Key Takeaways:
- FemTech is said to be the next big thing in health care; it is a small market and growing exponentially. The funding for FemTech reached around $2.5 billion, and over 250 FemTech deals were made in 2021.
- The U.S. women’s health app market is predicted to surge at a CAGR of 18.3 percent during the 2023 to 2030 forecasted timeframe.
- Women’s health tracking app allows females to take charge of their well-being. These applications reduce healthcare costs, offer customized treatment plans, increase accessibility to care, and change the way female health is seen in today’s time.
- Key types of women’s health tracking apps include general healthcare, reproductive health, pregnancy and nursing, and pelvic and uterine healthcare apps.
- The cost of developing women’s health tracking app ranges between $30,000 to $100,000.
Modern women want it all! They wish for an accelerating career, a splendid social life, a great love life, and a caring family life. While juggling with all of this, keeping track of their health can feel like solving a Rubik’s cube blindfolded. But, that’s where a women’s health tracking app comes into the picture. This app is designed to address women’s unique health conditions such as menstrual cycles, pregnancy cycles, PCOD (Polycystic Ovarian Disease), mental health, and hormonal imbalances.
So, without further ado let’s take a deep dive into ‘how to develop women’s health tracking app.’ In this article, we will cover the types of women’s health tracking apps, features, and costs associated with building the application. We will also cover the women’s health market and the FemTech industry.
Women’s Health Statistics at a Glance
- In 2022, over a quarter of adult women in the USA suffered from some type of mental illness. The death rate due to mental illness has increased amongst women. (Source: Statista)
- The global women’s health app market size is expected to rise at a CAGR of 19.6 percent from 2023 to 2030 forecasted timeframe. (Source: Grand View Research)
- The funding for FemTech reached around $2.5 billion and over 250 FemTech deals were made in 2021. (Source: McKinsey)
- The maternity mortality rate for women above 40 years is the highest in the USA. (Source: Statista)
What’s FemTech?
Since the FemTech term was coined in 2016 by Clue founder Ida Tin, there have been rapid advances in technology for female health. One such unique advances is ‘LunaJoy’, which offers holistic, online mental health counseling and therapy for women. Another example is the Flo app which is designed to aid women in managing their menstrual cycle and pregnancy journey.
As per an article published in The New York Times, FemTech is said to be the next big thing in health care; it is a small market and growing exponentially. And why not? This technology has covered all the essential female health issues, from sexual dysfunction to postpartum.
Women’s Health App Market at a Glance
According to the Grand View Research, the U.S. women’s health app market is predicted to surge at a CAGR of 18.3 percent during the 2023 to 2030 forecasted timeframe.
Key Market Drivers: Women are battling numerous health issues such as PCOD/PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome), breast cancer, HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) disease, uterine fibroids, and more in line. To tackle them, women need to constantly monitor their health, which can be accomplished with a women’s health tracking app. In addition, juggling between work and family can take a toll on women’s health, so an application dedicated to female health can uplift a woman’s well-being. These aspects are expected to drive the market growth.
What’s Hampering the Market: FemTech is a fairly new industry, hence a lack of investment in the sector is predicted to hamper the market growth. Plus, taboos and lack of awareness about women’s health are expected to hamper the market growth.
Importance of Using a Women’s Health Tracking App
A women’s health tracking app encompasses aspects such as period tracking, menopause, hormonal tracking, and reproductive health. It also includes emotional and mental wellness features, along with fitness, diet, and nutrition features as well. Women’s health tracking app allows females to take charge of their health and well-being. These applications reduce healthcare costs, offer customized treatment plans, increase accessibility to care, and change the way female health is seen in today’s time.
Female patients find it difficult to make it to one-on-one consultations due to busy schedules, but women’s health apps make it possible to seek online consultations and go for checkups only when needed. The best part is that these applications benefit both female patients and physicians because they can communicate as per their routine. Secured channels such as HIPAA-compliant video conferencing and chatbots ensure seamless communication between doctor and patient.
Key Types of Women’s Health Tracking Apps
Women’s health can be categorized into different types and based on these types, FemTech companies have come up with apps unique to each type. Here are key women’s health tracking apps that every mobile developer must know:
1. General Healthcare Apps
General healthcare apps are the ones used by individuals daily, and these include telemedicine, diet and nutrition apps, or remote patient monitoring apps. Women can make use of general healthcare applications for maintaining fitness and nutrition levels.
Plus these apps aid in screening and diagnostic tests, along with chronic disease management. Further, women can make use of mental health applications for general counseling and therapy sessions.
2. Pregnancy and Nursing Apps
Pregnancy and nursing care applications cannot replace a gynecologist but help to-be moms to keep track of their body changes and provide guidance on what’s normal and not during that period. These applications help mothers track their baby’s development, plus offer expert advice on diet planning if needed.
Furthermore, a mother’s community feature allows to-be moms to connect with other mothers and discuss issues faced during motherhood. In addition, a breastfeeding tracker feature helps overwhelmed moms with feedings, diaper changes, and sleep schedules.
3. Reproductive Health Apps
Reproductive health apps help women monitor their periods and track fertility. Quite useful for females trying to get pregnant and for those avoiding it.
These apps collect data and give an accurate account of how a body functions during PMS (Premenstrual Syndrome), what are the symptoms to look out for during the menstrual cycle, and how to manage it effectively. For women who are on birth control pills, these applications send reminders on when to take a pill and when not to have sex.
4. Pelvic and Uterine Healthcare Apps
Pelvic pains and dysfunction, along with uterus leaks and bleeding are some of the issues faced by women. This can be solved and controlled by using pelvic and uterine healthcare apps.
These apps offer clinical-grade care for women’s pelvic health and support from pelvic health experts. These apps provide exercise sessions, educational resources, pelvic tests, and live chat options with experts to maintain a healthy pelvic and uterine.
Must-Have Features for Women’s Health Tracking App
1. Sign-in Process
Like every other healthcare application, a sign-in process is a prerequisite for collecting essential data on reproductive health, pregnancy, previous treatments and allergies, and issues related to pelvic health.
This data is carried forward to the gynecologist and used to manage women’s health. User authentication is enforced during the sign-in process to maintain the security and privacy of women.
2. User Profile and Dashboard
Women can access user profiles to edit personal information and passwords. A dashboard is where women can find reports of their progress ranging from weekly to monthly analysis.
Design a dashboard that includes essential reports of menstrual, reproductive health, mental well-being, nutrition and fitness, and pregnancy. Based on the analytical data, women can make changes in their healthcare routine.
3. Notifications and Reminders
App developers can include notifications and reminder features in either of these ways – SMS, emails, or app notifications. Also, offer customizable reminder options like date/time setting and serene chimes for users.
The benefit of including a reminder feature is that it helps women to track their health better. This feature covers everything from reminders about nutrition intake and fitness to breastfeeding and gynecologist appointments.
4. Trackers
While developing women’s health tracking apps, developers can include a variety of trackers such as:
- Period Tracker: For women undergoing infrequent periods, a period tracker can help them keep on par with their dates. This tracker also monitors missed period months, along with delays in the menstrual cycle. Based on the data, females can adjust their diet and routine to maintain regular cycles. They can also seek help from a gynecologist in case of issues with menstrual cycles.
- Pregnancy Tracker: A perfect tracker for the to-be moms who like to keep track of their baby’s development and health status. A pregnancy tracker monitors body changes and nutrition needed for each month. It also sends reminders for doctor’s appointments.
- Breastfeeding Tracker: For new moms who are also working professionals, it can be hard to keep track of feeding time or diaper change. A breastfeeding tracker sends timely reminders for feeding, sleep cycle, and diaper change, which helps working moms manage their profession and baby effortlessly.
- Nutrition and Fitness Trackers: Every woman needs to keep their hormones in check. What better way than a nutrition and fitness tracker that plans a diet and exercise routine for women? This is a customized tracker that offers personalized plans based on weight, health goals, pregnancy, hormones, and reproductive health.
- Symptom Tracker: Women can use this feature to track symptoms for issues such as PCOD/PCOS, PMS, pelvic pains, uterine bleeding, complex pregnancy, and more.
- Fertility Tracker: For women who wish to get pregnant and for those avoiding pregnancy, this feature helps to keep track of the ovulation period.
So, these are nice-to-have features while developing a women’s health tracking app. They cover all the essential aspects of women’s health and offer solutions to women on how to best handle their health issues.
5. Gynecologist Consultation
Women can choose to set up online appointments with their gynecologist through the women’s health tracking app. This feature is built with real-time chat options and video conferencing that allows women to consult with their gynecologist online. Moreover, women can also opt for physical appointments whenever necessary.
Consulting with an expert via an app eliminates the need to go to a clinic for every minor issue that can be solved from home. A gynecologist can recommend exercises, lab tests, and prescriptions virtually, or have the client come to the clinic in case of emergencies.
6. Health Tips
A section dedicated to health tips and education can empower women to take up self-care actively. The app development team can hire experts or content writers who can update the section with value-added information on women’s health. This enhances user engagement with the app and also builds satisfaction, trust, and credibility of the application.
7. Integration with Wearables
Wearable devices are designed to capture essential health metrics such as sleep cycles, vitals, physical activities, and more. This data can be easily added to a women’s health tracking app, which can be used to augment care.
Wearable integrations allow gynecologists to keep track of their patients remotely. The apps send SOS messages to doctors in case of emergencies, allowing them to deliver help instantaneously.
How to Develop Women’s Health Tracking App?
1. Ideation and Competitor Research
Decide on the type of women’s health app before getting started with the app development. Female health requirements differ with age group, so figure out your niche audience, app goals, and brand awareness strategies. With a variety of women’s health tracker apps available in the market, create a USP through competitor research. This will make your app stand out in the market.
Next, how do develop women’s health tracker app? With an in-house team, outsourced, or freelance the entire project. Every team comes with its pros and cons, and the cost aspect differs significantly in every case.
2. Partnering with a Healthcare App Development Company
One of the key benefits of partnering with a healthcare app development company is that they have expertise in the field. No one can beat them when it comes to mobile healthcare app development. Plus, a healthcare app development company is aware of all the complex and ever-changing healthcare regulations such as HIPAA, FIHR, HITRUST, USCDI, FDA, and more. When it comes to HealthTech, healthcare organizations and development companies must comply with them.
To develop the best women’s health tracking app, enlist companies that match your requirements. One such company is Arkenea which specializes in healthcare software development and provides a range of services for mobile app development. With over 14 years of experience in the field, Arkenea provides app development services such as modernization, maintenance, designing, cross-platform development, and more.
Moving on, collaboration with a development company reduces the cost of hiring a team, and hardware and software requirements, thus bringing down the budget. This is a feasible option for small and medium companies that are working on a low budget and need a team of experts to drive the project.
3. Determining Budget, Monetization Models, and Timeline
Budget planning holds key importance during the development cycle. It sets a limit on number of team members, tools, space, software resources, and the time to complete the project. A dedicated timeline to complete the project reduces hidden costs and keeps the team on par with the deadlines. Consider planning these two aspects at the beginning of the app development.
Several women’s health-tracking apps are available for free, but if an app development team wishes to earn money then here are popular monetization models that can be used:
- Paid Apps: Developers can either offer a fully paid app on a weekly/monthly/annual subscription or charge on certain features only. These features can be community support, AI-driven features, e-store access, and more.
- In-App Advertising: Free in-app ads can be one of the best ways to generate revenue. But, the pitfall would be users leaving the app due to ad interruptions. Developers can place the ads in areas that go well with the interface. Additionally, take into account the number of ads popping up, along with their duration.
- In-App Purchases: Another way to monetize is through an e-store. Provide the option of purchasing customizable products such as eco-friendly sanitary napkins, lower-back pillows, and menstrual pain relief devices.
4. MVP, Prototype, and Designing
Once the budget and an outline of the app are decided, it is time to develop MVP (Minimum Viable Product) for your app. This is the basic version of the women’s health tracking app where developers can see what works and what doesn’t. An app may tend to fail without MVP, so do not skip out on this one.
Further, develop a prototype by inculcating basic features in an app. A prototype highlights the look of the app and developers can use it for user feedback, and improve the app functions accordingly. The UX/UI design phase is essential to improve inclusivity and accessibility for women’s health tracking apps. By following WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines), designers can craft an application that can accommodate a wide array of users.
5. App Development Stage
The app development stage mostly comprises the backend coding that’s done based on frontend (design stage) development.
The tech stack required for both backend and frontend is as follows:
| Role/Functions | Tech Stack |
| Front-End | Swift, JavaScript with VueJS and ReactJS, Angular, Java, Flutter, Kotlin |
| Back-End | Flask, Node.js, Python, Express.js, Django |
| Real-Time Analytics | Spark, Hadoop, Bigdata, Cisco, Apache Flink, IBM |
| Databases | MongoDB, PostgreSQL |
| Push Notifications | Push.io, Twilio |
| Location Tracking | Google Map, MapKit Framework |
| APIs and Integrations | Google Fit, Nutritionix, Apple HealthKit |
| Payment Process | Stripe, E-Wallets, PayPal |
| Operating System | Debian |
| Data Management | DataStax |
| Cloud | Google Cloud, AWS |
| Social Login | Google, Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn |
| Voice, SMS, and Phone Verification | Nexmo, Twilio |
| Emails | Mandrill |
Developers can leverage the best tools to code the application. Furthermore, include security mechanisms such as HIPAA compliance, secure login options, and compliance with IEC 62304, SOC2 Type 2, and ISO27001 during the app development stage.
7. Test, Release, and Maintenance
Finally, it is time to test the application for bugs and look out for any potential improvements in the application. Once the app is tested, it is time to release it to the audience.
Ensure that the app is maintained post-launch and is updated periodically based on user requirements and upcoming trends.
Cost to Develop Women’s Health Tracking App
Now how much does it cost to develop women’s health tracking app? We talked about the budget in the earlier section of this article, but we didn’t talk about an actual figure. So, while outlining the budget here are some facets to look for:
- Type of development team hired to do the job
- Complexity and scalability of the app
- Timeline for app development
- Software and hardware requirements for the app
- Platforms used in the app development process
Based on these aspects, approximately the cost of developing women’s health tracking app ranges between $30,000 to $100,000. This is an estimated figure based on research and understanding of the subject.
To get an accurate figure get in touch with a consultation call with our experts at Arkenea today.