The healthcare industry has always relied on technology to deliver timely, affordable, and effective treatment to patients. The pandemic has acted as a catalyst in the increased utilization of technologies to provide timely treatment to patients in remote locations, monitoring and diagnosing patient’s conditions while maintaining social distancing norms.
In India, during the peak months of the pandemic in 2020, there was a 90% increase in medical app downloads.
The digital mHealth market size globally is forecast to reach $166 billion by 2028 and is expected to register a 17.6% CAGR during the forecast period.
According to a survey conducted by the American Medical Association, close to 85% of physicians felt that there was potential for healthcare apps to improve care. In comparison, 31% were sure that there was a definite benefit from these digital tools.
While the medical industry has its fair share of challenges, the advent of mHealth apps has eased some of the problems faced by doctors and patients. Let’s dive deep into the world of mHealth solutions and look at how it solves some persistent challenges faced by the industry.
Dealing with Challenges of Medical Service Providers
1. Access Information Instantly
The medical field is always coming up with the latest research and developments. It is rapidly advancing, but at the same time, it is becoming challenging to access vital information at the right time. A medical consultant would need access to the latest healthcare information instantly to treat their patients better.
mHealth Apps Solution:
Many medical applications act as repositories of updated information on new technologies, treatment procedures, imaging tools, drug and medication details, and more. Additionally, the latest medical news, case studies, publications, and studies are also available to physicians through these apps.
2. Administrative Management
The administration of a hospital or care center is a challenging and complex task. It needs a lot of planning and strategizing for all the departments of the hospital to work together.
mHealth Apps Solution:
Administrative and hospital management applications that focus on establishing and monitoring adherence to regulatory protocols are being developed. Hospital management apps are helping in reducing costs occurring due to medical errors. They also help in streamlining the workflow and regulating inventory management.
Healthcare mobile apps trends show that hospitals are using GPS navigation to monitor the availability of staff and assist patients in finding the right doctors. On the other hand, the hospital administration can also keep track of the availability of operation theaters, beds, medical equipment, medicines, and rooms.
3. Improved Treatment Cost and Time
Doctors work on a busy schedule and it is not practically possible to remember the treatment history of each of their patients. Doctors and care providers need to quickly retrieve and share treatment information, diagnostics reports, lab tests reports, and other health records to treat patients accurately.
mHealth Apps Solution:
Healthcare app development is now focusing on developing cloud-based apps that can store innumerable documents and retrieve and share the information with other professionals to diagnose. It is easier to prescribe medication more accurately by having the prescription sent to the nearest pharmacy for the patient to pick it up.
The medical apps also lend accuracy in diagnosis and screening by identifying the suitable scans and tests for patients. It will, in turn, eliminate additional costs of unwanted treatments and tests. mHealth challenges apps are also helping streamline record maintenance in compliance with HIPAA.
Read more : Top Benefits of Healthcare Mobile Apps for Patients in 2023
4. Patient Monitoring and Engagement
Communication between doctors and patients has always been lacking partly due to doctor’s busy schedules and unavailability.
mHealth Apps Solution:
Mobile apps are now providing instant messaging facilities, video calling and chat support so that doctors and patients can interact in real-time. This feature is most beneficial to doctors dealing with high-risk patients. If the healthcare mobile app trends are anything to go by, physicians also appreciate these digital tools that enhance doctor-patient relationships, reduce doctor-burnout and improve treatment efficiency.
Dealing with the Challenges Faced By Patients
1.Enhanced Medical Management
One of the biggest challenges faced by doctors and clinicians is getting accurate information from patients. By the time they come to the doctors, most patients don’t remember all their symptoms accurately. Besides, it is crucial to monitor chronic conditions like blood pressure and diabetes regularly.
mHealth App Solution:
Healthcare app development companies are focusing on creating apps with medication reminder features. The apps provide daily pill consumption reminders, track medication effects, and provide notifications if medications run low on stock.
Symptom tracker features on apps help doctors accurately diagnose health conditions. These mHealth apps are also beneficial in the early detection of diseases, reduce the risk of drug overdose and reduce the overall cost of healthcare services.
2. Support Healthy Lifestyle
Being health conscious is not just a choice now. It has become basic to keep a sound way of life. In any case, it isn’t generally the most straightforward thing to do. We, sometimes, need that final push that hurls us towards our lifestyle goals.
mHealth Apps Solution:
mHealth development services have progressed from keeping count of your steps to helping you care for your newborn. Health and nutrition apps are offering health management, psychological monitoring, and lifestyle management. Apps like Fitbit, Garmin Connect, and Apple Watch go the extra mile to help health enthusiasts set goals and monitor progress.
3. Access to Digitized Reports
Collecting medical reports on time has always been a challenge to many patients and caregivers. That’s one of the reasons why pathology labs had introduced digital records that were sent to the patient’s mail address. However, it was nearly impossible to access these records in remote locations.
mHealth Apps Solution:
Healthcare app development companies have developed applications that make it easier to collect and share reports. Patients can not only view the reports, but they can also download them for later use.
With these apps, it is unnecessary to wait until the doctor’s appointment to take action on the reports. Patients can directly share the reports with their doctors from the pathology centers without wasting precious time.
4. Easier to Claim Insurance
Claiming medical insurance can be a daunting task, especially if you cannot find the correct documents at the time of admission.
mHealth App Solution:
The medical insurance companies are coming up with apps that allow patients to carry their medical documents in these applications. With this, the insurance companies are also encouraging customers to seek insurance policies.
Wrapping Up:
The increase in healthcare mobile app trends proves that there is a demand for faster, accurate, and cost-effective healthcare services.
One of the significant compulsions of the traditional consulting methods was that doctors could treat only one patient at a time. And, patients had to also deal with the long waiting times at the doctor’s clinic – which sometimes delayed even emergency care. With these mHealth solutions, some of the conventional barriers to better health have been done away with.