Healthcare app development is gaining traction due to the varied benefits offered by healthcare apps. Healthcare or mHealth apps can provide services such as chronic disease management, remote care, vital tracking, e-prescription, online consultations, healthcare data management, and more. Research indicates that a combination of primary care clinics and mobile self-management health care apps with human coaching results in better management of chronic conditions.
When integrated with wearable technology, healthcare apps track and capture vital patient data such as sleep cycle, blood pressure, physical activities, menstrual cycle, and much more. This data is forwarded to healthcare providers so they can analyze it for treatment and diagnosis.
Furthermore, the emergence of innovative technologies such as AI (Artificial Intelligence), cloud computing, metaverse, etc. and the role played by these technologies in healthcare mobile app development is further shaping the future of the medical industry.
Let’s look at these upcoming healthcare app development trends in detail.
8 Top Healthcare App Development Trends of 2024
1. Metaverse
Metaverse is a combination of augmented reality, virtual reality, and mixed reality. In August 2023, the World Economic Forum named ‘medical metaverse’ as the top emerging tech. The Forum believes that this technology can benefit patients and healthcare providers through its use cases.
If metaverse is integrated into healthcare apps then its potential use would be for remote care. Patients can opt for consultations in a virtual setting with the provider, this is especially useful for mental health patients. The counselor can design a virtual room that’s comfortable for a patient and conduct sessions.
With the metaverse in the picture, patient-doctor communication may be enhanced, and geographical boundaries for providing care will decrease. The bed-ridden patients, along with the ones in rural areas can connect with a provider in a virtual space.
Furthermore, the metaverse provides an environment for surgeons to practice and learn about complex surgeries with accuracy and precision. the technology helps them to navigate through intricate anatomical structures understand the issue, and find the best possible way to operate.
2. XR
XR (Extended Reality) is a term used to refer to AR (Augmented Reality), VR (Virtual Reality), and MR (Mixed Reality). XR can be introduced as one of the features during healthcare app development. Here’s what this technology can do:
1. AR (Augmented Reality): AR-based healthcare apps allow patients to take initiative in their care. For example, AR is highly used in fitness apps such as FitTech where one can livestream and workout with other people from home. Additionally, AR is a simple and handy tool for providers to check the symptoms and current health status of patients, the best example of this would be the EyeDecide AR app.
2. VR (Virtual Reality): VR is one of the ways for patients to connect with providers remotely, other than messaging and video conferencing. With VR-based healthcare apps patients can seek consultation from the comfort of their homes. This technology can also be used for providing educational resources to patients. VR provides content that is engaging for patients and helps them to absorb and understand health and diseases better.
3. MR (Mixed Reality): MR-based apps allow physicians to perform real-time analysis on patients and get digital images of a patient’s body. It also allows surgeons to review 3D images of anatomy to ensure the success of surgical procedures.
3. Artificial Intelligence
For healthcare app development, AI is used in different forms – NLP (Natural Language Processing), generative AI, and machine learning. Artificial intelligence is one of the fast-moving healthcare app development trends because of its wide array of usages. It has seeped into a variety of healthcare departments and is leaving its mark.
Some of the notable applications of AI in healthcare are:
- Natural language processing, a branch of AI contributes to healthcare in aspects such as semantic analysis, voice recognition, medical documentation, billing, and taking notes during consultation.
- AI-based algorithms are trained to analyze vast amounts of healthcare data for diagnosis of diseases and screen out patients who are prone to chronic conditions. Data analysis is also used for population health management.
- AI-based chatbots are beneficial for scheduling appointments, answering health queries, talking with providers, and gathering healthcare data.
- Automation is another feature of AI that is used in apps for automating notifications and reminders, payments, prescription refills, documentation processes, data entry, and much more.
- Errors in healthcare data and patient documentation can be a major threat to patients during diagnosis and treatment. This problem can be solved with AI algorithms. They analyze data for potential errors and ensure there are zero mistakes during the documentation process.
- Generative AI is a powerful tool that can be used in radiology, consult for mental health issues, check disease symptoms, and use it as an educational source.
This is just a gist of where AI has reached in the healthcare sector. This technology has a lot to offer and is expected to grow exponentially in the upcoming years.
4. Mental Health Apps
The prevalence of stress, anxiety, and depression is increasing day by day. Survey says that four out of ten adults in the USA experience stress, and are unable to do anything when stressed. In addition, the same number of respondents reported that their mental health was affected negatively by their stress levels. Due to this reason mental health apps are an emerging healthcare app development trend in 2024 and beyond.
Emotional and mental well-being apps such as meditation and therapies are frequently downloaded by people to lead a peaceful life. The North American mental health apps market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 13.2 percent during the 2024 to 2030 timeframe. Two of the widely used apps for mental health well-being are Calm and Headspace.
Further, mental health apps are a safe place for patients seeking psychiatric help or need counseling in certain aspects of life. Psychologists and psychologists can connect with patients over video conferencing, chats, or a virtual space to conduct therapy sessions. Since these apps are made HIPAA compliant, patients are assured of their safety and privacy.
5. Women Wellness Apps
Women’s health conditions are driven by a lot of factors, starting with hormones, physical fitness, diet and nutrition, menstrual cycle, birth control pills, and pregnancy. Women’s wellness apps encompass features that tackle these health conditions and help females keep track of their well-being. The US women health app market is surging at a CAGR of 18.3 percent during the 2023 to 2030 timeframe, making it one of the healthcare app development trends.
Diet and nutrition features help women to keep their hormones in check, along with other health factors such as cholesterol and sugar. A balanced hormonal system can solve PCOD issues, bring stress levels down, and maintain a healthy menstrual cycle. Further, women can use the app during pregnancy and post-partum periods too. Through these apps, women can connect instantly with their gynecologist over chats or video calls and can get the necessary help.
6. Big Data Analytics
Big data analytics refers to the process of examining surplus data to unlock patterns, trends, insights, and correlations that can be used to strategize and plan the future course of action. Healthcare apps leverage big data analytics to scrutinize diverse datasets such as genomic data, medical records, wearable readings, and lifestyle habits. These datasets offer insights into patients’ health status, which can be used to provide tailored care recommendations and interventions.
Furthermore, incorporating big data analytics features in healthcare apps can help to optimize operations at healthcare organizations. This is achieved by gathering real-time data on the performance of healthcare organizations such as finances, workflow, staff management, resources, admission rates, and supply chain. These insights allow organizations to allocate resources to match the demand of patients and schedule shifts to prevent burnout rates.
7. Interoperability
Interoperability is an undying healthcare app development trend because there will always be a need to transfer, store, and access healthcare data from different systems. Physicians can easily share and access health data, so even if patients switch providers, the data can be accessed from another system easily, without having to repeat tests or medical documentation.
Interoperability makes sure that all systems function together like a well-oiled engine. To ensure that these tools function as one, certain interoperability standards like FHIR and USCDI are implemented.
8. Privacy and Security of Healthcare Apps
Privacy and security of healthcare apps is another trend worth noting. With proper firewalls, healthcare apps are vulnerable to potential ransomware attacks and data breaches. In healthcare, data breaches are a major concern because patients’ privacy is on the line.
Healthcare data contains vital patient information and if it falls into the wrong hands then there are chances of fraud, financial scams, and identity theft, and the very safety of the patient is hampered. So, to avert these circumstances, healthcare apps are well-guarded with HIPAA rules and regulations. HIPAA rules ensure the privacy and security of ePHI and prevent data breaches. If apps fail to comply with HIPAA then they are subject to face legal actions in the form of penalties and criminal charges.
It’s a Wrap!
To stay ahead of the competition, healthcare app development companies can focus on building applications that include these top-notch trends. Incorporation of these fast emerging technologies and tools not only benefits healthcare organizations in improving care delivery, but it also ameliorates the value of the healthcare application.
To build a healthcare app that is a compilation of key technologies, partner with a healthcare mobile app development company that is an expert in the field. Arkenea is one such company to look out for. With over 13 years of experience in the healthcare software development sector, Arkenea is known to create top-class products that match industry standards and satisfy client expectations as well. Connect with Arkenea to know more.