AppStoryOrg

Author: ankit kumar

  • Healthcare Mobile Apps – Enhancing and Revolutionizing Healthcare Industry

    Healthcare Mobile Apps – Enhancing and Revolutionizing Healthcare Industry

    “If your plans don’t include mobile, your plans are not finished.” – Wendy Clark

    Digitization and technology have left no stone unturned in our lives – be it personal or professional. All business units and industry segments are enjoying the indulgence of technological advancements in their functioning. And, more so, after the advent of mobile devices, there is no looking back.

    One such segment that is a happening industry is the healthcare industry. It has been tasting the fruits of success with the implementation of different healthcare solutions and services, with the help of effective technologies and tools.

    The entire medical fraternity has been depending upon technological solutions for enhanced diagnosis, better surgical processes, increased healthcare facilities, and improved administration.

    Mobile apps are now indispensable with any kind of software solution and the way healthcare mobile apps have been revolutionizing the healthcare industry is remarkable.

    This article peeps into how mobile apps have been offering great services to the healthcare units and how well are they benefiting from these applications.

    Before we move further, let us glance through what healthcare mobile apps are.

    What is a Healthcare Mobile App?

    A healthcare mobile app is a software application, created to enhance clinical operations and decisions, with effective communication between stakeholders like doctors, patients, insurance persons, administrative people, etc.

    It could include a variety of features like messaging, voice chatting, file sharing, telemedicine, telehealth, appointment scheduling, maintaining health records electronically, etc.

    Healthcare mobile apps could be different types such as healthy lifestyle apps, patient medical health apps, reminder apps, doctor appointment apps, monitoring apps, diagnosis apps, mental health apps, dieting apps, etc.

    Key Features of Mobile App for the Healthcare Industry

    • Interoperability with other traditional systems through compatibility between apps
    • Involvement of API components for various tasks such as device authentication etc.
    • Ensuring the security of devices along with patient and clinical data lying in the user repositories through different mechanisms like end-to-end encryption, secure communication routes, etc.
    • Everyday usage features for daily life apps such as sleep monitoring, push notifications, metrics calculation, etc.
    • Having device compatibility, mobile app to work on iOS, Android, and other platforms with equal ease and effectiveness
    • Customization of personal details with other features such as fitness routine, diet plan, an appointment with doctors, medicine schedule, etc.
    • Geolocation tracking and monitoring for better route management
    • Push notifications to ensure alarms for different tasks such as appointments, fitness schedules, medicines, clinical findings, etc.
    • Chatting functionality for interaction with other stakeholders
    • Audio and video collaboration

    How are Mobile Apps Enhancing the Functioning of the Healthcare Industry?

    • Helping Industry Maintain a Patient-Centric Approach

    The healthcare mobile apps have been instrumental in assisting the healthcare units to maintain and manage all patient-related activities, with ease and efficacy. Be it appointment scheduling, searching for medicines, consulting doctors, sharing documents, handling emergencies, asking for fitness regimes, consulting specialist doctors, video calling, or online consultation – mobile apps have it all.

    Patients can avail medical help from their own location. Either through video consultation or by wearing fitness bands and implementing fitness apps, users can avail medical services with ease. The wearables are yet another feather in the cap that sync well with the mobile apps and offer all necessary fitness information needed. Even round-the-clock medical assistance can be availed through the application.

    • Assisting Doctors and Medical Professionals in Effective Services

    Mobile apps have made the life of doctors, surgeons, and clinical practitioners easy. Administration, responses, appointments, health records, documentation, treatment follow-up, medical history maintenance, integration with AI-powered systems and other personal devices, documentation, treatment plans – everything can be managed, monitored, and implemented with the help of mobile apps for the healthcare units.

    • Accessing Accurate, Comprehensive, and Insightful Reports

    Implementation of a mobile app offers detailed reports that are based on the bulk of information gathered through the app. These reports can help decision-makers to take accurate decisions and leverage the usage of AI, ML, AR, and VR in the daily processes. These reports offer fast availability to medical reports of patients, as and when needed.

    • Offering Easy, Fast, and Secure Payment Methods

    The mobile apps for healthcare offer a great variety of payment methods that are easy for users and highly secure too. With this, patients and users find it comfortable to go in for online payment portals. Originally, there used to be long queues in which users had to wait for a long time. Gone are those days, payments are all online and a big help.

    • Presenting a Great Business Opportunity

    Because of the instant availability of services, faster retrieval of records, and enhanced patient experience, the healthcare segment is benefiting tons through the mobile applications powered by cutting-edge technologies. There is a positive business output all over, for patients, doctors, and all involved stakeholders and hence comes out as a good business opportunity for the healthcare segment.

    Key Technological Trends That Have Helped Create Mobile Apps for Healthcare Units

    • Telemedicine and Telehealth Are the New Age Medical Terminologies

    Telemedicine means the usage of telecommunications technology to deliver healthcare to patients in real-time. It can be sent through video conferencing, audio communication, text/chat, or using healthcare apps.

    It works using telecommunication technology in which physicians and patients can deliberate issues/symptoms, share information (visuals, screen, and text) in real-time, distantly consult doctors and get a judgement, capture or see readings from medical devices, get treatment for primary treatment and educate patients, consultants, or healthcare professionals.

    Good Read: Top 20 Popular Telemedicine Apps Offering Best Of Healthcare

    • Blockchain Technology is Trending in the Healthcare Industry

    Blockchain is a popular trending technology now a days and it has now become a rage in the healthcare units too. It is a one-to-one database that manages accurate records of all transactions that must be tracked and accessed by a huge group of users.

    Blockchain is quite useful to healthcare units since it provides an effective recording of the medical history of patients with electronic storage in an encrypted form. It is quite safe and secure and hence patient data and clinical information is stored with protection and reliability.

    • Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality Are Benefiting the Healthcare Fraternity

    AR and VR are the two technologies that are alluring the globe and the healthcare industry is also gaining out of it. Through the logic of super imposing computer-generated information, AR and VR have been leveraged to create mobile apps utilized by doctors and other stakeholders.

    There is stimulation of real-life experience of different surgeries and diagnosis, that can help doctors in their actual treatment. They can gain more expertise and hence offer reliable service to patients.

    Since this is a technological advancement, the orientation can be offered to multiple sources at the same time and hence everyone can benefit from it. Users, i.e. doctors, patients, surgeons, administrators, etc. can get a personalized and interactive experience through AI services. This increases the collaboration between systems and stakeholders.

    • Big Data Analytics Will Offer Useful Statistical Information

    With huge chunks of data getting generated continuously, Big Data is the way out to get the best out of the heaps of information. With the latest tools, it offers detailed statistical information that can be administered through competent tools.

    Big Data is turning extremely useful in maintaining, storing, and accessing patient records, documents, files, reports, diagnosis, etc. with ease. It helps doctors to keep more focus on their work rather than wasting time on administrative tasks.

    There are increasing number of mobile apps that are trending now, to offer the best of applications that can benefit the healthcare industry, by leaps and bounds. Big Data analytics assists in developing mobile-based healthcare apps for storing patient information.

    • Internet of Things Is all About Connecting People and Devices

    Internet of Things (IoT) is all about bridging the gap between physical devices, software solutions, and people. It connects the electronic items, software, and apps in such a way that it helps medical practitioners to avail important patient data for better monitoring and management.

    It becomes easy for doctors to monitor patient details and for patients to deal closely with the doctors. IoT devices can help big time in offering better treatment, administration, collaboration, and management of activities in any healthcare unit through mobile apps.

    Some of the Leading Healthcare Mobile Apps

    • WebMD
    • Headspace
    • Generis
    • Teladoc
    • PEPID
    • Medisafe Pill Minder
    • Better Help
    • Heal
    • Leafly
    • MDacne

    And many more….

    Good Read: How Much Does It Cost To Make Medical Apps For Healthcare Professionals

    Wrap Up – Healthcare Mobile Apps have a Bright Future

    Looking at the way these healthcare IT solutions are influencing the healthcare industry, they have become the need of the hour. Trends are setting in, newer ways and means of indulging in technology are coming up and all involved stakeholders in the healthcare industry are leveraging the goodness of these mobile apps.

    There is a lot to look for, as time goes by. It will be great to see everyone benefiting from this association of the healthcare segment with mobile apps. The plethora of options mobile apps are offering to the industry will be a game changer and only time will tell how!

  • Healthcare CRM Solutions – Promising and Beneficial for Healthcare Industry

    Healthcare CRM Solutions – Promising and Beneficial for Healthcare Industry

    “Get closer than ever to your customer. So close, in fact, that you tell them what they need well before they realize it themselves.” – Steve Jobs

    “The global healthcare customer relationship management (CRM) market is estimated to reach USD 17.4 billion by 2023 from USD 8.8 billion in 2018, at a CAGR of 14.6% during the forecast period.”

    The healthcare industry is one in-demand domain where there is a lot happening and hence the implementation of integrated software solutions is vital. Most healthcare organizations make use of these tools, of which healthcare CRM is one popular solution.

    The healthcare CRM is utilized in hospitals, public and private clinics, dispensaries, laboratories, etc. Factors like the digitalization drive during the pandemic, enhanced influence, and usage of the social media elements, need for high-quality healthcare, a strong relationship between patients and other stakeholders, etc. has acted as a catalyst in increased implementation of these CRM solutions in the healthcare sector.

    The CRM solution for health goes way beyond merely managing and monitoring patients’ administration. There is much more it does! Creating and tracking tickets, online resources, a dashboard for monitoring, social media interaction and integration, locating patient information, regularizing follow-up mechanisms, boosting patient loyalty, keeping abreast with technological advancement, and much more! A lot is happening in the healthcare industry and there is no looking back!

    Healthcare CRM Market - 2016-2025

    Courtesy: Healthcare CRM market worldwide between 2016 and 2025, by end user (in million U.S. dollars)

    Let us first go through what this healthcare CRM solution is and then further drill down into details of the key features and benefits that it offers, which is why it is so popular amongst the industry segment, worldwide.

    What is Healthcare CRM Solution?

    As we know, Customer relationship management (CRM) is a process in which a business or other organization administers its interactions with customers, typically using data analysis to study large amounts of information. A healthcare CRM solution is meant for healthcare professionals and patients for the best of hospital and patient management.

    With the growing number of online health portals and healthcare mobile apps, the implementation of an effective CRM is even more important. Centralized management of all patients related information and services like prescriptions, medical history, appointments, communication, doctor referrals, calls, emails, patient notes, and preferences is needed and that is what a healthcare CRM looks after.

    An ideal healthcare CRM system includes contact information and history, billing history, patient documents, appointment handling and reminders, patient notes with pre-existing conditions, medications, treatments, allergies, and much more.

    The recent CRM trends that the industry is showcasing are the usage of AI and IoT in day-to-day activities, remote care delivery with telehealth and telemedicine apps, customized patient care, and the generation of insightful data analytics for futuristic activities.

    The easily accessible information to patients, doctors, administrators, insurance persons, nurses, etc. helps the entire chunk of professionals build a strong, secure, and trustworthy rapport with patients.

    Features of Healthcare CRM that Makes It Promising

    Patient Information Management and Segmentation

    Since patient information is already existing in the system, it need not be filled in time and again. This leads to a seamless experience for patients and fastens up the entire process. It also relieves administrators of the extra burden of re-entering the information each time the patient comes. Healthcare CRM also helps in segmenting patients into different groups based on parameters such as high-risk health issues, demographics, location, mode of consultation, etc.

    Timely Generation of Notifications/Alerts/Reminders

    Remembering appointments, schedules, and dates is a tough task for all be it a patient, a doctor, or an administrator. Implementation of CRM software solutions helps in automating these activities through a variety of alerts, notifications, and reminders. Some of these could be automated based on pre-defined rules and some can be user-generated but they surely help in the smooth execution of events.

    Smooth Management of Referrals

    With the software solution, it is easy to manage coordination between doctors and patients spread across different geographical locations. Referral activities can be easily managed and the complete performance can be monitored with a futuristic view by the management for better performance and additional revenue.

    Effective Scheduling of Appointments

    Scheduling appointments for patients is a tedious and important task that turns into a smooth and systematic operation through such solutions. Errors can be avoided, desired date and time can be chosen, the waiting time can be reduced and reminders can be generated. This directly leads to higher patient satisfaction and thereby introduction to newer patients. Features such as busy days and weeks can also be indicated through AI-driven logic which can prove beneficial to patients.

    Good Read: How VR is Reforming Healthcare

    Contract and Back Office Management

    The tools help in proper contract management with a centralized repository, timely renewals through standard procedures, and reminders if due. It also creates seamless integration with the back office that includes all data-related files and support systems. This ensures lesser duplicity, loss of data, faster retrieval of information, and better management of information.

    Inbuilt Regulation Compliance with Standards

    All the information that is included in a healthcare system is crucial, confidential, and must be taken care of, with extra caution. That is where adhering to standardized compliances like HIPAA is a must. Through the Healthcare CRM, it is viable to incorporate all necessary standards in the system and follow it regularly and automatically. The system even prompts when there is a violation of any kind.

    Generation of Dashboards and Variety of Reports

    The major advantage of having a software CRM is the accessibility to a variety of information through dashboards and reports. Since all the data is centrally stored, all stakeholders have access to different types of outputs based on the user control access and the inputs they give. With such well-formatted layouts, it is very easy and effective for decision makers to implement a further course of action, for the betterment of the management and patient administration.

    Data Security and Patient Privacy

    Since all the data that is moving around is crucial, maintaining its integrity and securing it is highly important. It includes the patient’s medical history and records, legal compliance documents, doctor’s personal details, etc. The healthcare CRM can store all confidential information and offer access only as permitted. Doing so manually is a tough task and may not be as effective as through a software solution.

    Activity Tracking and Management

    All healthcare segments and all involved stakeholders have multiple to-do lists, associated tasks, and responsibilities. Healthcare CRM helps in managing, monitoring, and maintaining those task lists regularly, keeping all those involved in sync with each other. It generates necessary alerts and reminders, follow-up calls, etc. to highlight the items to be attended to, with immediate effect.

    Trends and Patterns within Patients

    The growth and improvement in the healthcare industry depend a lot on what feedback the patients give and what more they desire. The Healthcare CRM stores and analyses all the information that is fed into the system. Based on the hoards of data getting generated daily, it consolidates and brings up the futuristic trends and patterns that are being observed. This can help the management in making relevant changes and thereby, increasing the market potential of the healthcare segment, attracting more patients, and raising the patient satisfaction quotient.

    Good Read: Voice Of The Customer(VOC) Technology Is The New Gateway To The Improved Healthcare Industry

    Major Advantages of Healthcare CRM That Makes It Popular

    • Enhanced patient retention and addition of new patients
    • Accurate and complete record keeping,
    • Awareness of exact medical condition, allergies, prescriptions etc. by doctors
    • Maximum, precise, and optimum usage of resources
    • Least chances of manual errors and time spent on manual entry
    • Creative time by staff for better and innovative tasks
    • Personalized care and focus on patients
    • Appropriate marketing strategy implementation and results
    • Automated activities like emails, notifications, alerts, etc.
    • Seamless integration with other systems with smooth data transfer
    • Organized and proper alignment of daily activities with appropriate priorities
    • Effective task collaboration with easy handover if needed
    • Access of software solution on multiple devices and platforms
    • Large improvement in the billing process, tracking transactions, and real-time information
    • Automatic workflow management and payment reminders for unpaid invoices
    • Faster communication with a live chat system, automated emails, etc.
    • Better interaction with patients and increased outreach
    • High-end security with encryption of confidential information
    • Compliance with HIPAA and other regulatory standards
    • Detailed assessment of patient–hospital relationships
    • Centralized repository of all stakeholders-related information with proper integration
    • Measurement of key performance indicators with a 360-degree view of stakeholder performances
    • Patient intake automation and patient communication
    • Instant and enhanced chronic disease management

    Leading Healthcare CRM Solutions in 2022

    There are many healthcare CRM solutions that are popular. Some of them are Salesforce Health Cloud, Veeva CRM, Leadsquared, Evariant, Pipedrive, HubSpot, Zoho CRM, PlanPlus Online, Nimble, etc.

    There are leading software development companies that offer customized healthcare CRM solutions based on organizational requirements and goals. There has been a constant comparison between off-the-shelf software and custom software.

    To each its own! Both have their own chunk of pros and cons. It depends upon different parameters like performance, budget, functionalities, user friendliness, etc. to decide which type of solution to choose from.

    Summing It Up

    Healthcare CRM solutions have been revolutionizing the way the healthcare industries work, in today’s digital landscape. The extent to which its benefits and features impact the overall working of the industry segment is too good to believe. Healthcare experts are now indulging into a variety of facilities that help them grow their business multi-fold, keeping intact the quality and trust factor to patients.

    With these healthcare CRM solutions, it is all about offering a superior, trustworthy, and swift patient experience. Be it selecting a readymade solution or taking the help of an experienced IT solutions provider to carve out a tailormade solution, going digital is the way!