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Healthcare institutions are under pressure to extend their access while increasing affordability and streamlining patient experience via transparency and personalization. They aim to enhance clinical outcomes through analytics and future-ready digital solutions. Doing these things requires continuous innovation, data insights, and new working methodologies. However, it’s all possible with a sustainable and resilient healthcare app.
Healthcare app development is much more than a technology investment. Healthcare companies must change how they run the business and their culture to make the most of it. It’s about utilizing the software to offer better patient care and services. However, healthcare mobile app development can be complex due to various factors and cost-related uncertainties.
The financial investment needed to build a mobile app for healthcare purposes is one of the top concerns for medical companies and business owners. You will need the services of a leading healthcare app development company to guide you in every development phase to develop a secure and cost-effective digital health product.
Healthcare Market Overview: Key Stats & Insights
The worldwide mHealth app market is projected to demonstrate a CAGR of 40.2% in the 2021-30 period and achieve a market volume of USD 861.40 billion by 2030. This increase is supported by the penetration of smart devices and the usage of digital health services as a handy mode of healthcare by users across the globe.
The demand for top-notch online medical solutions is increasing with advanced technologies like AI and blockchain integrated into advanced healthcare applications. So, if you want to build custom healthcare software development, this is your time. Opt for a health app development services provider experienced in developing healthcare mobile applications.
Essential Benefits of Developing Healthcare Mobile Applications
The synergy of technology and human creativity has built a new era of healthcare. People are at the core of care delivery, and healthcare providers can make informed decisions based on real-time data in ways they never could before. Healthcare mobile app development is the most significant enabler of this transformation. Let’s look at the benefits of app development for healthcare.
- Easy access to healthcare
- Better patient care
- Remote consultation
- Real-time patient monitoring
- Secure payments
- Increased patient engagement
- Quick decision making
- Efficient workflow management
- Reduced healthcare expenses
- Appointment scheduling
- Electronic prescriptions
- Information management
- Optimized medical data
- Integration with wearable devices
Providers can unleash the full prospects by reorganizing their businesses to supersede routine tasks with automation, ML, and AI at scale by moving to healthcare application development.
Also Read | A Complete Guide to Healthcare App Development
Types of Healthcare Applications
In today’s online market, mobile applications provide various healthcare services. With the rising integration of modern tech, special medical app development services are offered to each stakeholder in the industry. Custom software development for healthcare can be divided into patients, doctors, and healthcare centers. Here are the types of healthcare applications falling into each category.
Types of Healthcare App Development Solutions |
||
| For Patients | For Doctors | For Healthcare Centers |
| Wellness Apps | Remote Monitoring Apps | Hospital Management Apps |
| Telemedicine Apps | Electronic Health Records Apps | Clinic Management Apps |
| Fitness Apps | Database Management Apps | Medical Billing Apps |
| Mental Health Apps | Health Tracking Apps | Diagnosis and Testing apps |
| Dieting Apps | Medical Networking Apps | Drug Inventory Management Apps |
| Healthy Lifestyle Apps | Medical Education Apps | Service Quality Check Apps |
| Nutrition Planner Apps | Appointment Management Apps | Pharmacy Delivery Apps |
| Appointment Scheduling Apps | ePrescription (eRx) Apps | Prescription Price Comparison Apps |
| Doctor On-Demand Apps | Medical Imaging Apps | General Hospital Apps |
Cost of Healthcare App Development Based on Different Product Types
The healthcare industry is not just restricted to doctors giving medications to patients. After doing comprehensive research, you can get many mobile app ideas that you can go with to make people’s lives easy. However, you must ensure all facets of their health-related requirements are met. Now, let’s look at the cost of developing a healthcare mobile app for various categories and product types.
Healthcare App Development Cost for Patients
1. Wellness App Development Cost
In today’s fast-paced culture, it is imperative to take a break once in a while and refresh our minds. Building a wellness app will be helpful as there is a vast market for it. Wellness apps like Headspace and Calm have many users who use them daily for their mental peace and harmony.
Features
- Meditation
- Wellbeing
- Nutrition planning
- Fitness & Productivity
With an AI-assisted algorithm, your app can send timely notifications to your software users to participate in different exercises. The cost to develop a wellness can vary from $30,000 to $120,000, depending on the feature set and complexity.
2. Telemedicine App Development Cost
Telemedicine apps are nothing but healthcare services provided by professionals in the healthcare industry through remote infrastructure. From virtual consultations/video calls to medicine delivery, telemedicine app development can offer numerous services.
Features
- Patient registration
- Dedicated dashboards
- Video consultation
- Appointment scheduler
- Geolocation
- Electronic health records
The cost to develop a telemedicine app varies from $30,000 to $150,000, depending on the features, API integrations, and other functionalities.
3. Fitness App Development Cost
The advantages of fitness apps are indisputable. When appropriately used, fitness apps can act as training companions or virtual personal trainers, helping keep users accountable and inspired throughout their workouts. Fitness app development is a terrific way to assist users with continuous training and has various benefits that are listed below.
Features
- Push Notifications
- Activity tracker
- Direct messaging
- Personalized training
- Self-care and mindfulness options
- Multiple login options
Building a fitness app with basic functionalities could cost around $15,000 to $50,000 or more.
4. Dieting App Development Cost
Nowadays, more people are worried about their health. They demand prompt, on-the-spot health evaluations. As a result, more people are using diet apps. Diet plans are typically created by nutrition planners or diet-tracking apps using the data that users routinely provide.
Features
- Diet schedule
- Notifications and alerts
- Integration of wearable devices
- Analytics and reports
- Dashboard for users
A basic MVP of a diet and nutrition app development costs anywhere from $30,000 to $60,000. In addition, the cost of highly functional, medium-complex software will range from $55,000 to $130,000. You can consult an MVP development services provider to know the exact estimation of your fitness app.
Healthcare App Development Cost for Doctors
1. Remote Monitoring App Development Cost
Markets are packed with wearable devices that assist in monitoring an individual’s health. These apps collect data from those devices and tell users whether their health is on the right track.
Features
- Smooth navigation
- Responsive interface
- Geolocation
- Data security and privacy
The cost to build a remote monitoring app can range between $50,000 to $100,000.
2. EHRs or Database App Development Cost
Handling medical records and protecting sensitive patient data is primarily important. With digital healthcare apps providing patients and doctors the room for online and offline interaction, it is essential to have a system that ascertains data security and compliance.
Features
- Health-related risks and health status
- Administrative data
- Demographic data insights
- Past medical records of patients
A Blockchain-based EHR app can safely store and maintain patient files, automating workflows via smart contracts. The healthcare mobile app development cost can range from $30,000 to $100,000, depending on the tech stack used to create an EHR app.
3. Medical Networking App Development Cost
The medical networking app is one of the most essential types of healthcare apps. COVID-19 has left us with many learnings about medical networking and connections. The world has undoubtedly understood the importance of networking, communication, faster data utilization, etc. You can get the following features for this application:
Features
- Case studies
- News
- Communication with professionals
- Forums
- Advising
- Journals
People can connect in real-time with peers and professionals. A medical networking app can cost about $30000 to $60000.
4. ePrescription (eRx) App Development Cost
ePrescription apps are becoming very popular. These apps allow doctors to prescribe the exact medicine dosage for their patients and send them to pharmacies. The pharmaceutical stores, in turn, receive the medication list & dosage and deliver the same to the patient’s residence.
Features
- Integrated drug database
- Extensive information viewability
- Patient-specific reports
- Doctor’s hand notes
- Customized interfaces
Creating an ePrescription application ranges from $28,000 to $45,000. The medical app development cost of such apps depends on healthcare mobile app developers location, hourly rates, demographics, etc.
Cost of Developing a Healthcare Mobile App Based On Features
When you want to develop an app or web/mobile service, you need to craft a good business plan and consider the costs of all investments. One of the most crucial costs is integrating the features of healthcare apps, especially if it is intricate.
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User Registration and Login
User registration or single sign-in is a must-have digital mhealth app development feature. This feature gives users access to several social media and email websites and user information, which is further needed for user retention.
Creating a user registration and login feature for the healthcare app may cost $4,000 to $10,000.
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User Accounts/Profiles
A user account or profile is crucial for healthcare mobile application development because it enables users to customize their app experiences. Interactive user profiles contain pertinent data regarding the individual’s medical history and vital signs. Users can save personal preferences, settings, and data through their profiles.
The cost range for creating and designing dynamic user profiles and accounts ranges between $10,000 to $15,000.
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Appointment Scheduler
An efficient appointment scheduler is required to manage many appointments and send timely reminders to users to be on time for the consultation. The healthcare app development cost will range from $1,000 to $2,500, depending on the functionality implemented in the scheduler.
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Push Notifications and Reminders
With push notifications, you may establish a close relationship with your patient and promptly remind them of all their healthcare reminders. Integrating a push notification system might range from $5,000 to $1,000. Personalized push alerts with AI integration come at a premium price point.
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In-App Chat
Users or patients using healthcare apps may occasionally need to get their questions answered. For this reason, in-app chat is now included in healthcare applications. Additionally, doctors can communicate with their patients via chat at any time to learn about their health. Healthcare application development services can integrate an in-app chat system for $5,000 to $10,000.
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Payment Gateways
Integrating an in-app multi-payment system into your healthcare application will necessitate effortless payment transfers. Customers will be able to make payments through their preferred payment gateways easily. The healthcare app development cost of integrating an in-app payment system will vary from $3,000 to $7,000.
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Geolocation
Geolocation access is necessary for your healthcare software to perform various location-based functions. Medical app developers use advanced APIs for healthcare to include geolocation features and offer a more rewarding user experience. Adding geolocation functionality to your medical application might cost anywhere from $7,000 to $15,000.
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Reviews & Rating
Customers can rate and review your app, encouraging other users to consider those heartfelt remarks the next time they call to schedule an appointment. Including reviews and ratings in your healthcare software may cost between $3,000 and $7,000.
Factors Influencing Healthcare App Development Cost
1. Complexity of Features
A healthcare app’s complexity and amount of integration significantly influence development expenses. The demand for increasingly complex features, such as wearable integration, AI diagnoses, and real-time health monitoring, drives up healthcare app development costs.
2. Platform Compatibility
The total cost of developing healthcare applications largely depends on the chosen platforms. Healthcare mobile app development businesses must tailor their apps to the unique features that each forum requires, whether they are targeting iOS app development, Android, or both.
Creating a native healthcare app might cost anything from $350,000 to $400,000. Conversely, developing a hybrid healthcare app may cost up to $600,000.
3. UI/UX Design
A UI/UX that is easy to use leads to higher consumer satisfaction and involvement. When developing software for the healthcare industry, medical mobile app developers spend money on attractive interfaces and seamless user experiences because these factors take time and resources. The UI/UX design cost is $5,000 to $12,000.
4. Hourly Rates
Several variables determine a healthcare app development cost, like the team’s hourly fee, including location, expertise level, and skill set. For example, developers in the United States and the United Kingdom usually charge higher hourly rates than developers in less expensive countries.
| Region | Hourly Cost |
| North America
(the USA, Canada, etc.) |
$80-$150 |
| Europe
(UK, France, Italy, etc.) |
$50-$120 |
| Gulf Countries
(UAE, Saudi Arabia, etc.) |
$30-$100 |
| Asia
(India, Russia, Japan, China, etc.) |
$20-$50 |
| Australia & New Zealand | $35-$140 |
5. Data Security and Compliance
Patient data security and confidentiality are essential when developing a healthcare app. Adopting strict security architectures is the main emphasis of healthcare app developers to safeguard sensitive health data.
- Depending on the target market, the app should adhere to privacy and security laws, the GDPR, and the HIPAA standard. Any medical software that gathers, holds, or disseminates health information is subject to HIPAA regulations.
You must include this in your project if you plan to release your healthcare apps in the American market. The steps for making HIPAA-compliant apps are outlined in depth on the following GitHub page.
- Various marketplaces have various rules and regulations. The PIPEDA Act, for example, governs the use of personal information in software for mHealth applications in Canada.
- The UK’s Data Protection Act of 1998 serves as a guide for those creating healthcare apps.
- Another prominent aspect of developing secure healthcare apps is performing payment transactions. A PCI SSC organization can help comply with the necessary factors and receive a license.
You can take the help of a reliable HIPAA compliance for healthcare app development company to make your medical complaint.
6. App Maintenance and Support
A healthcare application must be created once and updated and maintained regularly to handle new requirements, fix issues, and maintain security. These maintenance duties increase the cost of ownership.
Continuous maintenance can run anywhere from $1,000 to $10,000 a month, depending on the application’s complexity and the size of the development team needed to maintain it. Bug repairs and minor feature additions can be made for as little as $500 to $1,000 for small upgrades, while a considerable amount will be charged for bigger updates.
7. Launch and Marketing
A healthcare app’s launch can only be successful if sufficient marketing funds are allocated to increase awareness and attract users. Thus, allocating funds for marketing initiatives such as social media campaigns, digital advertising, and contacting medical experts is essential to determine the healthcare app development cost.
How Healthcare Mobile App Development Cost is Calculated
So, how much does it cost to design a mobile app for healthcare? To guarantee pricing accuracy, SparxIT experts typically produce two rough estimates:
- Solution design workshop based on prior knowledge.
- More specific needs after the discovery phase.
After the discovery stage, our team moves on to creating comprehensive estimates. Below is the formula to determine the cost of developing a healthcare app.
Final Cost of Healthcare app No. of Development Hours x Hourly Rates
Wrapping Up
It’s time to select the kind of app you want to create now that you understand how much different healthcare app development projects will cost. Moreover, since you work for the public, your actions must be up to their standards. If something unexpected happens after you create a healthcare app, it could result in significant financial loss and severe difficulties for the user or patients who depend on the app. Therefore, it would help if you collaborated with a well-known and knowledgeable mobile app development company to create your healthcare software. Because it’s healthcare, attending to even the most minor details on the app is imperative.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q:1 What is the average cost of building a healthcare app?
A: The average cost to develop a robust healthcare app is around USD 40,000. The price range may vary depending on various factors, such as the complexity of the medical app, platform type, experience, and developer skill.
Q:2 How long does it take for healthcare app development?
A: It takes anywhere from 3–6 months to develop a fully functional healthcare app. The time can differ depending on factors like the complexity of app development, project scope, etc.
Q:3 How can I keep the healthcare app development cost under my budget?
A: You can minimize medical app development costs by integrating only the necessary features and developing a hybrid app for multi-platform usage. Also, a massive aspect lies in how low app maintenance costs can go.
Q:4 How much does it cost to develop a healthcare app like myAster?
A: With such a wide array of elements to consider, the development cost for an app like myAster can range from $30,000 to as high as $300,000.
