How Mobile Apps Can Improve The Healthcare Industry?

A dull and crowded waiting room, ill-lit faces of ailing patients, long queues, the urge to get inside the doctor’s cabin; this is the picture one would imagine maybe a few years ago while paying a visit to a hospital.

However, the scenario has drastically changed – thanks to the mobile app development industry for introducing substantial healthcare apps. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that healthcare applications have been the vital forerunner for transcending and transforming the condition of the healthcare industry.

Today, numerous healthcare professionals are enthusiastic about developing mobile applications. Why? Because of the simple reason that advanced technology makes it easier to bridge that gap between doctors and patients. Be it a mobile app or a web app, each addresses medical emergencies effectively and offers improved patient services.

But, before we look into the key reasons why apps are a boon for the healthcare industry, let’s have a glance at some of the important stats and facts.

• According to Statista, health, and fitness have been named as one of the top industries to accelerate the growth of digital devices.
• The global mHealth (or mobile health) solutions market is expected to reach $90.49 billion by 2022 from $25.39 in 2017.
• Yet another survey from Accenture Consultants point out that the download in the number of healthcare app has doubled in the past couple of years.

Let’s discuss the

Overview of Healthcare industry challenges

The healthcare industry faces several challenges, including increasing healthcare costs, a growing aging population, and a shortage of medical professionals. These challenges are further compounded by the lack of access to healthcare services, especially in rural and underserved areas. The COVID-19 pandemic has also highlighted the need for digital transformation in healthcare, including the use of mobile apps to enhance patient care.

All of these challenges are putting pressure on the healthcare industry to find innovative solutions to improve patient outcomes and efficiency. This is where mobile apps come in. Mobile apps have the potential to transform the healthcare industry by improving communication between patients and healthcare providers, providing easy access to medical information, and offering innovative solutions to longstanding challenges. 

Role of Mobile Apps in Healthcare

Mobile apps are revolutionizing the healthcare industry by providing a range of benefits for both healthcare professionals and patients. In fact, mobile apps have become an integral part of the healthcare industry and have proven to be an effective way to improve patient outcomes and increase efficiency. The role of mobile apps in healthcare is manifold. Here are some of the key roles mobile apps play in healthcare:

1. Health management

Mobile apps provide users with a range of tools to help them manage their health more effectively. This includes everything from tracking daily steps and monitoring blood pressure to tracking medication schedules and managing chronic conditions.

2. Telemedicine

Mobile apps provide patients with access to medical professionals remotely. This is particularly important for patients who may not have easy access to healthcare providers, live in remote areas, or have mobility issues.

3. Improved patient engagement

Mobile apps can improve patient engagement by providing users with personalized health recommendations and reminders to take medications or attend appointments. Patients can also track their progress over time and get instant feedback on their health goals.

4. Data collection

Mobile apps can collect a wide range of health data from patients, including biometric data, activity data, and other health metrics. This data can be used to provide insights into patient health, identify health risks, and inform healthcare decisions.

Overall, mobile apps are transforming the way healthcare is delivered, making it more accessible, efficient, and effective for patients and healthcare professionals alike. As the use of mobile apps in healthcare continues to grow, we can expect to see even more benefits and advancements in the field.

Top Ways How Mobile Applications Improve The Healthcare Industry

1. Surgical Assistance with AR

Augmented Reality and VR headsets were just the beginning, the real groundbreaking technology is mixed reality that was introduced by Microsoft with HoloLens. Now the industry and web app developers are developing applications that help doctors in magnifying small human organs and assist them in surgical operations.

2. Managing Medical Records

Keeping paper medical journals is a tedious task and of course non-environmentally friendly. Well, apps are here to eliminate huge piles of paper and reduce possible mistakes due to overwhelming amounts of data. Doctors can keep track of their patient’s medical files and filter information with a click.

In addition to this, voice inputs can also be used to take notes. While the doctor examines the patient, he can dictate them into the app, without touching the screen and or having anyone nearby take notes.

3. Reduction in Medical Bills and Expenses

One of the major advantages of healthcare apps has been the reduction of medical bills and expenses. Skyrocketing bills and large medicinal expenses have always been a headache for patients because hospitals charge a fee at their will.

However, with the advent of apps, several tasks can be done through them which, in turn, helps in easing the burden off your pocket. Moreover, you can also choose hospitals according to your budget.

4. Monitoring Patients with IoT

Smart bands, watches, shoes, T-shirts, and mobile phones are some of the things that people have been using for mapping and monitoring their health. Now the idea that’s gaining popularity is to use mobile applications to send notifications to hospitals and doctors when a trigger is hit by the reading of connected devices.

Imagine if a patient is registered with an insurance company and he/she is using a mobile app and an IOT device that reads heartbeats. Now an abnormal heartbeat reading will automatically send a notification along with the personal details of the patient to all the partner hospitals of the insurer.

5. Real-Time Insurance Claim and Verification

When an insurance company maintains medical records of patients on mobile apps, then these can be shared between medical practitioners. When a patient is prescribed a treatment, he/she can claim this record through the app wherein the company can request the verification of the prescription in real time and settle the claim within 24 hours. This approach not only improves the service for patients but increases the number of associated medical partners.

6. Check-in at the Hospital

it is always frustrating to wait especially when you aren’t well. In case one has to check in at a hospital, reducing the waiting time and regulating all the formalities before arriving at the hospital is a blessing, especially when someone lives far away.

Planner apps do the same by helping patients check in digitally. Also, if hospitals install beacons, internal navigation becomes much easier. All this together saves time for both patients and hospitals while giving immense comfort.

7. Easy Payment of Bills

Clearing and paying medical bills has never been easy. But, ever since applications have entered the healthcare sphere, patients don’t have to stand in long queues to pay the bills. The apps are facilitated with a highly secured payment gateway integration allowing users to pay the amount promptly.

In fact, it allows users to choose their preferred mode of payment and receive reminders for due expenses.

8. Inventory Management in Hospitals

Medicines and medical kits expire every now and then, sometimes even before the earlier stock could be consumed. The expiring stock reflects huge losses on balance sheets and an increase in expenses. Applications help hospitals in managing their inventory by keeping track of expiry dates, stocks, orders, purchases, and everything that comes in between. Users are automatically notified of expiring stock which helps them in reducing operational costs and provides them with the opportunity to offer services at highly competitive prices. This scenario turns out to be a win-win situation for both the hospitals and the patients.

9. e-Consilium

Often one doctor can’t carry out the right decision on his/her own. That’s what a consilium is for where several doctors from different fields can discuss the problem and make the right decision.

Now, the needed doctors might not be present at one hospital/place. Here, scheduling a meeting online while assembling professionals from different parts of the world would be highly convenient, and this is what apps can do.

Wrapping The Discussion

With the emergence of mobile apps, wearables, sensors, computer vision technology, and healthcare charting, the time is not far away when healthcare will experience a revolution that will be enough to change the face of the industry. And it has already started!

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