Complete Guide On How To Start A Healthcare Mobile App Startup
- March 27, 2023
- Posted by: Rahul Varshneya
- Category: Healthcare App Development
Key Takeaways:
- Getting started with the idea generation process is the first hurdle you would come across while launching a healthcare mobile app startup.
- Approximately, the cost of developing a healthcare application ranges between $40,000 to $100,000. But, the cost hugely depends on aspects such as development team, timeline, platform, app complexity, and resources.
- Pay attention to the basics, and keep a minimalistic and consistent design during the healthcare mobile app design phase.
- Bootstrapping, angel investors, seed funds, and venture capitalists are some of the best funding methods for a healthcare mobile app startup.
- If you’ve got a healthcare mobile app idea, start working on it while you’re still in a job. You need to keep paying those bills.
Many HealthTech entrepreneurs I know today have this one common question.
“I have a healthcare app idea but I don’t know where to start – how to create a healthcare app from scratch!”
To address the very same question, I have put together this complete guide to creating a healthcare mobile app to get you started. This is drawn from my experience working for more than seven years with entrepreneurs and businesses, helping them develop their healthcare mobile apps through Arkenea.
I’ve helped many entrepreneurs raise millions in funding, get featured on the app store and top publications and win awards. All of this is a result of our high-quality consulting and experience.
So, take from it what suits your strategy best, or follow it to the hilt. The important part is to get started.
The following guide focuses on a step-by-step approach to building your healthcare mobile app. If you’ve already gone through a step or some of these, feel free to skip to the next one. This is the comprehensive list of steps you need to tick off through the process of creating your very own healthcare mobile app. Let’s dive right in!
8 Easy Steps To Launch A Healthcare App Startup
Depending on what spectrum you fall or what stage you’re at, simply skip that specific step below and start from the one that’s most relevant to your current stage in mHealth app development. This is relevant whether you’re creating an Android app or an iPhone app.
The details about how to build an app pertain to custom healthcare app development and not for drag and drop builders or app makers that require no coding knowledge. You can hardly ever make a successful app using an app builder – just see for yourself among the top 100 apps across all categories in the App Stores.
Creating a mHealth app isn’t as tough as most people believe. We know from our experience of making over 150 custom apps for our clients. You can see yourself from these 8 easy steps on how to make a healthcare application.
#1 – Generate healthcare app ideas
According to the latest reports by Statista, in the third quarter of 2022, around 41,517 medical and healthcare apps were available on Apple App Store, and approximately 54,546 were there on Google Play Store. So, coming up with a unique idea for your healthcare mobile app, in a niche that is previously untouched, and managing to deliver a product that adds value to the already cluttered space of healthcare mobile apps is a huge challenge.
Getting started with the idea generation process is the first hurdle you would come across, and the best way to overcome that is asking yourself the following questions.
1. Does it solve a problem?
Necessity is the mother of all inventions and the most successful ventures turn out to be the one that solves its end user’s problems. Identification of problems in everyday environment and working on creating a medical mobile application that results in the resolution of those problems is a great way to ensure the success of your application.
2. Is there a need for the healthcare app in the market, does anyone actually want it?
An in-depth market research is essential to figure out the existing market offerings. The market scenario should be examined to find out the existing gaps and applications can be designed to fill those gaps. The healthcare mobile app so developed addresses a need within a particular audience and has a demand within the market. For instance, the rising prevalence of mental health issues amongst kids and adults is opening lucrative opportunities for the mental health app development.
3. Does the idea have a unique selling point?
The application that you want to build doesn’t need to be unique. The multitude of medical and healthcare applications available on the app store leaves out the scope for an idea that is completely unique. What you need to ensure is that the idea that you are pursuing has scope in the marketplace and can work out well in its niche. For instance, there maybe a need for an app that is designed for chronic disease management only.
We’ve created a detailed list of evergreen healthcare app ideas (you can steal) to create an app and to get you off the ground quickly.
#2 – Create a healthcare mobile app prototype
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Ideas without their implementation amount to nothing and the way you go about with the implementation of the healthcare app idea can affect the success of your mobile application in the long run. The next step you need to start working on after ideation of a healthcare app is to build a prototype which involves the following steps:
1. Validate your healthcare app concept
The most important step after you know you have a healthcare mobile app idea that could resonate with your audience is to actually validate it. Until your first set of customers buy from you, your idea is still a hypothesis.
You can validate your app idea by using the Google Keyword Planner tool to look for the number of people seeking out what you’re trying to do, even for specific locations such as healthcare app development in New York.
You could also build a landing page that broadly highlights your app idea and seek user interest through an email signup.
Or simply build a minimum viable product (MVP) that offers the core value of your concept to gauge user interest.
2. Wireframe your app
After getting validation done and ensuring that you’ve got something that people want to use, now is the time to detail your healthcare mobile app onto a document. Working on a wireframe can be as simple as jotting down the flow map of your application on a piece of paper, or if you want to go the extra mile, use prototyping tools such as JustInMind or Proto.
When putting your idea down on paper or online tool, remember to be as detailed as possible. Include the flow of how the user will navigate the medical application as well as all the features envisioned. This will help your developer to clearly understand your expectations.
3. Remove Non-Core app functionalities
From the flow and features document or prototype you prepared, start looking closely at features that you can remove. Offer only the core value of your healthcare mobile app idea. Do not build features in the first version that are “nice to have.” Those can always be added later as an update.
To get to the market quickly and to keep the costs in check, build only the ‘must have’ features into your first version of the app. These features are the exact ones that solve the problem for the user. For instance, if you’re building a remote patient monitoring app then include core features such as video conferencing, messaging, and wearable integration.
#3 – Analyze how much it costs to build a healthcare app
Creating a healthcare app requires money. Understanding the costs involved in the process, before starting the work on actual design and development is critical. Approximately, the cost of developing a healthcare application ranges between $40,000 to $100,000. But, the cost is subject to change.
There are many variables involved in the determination of the actual costing of the healthcare app. The platform you decide to launch your app matters. The level of complexity involved in the mHealth app development process matters. When you hire a developer, quality matters.
These along with numerous other factors would determine how much it would actually cost you to create the healthcare mobile app and launch it. Let’s analyze each of these to help you reach a cost estimate.
1. Platform
Based on platform, healthcare apps can be broadly classified into three types, native, web and hybrid. Native apps are platform specific apps built on specific operating system (Android, iOS and Windows). They are expensive to develop and require app store approvals.
Web apps are basically just the mobile version of the websites so while they are low cost and have a short development cycle, they cannot be amplified via app stores or be downloaded by users onto their mobiles. Hybrid apps are the amalgamation of the best features of the two.
They function in a similar manner to the native apps and can be downloaded via app stores, they are not platform specific have a shared code base and use a single programming language across all platforms.
2. Complexity
This is a no-brainer. The higher the complexity of the healthcare app, the more experienced development team would be required to overcome the challenges so posed and thus, higher the cost.
An app with a relatively simpler framework and design would be cheaper to create than one with complex design and multiple layering.
3. Resources
Unless you are well versed in technology and possess highly specialized programming skills, hiring engineers to design and develop your healthcare mobile app will be a necessity for you.
Look through the software engineer’s resume and check if their experience and skills matches your requirements. You are faced with the following choices while making this decision: freelancers and healthcare software development firms.
Hiring a freelancer is a risky job with many downfalls. While this is the cheapest option, an unskilled or uncommitted freelancer can potentially throw your entire project down the drain.
Healthcare software development firms are decidedly on the higher spectrum of the costs involved (depending on the size of the agency) they are a safer bet and come with highly specialized skills and pose minimal risk. A healthcare software development company is well-versed with the rules of the medical sector, hence they can create an app that is compliant and matches with industry standards.
There is a huge range of mHealth developers to choose from and selecting one which matches your requirement can be a difficult task, which brings us to the next step.
#4 – How to select the right healthcare app developer?
How to select the right healthcare developer to create an app? There are many factors to consider. You need to hire the best skill set available while still staying within your budget and ensure that the app developed meets your vision and it gets created within the allotted timeline.
Go online to check on their credibility and the healthcare apps that they have created. For example, if you have a healthcare app idea in mind, look through healthcare software developers that have experience in developing applications in the entire breadth of the healthcare industry, not necessarily in terms of concept, but more so in terms of functionalities.
If you really liked a medical app they created from their portfolio, chances are, they could be the right one for your product. Here are a few things to keep in mind while making the decision.
1. Don’t be fooled by the price
HealthTech entrepreneurs base their budget off of a variety of different factors. A lower cost option may actually become more expensive if the healthcare app has to be redesigned multiple times or doesn’t turn out like you meant it to. Work with those that will create the best product for you, not a product at the lowest price.
2. Think about the whole picture
Building a new healthcare mobile app is a tricky process with a lot of coding involved. While this is an important aspect of app design, you need to choose a developer that goes beyond coding and also considers crafting a user-friendly design. Consider the interface of the app you are creating and work with those that are committed to a healthcare app design that users will enjoy.
3. Interests of your business
Look for someone that shares an interest or has experience with the subject matter of your business. Throughout the development process, they may be able to share creative expertise that aligns with your business. Developers that are knowledgeable in your field will have insight that will positively contribute to the planning of your mHealth app.
4. Be sure to check references
Get real feedback from other clients that have worked with the developers you are looking into. This will give you a general idea of their company and help you to find the perfect healthcare mobile app developer for your needs and the needs of your business. You may want to stay clear of developers who are not very forthcoming with references.
5. Consider the timeline of the project
Ask for an estimated timeline on the project. Some companies pick up multiple projects at a time so you will want to be sure they will have the time and resources available for your mHealth app project.
This will help you be prepared for any challenges that may curtail your team’s efficiency when it comes to creating the app.
#5 – Create an Apple ID and Play Store ID
While the above points put you into fifth gear to get started, there are some important steps that you must take next to keep the ball rolling for the successful creation of your healthcare mobile application.
1. Create Developer Accounts
You must register for a developer account with the respective app stores to be able to sell your app through their platform. Google’s Android charges $25 a year and Apple charges $99 annually for an Apple ID with your developer account. You have the option of registering as an individual or as a company, if you already have one formed.
2. Integrate Analytics
Analytics help you track downloads, user engagement and retention for your healthcare mobile app. Make sure you use tools such as Flurry, which is available for free, and Localytics has a free and paid version.
3. Get Feedback and Iterate
Once your healthcare app goes live on the app store, the first set of customers’ usage and behavior will give you insight into how to improve and enhance your application. Enhancements and changes are constant, so keep an eye on user feedback and keep building.
#6 – How to design your healthcare app that attracts users?
I have heard many entrepreneurs saying they want a very basic design and want to focus on just creating a healthcare mobile app. They are so wrong!
Design is not just about how your app looks, but it’s about how a user will experience the app.
Vinod Khosla of Khosla Ventures best explains it: “Design is a way of making technology useful.” You should put design at the forefront of your healthcare mobile app.
A healthcare mobile app design can go a long way in ensuring user retention and improving on the app performance matrixes. Here is a list of things to keep in mind while designing your app interface. And hire an app design company like Arkenea that can help design a fantastic user experience.
- Follow the recent trends: Google’s material design framework is a great platform to get to know the recent trends in mHealth app designing and keeping up with the changes in the design sphere.
- Minimalistic and consistent design: Minimalism helps ensure that the user’s focus remain on the content and distractions by additional design clutter is avoided. For example, too many animations, graphics, and images can distract a user from the core goal.
- Pay attention to the basics: Efficient use of typography, use of vibrant color gradients, and the ability to combine multiple points of functionality and aesthetics in user interfaces is the key to a successful design. For example, a healthcare app is best portrayed with colors such as white, blue, green, and sometimes pink.
- Keep the human aspect in mind while designing: Keeping bigger touch targets, utilizing thumb reachability, and enabling gesture control are some subtle features which can potentially enhance user experience.
#7 – Funding your healthcare mobile app
Raising money and obtaining funding is a crucial step and the same is going to apply to your healthcare mobile app. Higher amount of funding secured means more resource availability and higher chances of success. Knowing at which stage to apply for funding can really affect your chances of actually receiving the funding. Let’s get started.
1. Bootstrapping
The initial funding occurs at the MVP stage through the use of individual assets and by making use of the internal cash flow. Friends and family can be a source of capital at this stage.
2. Angel investors and Seed funds
These are capital investments by individuals or groups interested in the investment opportunity in your healthcare mobile app by investing capital in return for a convertible debt or equity stake in your company. This type of investing occurs after the launch of the initial version of the app, after it starts receiving some form of traction.
3. Venture capitalists
Venture capital is a form of private equity capital provided to the healthcare startups showing early stage, high potential. Successive rounds of financing or funding a business are termed Series A, Series B, and Series C financing.
The investment from venture capitalists are typically huge ranging in millions of dollars. In order to ensure their return on investment, the capital infusion take place only after the healthcare startup has achieved sufficient traction and displays a growth in scale.
Once you’ve got all the above things covered, you need to prepare a brief to get an estimate on timelines and pricing.
Don’t let pricing alone be the factor for decision-making. After all, you only get monkeys if you throw peanuts.
Make sure the brief of your healthcare mobile app includes the background or context of your idea, who the customers are and why should they care, a typical use case in detail, features, wireframes/prototype, and the monetization plan.
#8 – Important Dos and Don’ts
When consumed with the idea that could launch your healthcare mobile application into success, one tends to have an oversight of many important things that can help them get through the journey of ups and downs.
These important Dos and Don’ts will only make you aware and conscious of those things. Keep these in mind and you’d have a far better chance of success than most.
#1 – Don’t quit your job just yet
If you’ve got a healthcare mobile app idea, start working on it while you’re still in a job. You need to keep paying those bills. Keep in mind what Tim Ferriss, author of The 4-Hour Work Week advises: “People tend to think it’s employee or entrepreneur, but there’s a broad spectrum and you can very slowly and methodically move from one end to the other.”
Getting some traction only validates the demand for your healthcare mobile app and gives you the confidence to replicate your marketing efforts on a much larger scale. If you are in the market for investors, having some traction when you take your working prototype to them will be a huge benefit in your favor.
Take a decision at the appropriate time when you feel it is necessary to scale your HealthTech business.
#2 – No one comes if you just create a healthcare mobile app
Nothing could be further from the truth than thinking that your job is done the moment your healthcare app is live on the app store. Creating an app is the easiest thing in your journey to build a business. Getting customers to use your healthcare and medical app consistently is the toughest part.
Have a clear marketing plan that will focus on getting your first 100, 1000 or 10,000 customers. These early adopters will define whether your mobile app is a cut above the rest or not.
#3 – Don’t ask friends for validation
Asking someone for feedback on an imaginary product would get you an imaginary kind of a response. Don’t ever take someone’s advice who doesn’t have to bear the consequences of it. Believe in someone who’s used your app. Better still, seek advice from people who’ve paid to use your app.
#4 – Don’t raise money before you have a validated healthcare mobile app
Raising venture funding is one of the toughest things to do. When you want to create a healthcare mobile app, focus on making of the app and getting customers.
Your Plan A should always be to get to market assuming you won’t secure a VC before you launch. Your startup ambitions should not be dependent on a VC, but your determination to become a successful entrepreneur. A startup accelerator, however, maybe a better bet in the initial stages.
The overall costs of building a technology-based venture has drastically come down from the days of traditional software companies. Demos and version 1 are built at hackathons within days.
Venture capitalists look for mHealth app ideas that are validated (tested by users) and exhibit growth in user signups and retention before they even begin to think about investing.
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