The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) predicts that six in ten adults in the USA live with a chronic disease such as heart disease, cancer, or diabetes. The statistics further say that chronic diseases are a leading cause of death in the USA, with cancer and heart diseases accounting for 38 percent of all deaths. A chronic disease management app can help to tackle such fatal diseases.
A study published in the National Library of Medicine stated that a multifaceted mobile application can address the needs of chronic patients and caregivers. The study pointed out that medicine information, ease of use, medication reminders, and messages for caregiver shifts were the most valued aspects of the application. With this thought in mind, let’s understand more about what a chronic disease management app can offer and how to develop one.
In case you’re looking for chronic disease management software, then check out the process here.
Benefits of a Chronic Disease Management App
Chronic disease patients require regular monitoring as they are in a fragile state. A majority of patients can’t travel to and from hospitals every day, hence chronic disease management apps are a plausible solution for them. Here are some of the notable benefits of the chronic disease management app:
1. Disease Care from Home
Patients with chronic diseases may not always require hospital admission to keep diseases at bay. When it comes to hospital readmissions, beds and resources are limited, hence physicians recommend home care wherever possible. Chronic patients can learn to look after themselves from their homes and not rush to the hospital for every small issue.
Chronic disease management apps can help patients handle their conditions better from home by offering services such as medication reminders, diet tracking, 24/7 chat services with physicians, and more. Patients can lead a normal life without worrying about rushing to the hospital each day.
2. Allow Providers to Track Health Status
Chronic disease management applications offer vital tracking, and access to patient medical history, treatment, and medications, thus making it easy for healthcare providers to keep track of their patients. Any fluctuations in vital signs are sent to the physicians, so they can take necessary actions on time. Everything is recorded and tracked in real time, hence there’s no delay in providing treatment.
3. Enable Patients to Care for Themselves
Features such as reminders and push notifications are sent to patients periodically so they take health/care actions. For instance, a diabetes patient is required to administer insulin and keep track of sugar intake, and a chronic disease management app sends notifications to check sugar and intake of insulin, thus compelling patients to take action immediately. This way patients can keep their chronic illness in check and lead a healthy life.
4. Offer Analytical Reports of Patients
With a chronic disease symptom tracker and vital tracker, physicians can get instant analytical reports of the patients. This helps them to get a clear picture of the patient’s medical data and allows physicians to take necessary actions. Analytical reports are also a source to screen out chronic patients based on the level of illness, for example, patients with stage four cancer or intense cardiovascular disease. These patients are monitored rigorously as there are high chance that they may succumb to their diseases at any time.
Features for Chronic Disease Management App Development
1. Sign-in
Every app has a sign-in process where patients’ details such as demographics, address, medical history, etc., are recorded. This information is further used by providers to get an idea of patients’ issues during online or offline consultations. A strict sign-in process is maintained as the chronic disease management app captures crucial patient data also called ePHI (Protected Health Information). Usually, biometrics, a strong password, and a captcha are used for user sign-in.
2. Reminders and Notifications
Chronic patients are always on medications and need constant care. Hence, features like push notifications and reminders enable patients to take health and wellness actions. For instance, medication reminders are a way to ensure that patients don’t miss out on their medicines; online consultation reminders ensure that patients check in with their physicians; diet notifications allow patients to maintain their health and keep chronic conditions at bay.
3. Access to Medical History
Medical history says it is all about a chronic disease patient. Healthcare providers can access medical history from the chronic disease management app and get all the essential details for further treatment/medication. In addition, medical history helps to screen chronic patients based on their degree of illness and administer treatment accordingly. If the app is integrated with AI then the algorithm can help to initiate preventive measures against chronic diseases, based on the available medical history.
4. Medication Tracking
Medication tracking plays an important role in health management. The easy-to-use interface makes it simple to enter medication information such as name, dose, frequency, duration, etc. Customized reminders keep patients on track with their medication intake. Further, refill notifications keep patients on top of their medication so they never have to worry about treatment interruptions again. Plus, an interaction checker makes medication tracking safer by alerting physicians and patients to any drug interactions.
5. Real-Time Data Reports and Chats
This feature compiles medical history, treatment, vital signs, and medication to develop real-time data reports which are then passed to healthcare providers for further evaluation. Data reports allow providers to make clinical decisions and administer appropriate care to patients. Furthermore, patients and physicians can interact with one another through the live chat feature. It’s an effective way to discuss current issues without having to go to the clinic every time.
6. Diet Management
Diet and nutrition play a key role in managing chronic diseases along with medications. The chronic disease management app comes with a diet tracker and management feature to help patients eat the right kind of food. For instance, for those suffering from hypertension and heart diseases, the diet management feature may suggest zero cholesterol food; and for those with autoimmune diseases, the app may suggest a diet rich in vitamins and minerals. Developers can also consider collaborating with a diet and nutrition app for efficient chronic disease management.
7. Preventive Measures
Preventive measures are a means of educating patients about their conditions and helping them to track their symptoms. Providers can make use of medical data uploaded on the application to screen out chronic patients and take preventive actions against them.
8. Online Consultation
Chronic disease requires regular check-ups with doctors and medical professionals. Since the majority of people with chronic disease are elderly, they are unable to visit the hospital regularly.
Chronic health trackers offer an online consultation feature to help these people save time and money. In this feature, the patient can communicate with the doctors via a mobile platform without having to go to the hospital. With the help of chronic health trackers, patients can easily monitor their health in real time.
Chronic Disease Management App Development
1. Planning and Research
The chronic disease management app development starts with research and planning. At this stage, business analysts along with CTOs/CIOs research the competitors and what’s trending in the market right now. Research also involves about target audience, what they need, their pain points, and building an app that solves their issues. Consider inculcating features that users need the most.
Once the research is done, the information is then passed on to the app developers and designers for app development. In addition, budget estimation is a part of the planning stage along with preparing a roadmap for chronic disease management app development. Budget helps to decide what can and cannot be done, plus if extra resources can be procured or not.
Another aspect to consider here is whether to outsource app development or not. Outsourcing has its benefits such as the healthcare mobile app development company being well versed with rules and regulations of the healthcare industry, hence this makes them a good partner in chronic disease management app development.
2. Prototyping and Design
Prototyping is an initial stage of a chronic disease management app. A prototype showcases the look and feel of the app, it is also a means to get feedback from the audience and make changes before the final launch.
The UX/UI design phase covers what’s seen on the front side of the application. Designers are responsible for app components such as color, fonts, menu, alignment, graphics, pictures, and overall look of the chronic disease management application. Design attracts users to the app. A boring and complex design pushes away the audience, so a simple, easy-to-use application should be the way forward.
3. App Coding
Application coding involves the frontend and backend coding.
Frontend Coding: Front-end coding is the process of creating the visual and interactive components of a website or app that users interact with directly. The tech stack used is HTML, CSS, JavaScript, etc. to build responsive layouts, beautiful designs, and user-friendly user experiences, which are essential for interactive and engaging interfaces.
Backend Coding: Back-end coding is the process of building the underlying logic and features on the server side of a website or application. It includes the management of databases, user authentication, request handling, and the creation of dynamic content. Back-end systems are built using programming languages such as Python, Java, and Ruby, as well as frameworks such as Django, Flask, and Spring Boot. Back-end systems are designed to be robust, scalable, and secure.
4. Testing
Before releasing the final application in the market, it is time for testing. Ensure that the chronic disease management app is tested for bugs, operations, design, functionality, features, and every other component. Testing is done manually and automatically, developers also improve the app at this stage.
5. Release and Maintenance
Post testing it is time to release the app in the market – on Apple and Google Play Stores. However, the work doesn’t stop here. Developers are required to maintain the app post-release. This involves constant updates and bug removal from the application.
This was a complete outlook of how the chronic disease management app development takes place. If you’re looking for a chronic disease app, then look no further. We at Arkenea offer state-of-the-art healthcare mobile apps such as chronic disease management, practice management, hospital management, and more. Arkenea specializes in healthcare software development and we’re aware of the industry standards, hence delivering what works best for our clients. To know more about the app development process all you need to do is get in touch with us.