Why Should You Build Healthcare Software?

Digital solutions make the medical system more personalized, turning it into any-time, any-place, continuous care. So, we are witnessing the creation of a new business model — a customer-centered digital healthcare ecosystem.

The goal of digital healthcare is to create a single information space of varying scalability, from a standalone clinical institution to a regional network, with the help of mobile app development, cloud computing, web and other technologies. Information systems and networks build a reliable connection between patients, medical consultants and healthcare providers, which is handy and beneficial for all the parties.

Benefits for Clinical Specialists

• Elimination of daily routine paperwork
• Easy management of practices via using electronic health records
• Seamless management of all processes in hospitals
• Enhanced collaboration with colleagues due to telemedicine even in spite of the geographical distance

Benefits for Patients

• The ability to make appointments and fill out documents remotely
• Easy communication with personal physicians via secure online channels
• Access to lab results and medical history via digital personal health records
• The additional educational information provided by experts on different issues

Benefits for Health Organizations

• Improved diagnostics due to reliable and comprehensive patient data and easy access to records
• Better coordination of processes because all the information is stored in one place
• Availability of communication tools
• Reduced costs due to the automation of numerous tasks
• Enhanced quality of medical services
• Increased patient satisfaction and engagement

These considerable benefits prove that every medical company, large or small, should make healthcare software to succeed in a highly competitive market.

Benefits for Health Organizations

• Improved diagnostics due to reliable and comprehensive patient data and easy access to records
• Better coordination of processes because all the information is stored in one place
• Availability of communication tools
• Reduced costs due to the automation of numerous tasks
• Enhanced quality of medical services
• Increased patient satisfaction and engagement

These considerable benefits prove that every medical company, large or small, should make healthcare software to succeed in a highly competitive market.

Benefits for Health Organizations

• Improved diagnostics due to reliable and comprehensive patient data and easy access to records
• Better coordination of processes because all the information is stored in one place
• Availability of communication tools
• Reduced costs due to the automation of numerous tasks
• Enhanced quality of medical services
• Increased patient satisfaction and engagement

Types of Medical Software

Modern clinical establishments are freed from excessive paperwork and can seamlessly manage numerous processes due to the different types of medical software. Let’s see what software is used by medical practices, in hospitals, and by patients.

Practice Management System

This is a customer relationship management (CRM) system for medical practices. The software integrates all clinical and administrative processes and helps users handle them more efficiently. As a result, the practice optimizes workflow, reduces the time and money expenses, and provides better patient care.

The practice management software may include various subcategories such as:

• A scheduling solution — patients can make an online appointment on their own via any mobile device, which simplifies a scheduling process and reduces phone traffic
• A billing solution — hospitals can automate all insurance claims and payment procedures
• An e-prescription solution — physicians send prescriptions directly to pharmacies in just a few clicks, saving time and eliminating mistakes that may occur because of unclear handwriting; moreover, the system keeps track of patients’ records and provision of medicines, providing a better level of protection

EMR

An electronic medical records (EMR) system is a digital alternative to an archive of paper documents. This is one of the most popular healthcare software that simplifies the routine work of physicians with documents.

Digital versions of patient histories are portable and easily accessible. A doctor can quickly check and analyze previous patient examinations and laboratory tests and, therefore, provide better diagnosing and treatment. The system can also remind of the due preventive procedures.

EHR

Electronic health records software (EHR) is similar to an EMR one, but it is more comprehensive. If data from EMRs can be shared only within one office, EHRs are able to transfer information to other clinical establishments and hospitals. It is vital in urgent cases when information from a patient’s health history is needed within a matter of minutes.

Patient Portals and Mobile Apps

Modern patients are eager to be engaged in the treatment process, be more educated and lead a healthy lifestyle. This is the point when telemedicine and digital health are getting in the game.

Specialized software such as patient portals and mobile apps are created to fulfill these desires and make healthcare more accessible and portable.

Patient portals provide various engagement tools:

• Online appointments
• Online consultations
• Online billing
• Feedback
• Educational information

Health mobile apps are divided into different types depending on their functions and target audience. For example, there are women’s health apps, programs that remind users to take pills or control the adherence to rehabilitation plans, apps with meditation manuals, consumption calculators and much more.

Our Experience of Medical Software Development

One of our projects was related to the development of modular desktop software for managing and streamlining physiatrists’ daily operations with patient data and medical history.

As a follow-up, the customer decided to create a stand-alone mobile application to enhance and facilitate home examinations by the physiatrists. The app was required to increase doctors’ mobility and eliminate the necessity of taking documents with patients’ medical history to their homes. Another goal was to provide high-quality images, so the SaM Solutions team, together with the customer, decided on native software development, to leverage platform-specific graphics capabilities. Android and iOS were chosen as target platforms.

The application functionality:

• Synchronization and editing of patient data
• Addition of new medical exams
• The ability to take photos of injured body parts, or use system images if photos are nondiagnostic

Moreover, our team developed an add-on extension for occupational therapists that provides a set of functionality required for their work specifics.

What was the success? The software allowed doctors to reduce document flow and enhance the security of personal data. The customer received the mobile application that meets all business and technical requirements within a reasonable timeframe.

Now, the application is fully developed and available. Our team is still engaged in the project: we provide ongoing support and develop additional features upon customer request.

Tools & technologies used

Objective-C, Java, Cocoa Touch, CoreData, ReactiveCocoa, REST, ORM Lite, JSON, AFNetworking, Core Location, Android SDK, Android Studio IDE, Android VMb, uCrop, Retrofit.