Healthcare Apps For Patient Engagement

In the healthcare sector, the patient holds a very central role. It is only because of the care and counseling that a patient demands that runs the healthcare sector. Without the involvement and presence of patients, no healthcare institution or clinic can be successful.

Even the companies that are allied with healthcare, like pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, and healthcare supply chains, work only when there are patients who want healthcare services. 

Even at a time when virtual healthcare apps and healthcare app development are gaining traction, it is important to take note of the instrumental role that patient engagement and participation in healthcare processes play in the growth of the healthcare app sector. More and more patients are now comfortable with using healthcare apps on their mobile phones and wearable gadgets.

Healthcare app development is no longer restricted to targeting senior citizens or chronic patients but also young adults and people who are more health conscious.

The purpose of this blog post is to discuss the importance of patient engagement, the features of effective healthcare apps, and the future of this exciting field.

Healthcare Apps For Patient Engagement Insights

Healthcare apps play a major role in unveiling another aspect of patient engagement. The patient engagement rate for hospitals and clinics has gone up since they launched their own healthcare apps. This is because people can now have a virtual healthcare portal on their phones or gadgets at all times. 

They can also interact with health professionals whenever they want. Patient virtual care and patient engagement are so important for healthcare institutions that 77 percent of healthcare app development companies are investing in the improvement of patient experience through the use of healthcare apps. 

A healthcare app should focus on maximizing the experience that patients get from the portal so that they can depend on the app. The best healthcare app development company focuses on both front-end and back-end development so that it can engage patients and professionals very smoothly through the app.

The adoption of telehealth services and other healthcare app services has increased by more than 83 percent now. This adoption rate by users will only skyrocket, and the healthcare app development sector has to be ready for the upcoming trends.

How Does Healthcare App Development Improve Patient Care And Engagement?

Healthcare app development and custom health app development are crucial for the improvement of patient care quality. It is also important to take up HIPAA-compliant mobile app development so that healthcare services are more accessible to patients. The use of mobile technology and wearable health technology helps improve patient engagement in the following ways.

Appointment scheduling

Custom healthcare app development also creates appointment scheduling apps that are able to connect patients with doctors through better channels. A custom healthcare app that works through an on-demand doctor appointment app model allows doctors and patients to coordinate their schedules so that patients can secure health appointments when they need them. 

The appointment scheduling feature of a customized mobile healthcare app gives the patient an opportunity to see the availability of the doctor and then decide on the appointment date. The app also has additional features like sending out reminders and alarms to the patient so that he can stay on track about the appointment status.

This creates the scope for more involvement and user engagement. The patient no longer misses crucial health checkups and becomes more involved in his treatment plan.

Secure messaging with the doctor

To increase patient engagement at an individual level, it is important that the company focuses on including advanced communication channels during custom healthcare software development. Communication channels like texting, video calling, and free in-app calls improve the accessibility of healthcare services. This allows the patient to complete their virtual doctor appointments easily and improves overall patient engagement. 

A secure texting and calling feature ensures that patient confidentiality and data privacy remain intact inside the healthcare app. The healthcare app development team has to pay attention to the quality and speed of communication between the patient and the doctors through custom healthcare software development solutions. Video conferencing and telehealth increase the transparency of the consultation session so that the patient is highly benefited and can engage better.

EHR integration

EHR integration is a feature fundamental to custom healthcare apps. The healthcare app development process needs seamless and secure EHR integration so that healthcare mobile app development can create a data-driven application. The best approach is to keep all the PHI in one place on the app so that the patient can see his previous and current health records anytime he wants.

This will keep him vigilant and informed about his own health. EHR access should also be provided by the consulting doctor so that he knows what to look for and what treatment path to take for the patient. 

Because of the digital form of medical history that the healthcare apps have, patients rely more on them to access health records. Because of the ease of access and tracking, patient engagement levels with virtual healthcare apps have increased.

Patient engagement can also increase when they have all their current and old prescriptions in an app. This is a good step as it helps the patient and caregivers know which medicines to eat and order when needed.

Remote patient monitoring

For chronically ill patients and patients who live in remote, inaccessible areas, remote patient monitoring is a feature that helps to a great extent. Custom healthcare software development services can create apps for remote patient monitoring that have dedicated healthcare professionals on one end.

Healthcare mobile app development services create remote patient monitoring systems for hospitals so that their professional team can keep an eye on crucial patient activity. 

It is also a feature that enhances patient engagement in the hospital because the patient feels connected to his care team. He can interact and communicate with the healthcare team or doctor through the remote healthcare app.

A healthcare app development company should connect multiple stakeholders of the patient care system so that the patient does not feel alone during a health emergency. This is a feature that, when used properly, can enhance patient trust and engagement with the healthcare institution.

Fitness tracker and lifestyle suggestions

One of the most popular outputs of HIPAA-compliant app development is a fitness and wellness tracker app. Patients and health-conscious people like to use fitness tracking apps so that they feel more in control of their health vitals and condition. Even a comprehensive health app might have an in-built fitness tracker.

A custom healthcare software application development company can also include this feature to track personal health details and create highly specific suggestions for the patient. With a higher level of specifications and customizations, it is easy for patients to engage with the app and manage their disease at an individual level.

Patient engagement also increases for such apps because they act like virtual assistants that can be health-concerned companions for users. With the use of AI and ML in the healthcare industry, these healthcare apps are more human now than ever.

Health Education

Healthcare app development has also created apps that bring patients closer to the hospital and enable them to educate themselves on multiple health topics. Patient education is an important aspect of the prevention and treatment of health issues. Healthcare apps can have virtual reality and augmented reality capabilities so that the patient learns about his own body and its health in an interesting way. 

A hospital can also provide him with multimedia materials and simple infographics that integrate within the app and can educate him in a simple but effective manner.

Therefore, healthcare app development is not only important for treatment and follow-up but also for disease prevention. Through patient education, the level of patient engagement also increases day by day.

Virtual diagnostics and pharmacy

A patient who wants to manage or cure his disease will want to look at his reports and prescriptions. He will also want to order medicines in a timely manner so that he can manage the disease without any problems. A complete medicine delivery app created by a custom healthcare app development company in India can also have a portal that allows him to check for his past and upcoming medical tests and their results.

A patient can also see the medicines that he is running low on and order the medicines from an online pharmacy app. A comprehensive and feature-rich healthcare app can support all the processes needed for disease treatment and management.

The dependency of patients on real-life hospitals is reduced, and they are more engaged in the active treatment of their disease. Such a customized healthcare app can also come with pill-taking reminders and alarms so that the patient can treat the healthcare app as a health assistant.

Conclusion

The healthcare app development process is incomplete without focusing on ways to improve patient participation and engagement. With the help of interactive UI/UX and secure app features, a healthcare app development company can create an app that encourages patients to take care of their health and improve their health in different ways. The aim of Comfygen is to create custom health apps that are useful and dependable for patients of all age groups.