability. For an app to be useful (especially one concerned with your health issues), it must be simple to use and secure enough to be entrusted with personal information. An authentication procedure must be designed in the same way. Patients should be able to sign up and log in without risking their security. Multi-factor authentication and biometric identification will aid in the security of login credentials and the verification of a patient.
Locating a doctor. It is impossible to overestimate the importance of search functionality in mobile apps. A telehealth app is no different. Patients must be provided with a convenient tool for not only connecting to a doctor on demand, but also for locating the right specialist to seek assistance from in telemedicine applications. Patients must be able to find a doctor who is qualified to solve the problem using filters such as specialisation, language, gender, or insurance provider.
Appointment scheduling. A patient app has to allow for effortless and intuitive appointment booking. After applying the filters and receiving a list of specialists who meet the specified criteria, the user should have no trouble scheduling their appointment.
Consultations via video or audio. Telemedicine apps are frequently used for consultations and disease management on an ongoing basis. Primary care providers or specialists must have access to the audio or video chatting feature in order to consult, make diagnoses, or monitor the condition of a remote patient. During these real-time virtual visits, patients should be able to freely interact with doctors via video or audio that are of high quality with low latency. After the call, a patient should ideally be able to start treatment right away (with a clear diagnosis, treatment plan, and other useful recommendations) or, at the very least, have a list of tests to run to specify the diagnosis.
Secure messaging. Visual cues have the potential to make a significant difference in identifying disease symptoms. A live chat feature can provide the means to exchange visual information. Before, during, and after a call, providers and patients must be able to exchange information via a communication channel protected by end-to-end encrypted messaging protocols such as Curve25519, AES-256, and HMAC-SHA256. When calling is not an option, a chat feature allows healthcare providers to give written instructions and patients to ask for online assistance or more information about their treatment.
Secure messaging. Visual cues have the potential to make a significant difference in identifying disease symptoms. A live chat feature can provide the means to exchange visual information. Before, during, and after a call, providers and patients must be able to exchange information via a communication channel protected by end-to-end encrypted messaging protocols such as Curve25519, AES-256, and HMAC-SHA256. When calling is not an option, a chat feature allows healthcare providers to give written instructions and patients to ask for online assistance or more information about their treatment.
Patients' previous visits are documented. A telemedicine application should allow patients and doctors to access their previous medical records. Previous visit information must be kept private while still being accessible to the doctor and patient. This will allow doctors to make more informed decisions more quickly and patients to avoid complications when switching providers. Consultation with new medical providers will be more effective if they can quickly access patients' medical records.
Wireless evaluation. Virtual doctor appointments are not the only way telemedicine can be used. Health informatics enables a wide range of healthcare services. As a result, patients can benefit from a telehealth app to conduct wireless testing for remote health monitoring. IoT devices connected to the Internet can send information such as blood pressure, glucose levels, ECG results, and so on to a diagnostic facility so that a patient and his or her healthcare provider can receive the results and view them using a telemedicine app once they are ready.
Dashboard features for doctors
Telemedicine software development not only allows patients to see a healthcare specialist and receive treatment as a result of the consultation, but it also allows providers to strengthen their relationships with their patients while also expanding their existing patient base. A doctor's dashboard is a type of telemedicine software and a location where medical providers can find all of the functionality they need to help them achieve their professional goals. The dashboard will allow physicians to remotely connect with their patients to provide care, allowing them to take advantage of the following features:
Management of appointments. In addition to the functionality required to create a doctor's profile (which is standard in a telemedicine app), there must be features that allow doctors to manage their schedule and set appointment reminders. Doctors, like any other on-demand service app, should be able to accept or reject appointment bookings and manage their schedules.
Patient supervision. Telemedicine is used for a variety of purposes, including ongoing health monitoring, initial consultations, wellness checks, and many others. And, regardless of the specific goal a patient pursues when using a telehealth app, the best results are obtained when the outcomes of their visits, as well as all other information circulating around, are accurately recorded and kept in a neat order so that no outsider can access the records.
Prescription administration. Doctors should be able to digitally issue prescriptions and share them with patients while adhering to the same standards of appropriate practise as those in traditional in-person settings. Remote prescribing is becoming more common, but in order for it to be legal, a doctor-patient relationship must exist. In most cases, for example, issuing a prescription solely based on an online questionnaire does not constitute an acceptable standard of care.
Billing. In-app medical billing is, above all, practical. Additionally, the billing procedure will be as simple as possible if a telemedicine application has the capability to gather insurance information. As a result, patients will automatically be charged for each visit. Hospitals will be able to see the income flow with all the associated details, and doctors will be able to track their individual earnings on a dashboard.
Monitoring of feedback. As previously stated, reviews and ratings are extremely important to patients. They rely heavily on what others say about a given healthcare specialist and usually choose doctors with a higher rating and a greater number of reviews. As a result, doctors must monitor their patients' feedback about them, encourage them to leave reviews, and respond to all comments, positive or negative.
Advanced features of a telemedicine app
These were the essential features that could transform an app into a telemedicine solution. However, if one wants to stand out from the crowd, it is a good idea to spice up the product and include advanced features in addition to the standard ones. Check out the list of premium features that one should consider adding to their custom telemedicine app solutions and see what benefits they can bring to their business.
Appointment video recording. Having remote appointments with doctors is what users expect by default from a telemedicine app. However, providing them with recordings and transcripts of their visits is a rather unique feature that can be used to either monetize or build trust in your application. All users need to do is locate the scheduled telemedicine visit, review the instructions, begin the visit, and choose whether or not to allow recording when prompted.
Integration of EHR. EHRs, or electronic health records, can be used as a stand-alone solution for storing patients' medical histories. It is typically kept by a healthcare provider and contains all administrative and clinical data about a patient. The main benefit of EHR is that it automates access to information and thus streamlines workflow. As a result, EHR integration can become another monetization method for a telehealth app and a significant advancement by introducing increased clarity and accuracy. It will be a telemedicine module that may require additional fees to be applied.
Database of pharmacies. A telemedicine app should include a library of online resources explaining specific medical issues, active pharmaceutical ingredients, and products to help users – both doctors and patients – navigate medication prescriptions more easily. This knowledge database is intended to help physicians or nurses explain healthcare-related phenomena and treatment plans to patients. They will then be able to refer a patient to that in-app database or a website where they can find all necessary information.
Personalized service. A personalised feed for patients can be used to view their medical records, doctor updates, and other important health information. When users open a telemedicine app, it should be the first thing they see. It is an excellent practise to create the conditions for a user under which no update can be possibly missed.
Conclusion
Telemedicine has genuinely taken off during the pandemic, and it is definitely here to stay. The telehealth era has arrived, and it will only serve to improve the healthcare industry. Patients will be able to find the best providers no matter how far apart they are. Health practitioners will continue to embrace new technology on a larger scale, allowing them to provide higher-quality services to more people.
So, the right time to create a telemedicine app is now! Be among the first to reap the benefits of telemedicine app development! Whether it's an app for a physician in private practise, a hospital, or an app to support any other type of telemedicine service, the Omninos team will do everything possible to meet your needs! Contact us and we'll go over the details!
