As stated in Statista, the digital health market is expected to rise from USD 21 billion to USD 206 billion in 2020. As per a study by Grand View Research, the mHealth market is all set to increase to USD 151.57 billion by 2025. It is growing at a rate of 25.7 % CAGR over the forecast period.
The benefit of healthcare apps goes to doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals. Healthcare organizations are increasingly entering into the realm of mobile healthcare.
Before finding out how healthcare apps contribute towards patient care, we must first concentrate on finding out the categories of healthcare apps.
The Different Categories of Healthcare Apps
The various categories of healthcare apps are:
Assisting in Diagnosis and Clinical Applications
- Digital Imaging
- Symptom checkers
- PHR Access
- Electronic Chart Review
- Review of Lab Results
Remote Monitoring
- Lifescan for Diabetes
- Telehealth Services
- Remote Checking of Oxygen Level
- Telehealth Services
- ECG Viewer
- Remote Heart Monitoring
Reminders and Alerts
- Appointment Reminders
- Prescription Management
Health-Related
- Diet Assistance
- Exercise and Fitness
- Healthy Eating
Productivity Related
- Surgery Scheduling
- Remote Dictation
- Interoffice Communication
According to the Deloitte 2018 report, on US Healthcare Consumers and Physicians, there is an agreement between the consumers and physicians on matters of virtual care. Virtual care is said to support patient-centricity. The top benefits for the patients are:
- Improved Patient Access to Care
- Staying Connected to Patients and Caregivers
- Enhanced Client Satisfaction
Next, we will deal with the benefits of healthcare apps.
Benefits of Healthcare Apps in Patient Care
The patients get the most benefits from healthcare apps for activities such as quick scheduling of doctor’s appointments, online viewing of medical reports from the labs, finding a specialist for hand-on experience and purchase medicines and other products at affordable prices.
Moreover, the patients can chat with their doctors over the video and get services at reasonable prices. Furthermore, patients can get a healthy diet by taking online consulting services from the nutritionists and dieticians.
The benefits in the area of patient care are:
- Mobile Patient Portals
- Access Patient Charts, Anywhere
- Capture and Share Diagnostic Images
- Deliver E-prescriptions
Mobile Patient Portals
The patients will be able to do the following tasks with a mobile portal:
- Use a smartphone to schedule appointments with physicians and also for emergencies.
- Track the medications they are supposed to take.
- Set up notifications at a specified time for taking these medicines.
- Real-time solving of queries through electronic messaging.
- Send Reminders on appointments and reminders.
The mobile apps increase engagement to a considerable extent. It ensures an increase in the number of appointments.
Access Patient Charts, Anywhere
A mobile EHR app is required to access patients charts, from anywhere. It is beneficial for practitioners who need to create loads of patient charts. It allows them to strike a higher engagement with the patients rather than preparing and updating charts. It offers a clear and east-to fill interface.
Following are some of the benefits of a mobile EHR app used for charts:
- Carry chart templates and practice from anywhere, any time.
- Access patient history with charts, using just a click.
- Increase patient retention with higher physician engagement.
Capture and Share Diagnostic Images
A mobile EHR app with image capturing functionalities resolves many problems as it is challenging to solve patient symptoms on the grounds of written documents only. The image capturing function can handle anything from simple to complex tasks. The app connects with the camera. Some of the benefits of images are:
- Deliver high-quality patient care with accurate and visual details of images.
- Save time by capturing the image with a separate camera.
Deliver E-prescriptions
Allow medications, electronically from any location with e-prescriptions.
The benefits of e-prescriptions through the app are:
- Handle prescriptions quickly.
- Increase the quality of care by adhering to monitor medication adherence, more effectively – anytime and anywhere.
- Transfer the prescription to the concerned pharmacy, and keep status up-to-date, in real-time.
Summary
With a paradigm shift towards mobile apps, the healthcare industry is going through a transformation, not seen in the past. The patients can be ensured to get a better quality of care by using healthcare apps. The apps enable them to deliver a set of activities – monitor medications, schedule appointments, e-prescribing, and schedule appointments, along with sending reminders.
However, it requires the services of a best-in-class healthcare app development company, with the ability to create a high-quality app that serves the doctors to render patient care.
