Healthcare Mobile App Development: Types, Trends, & Features

The healthcare industry, among all others, is applying digital technologies and utilizing mobile devices for healthcare app development.

In 2017 there were 325,000 available healthcare apps with a range of functionalities, from personal fitness trackers to programs to help maintain chronic health conditions.

The heavy usage of smartphones and smartwatches contributed even greater growth to the mobile health consumer app market.

The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) mentions that 1.7 billion smartphone users are going to adopt healthcare mobile apps by 2018. Consequently, this is definitely the right time for healthcare mobile app development.

Healthcare apps provide lots of benefits for the healthcare industry and particularly for both patients and doctors.

Types of Healthcare Apps

Generally, all healthcare apps can be divided into two categories - professional healthcare apps and healthcare apps for patients.

Doctor apps are used for medical instruction, access to healthcare records and diagnoses, medical prescriptions, and essentially all other internal matters.

The other category consists of medical apps used by patients in clinics or personal healthcare apps.

Professional Healthcare Apps

• Medical reference & database apps
• Professional networking apps
• Patient medical health tracking apps
• Doctor appointment & clinical assistance apps
• Telehealth mobile apps (doctor-on-demand apps)

Mobile Health Apps for Patients

• Patient medical education apps (patient portals)
• Reminder apps
• Diagnosis apps
• Healthy lifestyle apps
• Monitoring apps
• Mental health apps
• Dieting apps
• Women's health apps

Best Medical & Healthcare Apps

Medical Apps

The best medical app is Sanford Guide: Antimicrobial Rx, available free on both iOS and Android. This medical app is targeted at clinicians and provides information about infectious diseases. The content is updated regularly, and is both concise and reliable. The app uses an in-app subscription monetization model ($29.9/year).

Among the top 10 grossing medical apps in that Apple Store and Google Play are:

• Human Anatomy Atlas 2019: Complete 3D Human Body- used by medical professionals and students to get all of the ins-and-outs of the human body. Has in-app purchases.
• EMT: Pocket Prep - practise test app which improves learning capabilities through the application of iterative studying and customized study sessions with a subscription. Has 30 free practise questions and one-time payment for a premium upgrade.
• Davis' Drug Guide for Nurses - most comprehensive drug guide for competent and safe medication administration. Has a 30-day trial followed by a subscription of $38.99, billed annually.
• Tarascon Pharmacopoeia - one of the most referenced and trusted drug platforms. The subscription is $39.99 for one year of continuously updated content.

Here you can get full information about other popular healthcare applications.