Health apps can be designed to measure biometrics, facilitate chronic condition management, promote care plan adherence and more. They are a simple and efficient way to keep up with the rapid increase in medical information, and they can be easily integrated with an electronic health record system for instant access to patient data.
Of course, before you can even begin to create a framework for designing a health app, you must have a meaningful idea that will help improve your patients’ lives. Here are four examples of mobile health apps that you should be building:
1. Physician Directory
Physician directory apps provide an easy way for patients to instantly acquire information about providers in a health organization’s network, such as locations and phone numbers. Some of these of apps also allow patients to view available appointment times and even send secure messages to their provider, improving patient satisfaction and patient-physician communication.
Medical Web Experts recently built the HealthTexas Provider Network Directory App, a tool that assists patients in searching for a physician, imaging center or urgent care location. The app also helps with physician referrals by auto-generating an email to patients with the referring doctor’s information so that the patient can follow up.
2. Treatment Tracking
Some apps make it easy for patients to become more active participants in their health by providing treatment tracking capabilities. For instance, an app developed by OhioHealth helps pregnant women track their pregnancies and maintain contact with their OB/GYNs. Thanks to an integrated messaging features, patients can receive reminders, tips and other helpful information as they undergo treatment.
3. Disease Management
[related_content]Disease management apps use interactive tools that allow patients to monitor their symptoms, follow treatment plans and share their experiences with providers. These apps are useful for managing chronic conditions, such as diabetes and asthma, and for monitoring blood pressure levels and other biometrics. Glooko’s diabetes management app allows patients to sync blood glucose data from one of over 30 meters, record carb intake, insulin doses and more. Data summaries can be instantly shared with providers by email or fax with the tap of a button.
4. Telehealth
Telehealth apps use biometric sensors to help providers adjust treatment plans. For example, patients can now connect an EEG headset to a Nokia N900 smartphone to monitor their neural signals and share the images with their providers. This could help patients suffering from chronic seizures. The Cleveland Clinic also created a creative telehealth app that measures the severity of brain injuries in athletes who play high-impact sports by gauging acceleration and spatial orientation.
What happens after you come up with a winning idea?
When designing a medical app, it is important to create an intuitive, user-friendly design and to cater to the specific needs of those you seek to help. There are also little things to pay attention to, such as the amount of clicks it takes to find certain information and the amount of text and screens you include. Each of these things will affect the app’s ease of use. Avoiding clutter will allow users to get the most out of your medical app.
At Medical Web Experts, our experienced project teams can help you build a health app that serves your users and keeps them coming back to your business. Learn more.
