mHealth App Developer

As you plan your app development project, keep in mind who are you building this for (and why), what your goals are and what you can do to make your app unique.

Different types of data require different protective precautions. For example, any personal or medical information collected from patients is considered protected health information (PHI) and requires HIPAA compliance around use, storage and eventual destruction.

Along with HIPAA, additional regulations such as GDPR and the CCPA may apply to your development project. Failure to identify and correct these issues could lead to legal challenges that result in fines, sanctions and damage to your company’s reputation. HIPAA compliance must be the cornerstone of your development project. This includes the consideration of any covered entities that may access or interact with data in your application along with the permissions of users to access, view and modify data.

You must consider how will you design and secure the three basic components of your app, which include:

• Coding frameworks. Will you use a native iOS or Android code approach, or opt for a cross-platform framework such as React Native that allows you to write code once and deploy it across multiple device types?
• Backend systems.How will you store user data and integrate it with existing systems such as CRM and ERP tools?
• Web portals. What steps will you take to manage administrative and physical web portals within your application? For example, administrators may need the ability to add or delete users, while physicians may require data access and modification privileges.

Lastly, use product roadmapping to determine how you might expand your solution and adapt to new users over time. What does the future of the industry and upcoming regulations look? What new features and functionality might you release in the future?

The evolving nature of telehealth makes Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) and Remote Therapeutic Monitoring (RTM) a priority for mobile app development. RTM is the practice of using medical technology to monitor health conditions, therefore it is important to consider how your development strategy will build in the ability to monitor patients 24/7 — with their consent — to provide improved care. Many mHealth apps offer the ability to monitor patients via wearable devices that can be used outside of the hospital setting.

When it comes to designing a mobile healthcare application, user experience is key. Why? Because if users struggle to access and understand your app, engagement naturally suffers, and adoption will quickly decline.

As a result, it’s critical to take a user-first approach to application design. This starts with testing sessions that include actual users interacting with a prototype of your app to provide direct feedback on ease of use, functionality, design and any other issues.

Next, it is important to “know your users” and consider the user journey, which includes four key steps: onboarding, education, engagement and a call-to-action (CTA). Your app should include all four, meaning you need a way to attract user attention and get them up to speed, keep them interested in your content, and ultimately drive a specific action through your app.

Always take into consideration your end user when you’re building an ecosystem for them. Consider where the app will be used, how it will be used and when it will likely be used. For example, if you are building an app in a clinical setting, there must be clear directions on using the app to make a lifesaving action. If the app is built for seniors, large font and large buttons should be used.

You should include use cases to help explain how your solution works. For example, there are off-the-shelf wearable Apple Watch and Fitbit devices that can send data to your doctor and track improvements in your health over time. In addition, devices such as blood oxygen monitors, smart blood pressure monitors and telehealth apps are continually being miniaturized.

Mobile app development also needs to prioritize speed and insight. The more quickly you can get a working prototype built, the more quickly you can start collecting user feedback via surveys and other qualitative methods, in turn, making it possible to pinpoint potential problems ASAP.

Additional recommendations during the app design phase:

• Examine how other healthcare apps do their design to get an idea of what the competition is doing.
• Make sure you prioritize functionality over visuals.
• Consider the app notification designs

Make sure your app colors set the right mood.

While onboarding and education are key, without engagement your application will have limited sustainability and overall impact. To help ensure continued interest and interaction, healthcare companies are well-served applying engagement best practices to their development approach, including:

• Deliver regular content updates.Regular, high-value content such as articles, videos and blogs can keep users returning.
• Provide positive feedback. Features such as achievement badges for engaging with content or completing key tasks can help users stay engaged.
• Ask questions (and listen to the answers). Regular surveys let you see what’s working (and what isn’t) and make changes.
• Personalize apps wherever possible. Creating tailored app personas and providing personalized user experiences and dashboards can boost overall engagement.

New devices that are found to be “substantially equivalent” to medical devices currently on the market can leverage the 510(k) process from the FDA. This allows these devices to be sold without the need for premarket approval (PMA), which includes rigorous testing and clinical trials.

While this is a net positive for market diversity, it introduces the challenge of software as a medical device (SAMD) that lacks substantive compliance controls and, in turn, must be recalled. As a result, developing software for a 510(k) medical device should follow the same best practices and design principles listed above to help reduce the risks of non-compliance and additional costs.

Keep in mind that the submission process is evolving regularly and may require FDA compliance. The FDA is becoming more friendly for mobile tech and mobile healthcare, and the mobile health space has become increasingly deregulated.

While every healthcare mobile application use case is different, five common pitfalls can undermine app efficacy and impact:

• Losing sight of the end user. If users aren’t happy, app adoption and impact will suffer.
• Making apps too complicated. Complicated apps frustrate users, making them less likely to engage.
• Lacking clear goals and objectives.Without clear goals for your app, you could spend significant time and money for minimal returns.
• Considering compliance too late in the process. The sooner compliance is built into your app, the better. Too late and you may need to completely overhaul your application to meet current standards.
• Forgetting about the future.Your app isn’t static. Without a roadmap for the future, you may see initial engagement followed by a sharp drop-off as users lose interest.

The cost of your mobile healthcare application depends on several factors including the total scope of development, the type and number of features you want, and your timeline.

While some mobile health app developers offer fixed price models, this approach comes with a tradeoff: What features matter most to your business, and what are you willing to omit? At Dogtown Media, we take an all-factors approach to assess your options and find the best fit, budget-friendly approach that meets your business needs.