We divide the process of telemedicine app development into 7 main steps. Each stem has its own substages with specialists responsible for each.
Let’s take a look at a detailed breakdown of each stage.
1. Analysis and planning
We start telemedicine app development with project analysis and planning. This stage involved close cooperation of our team with the client, during which we identify the following points:
- Challenges of our client
- The best solutions for the challenges
- The best timeline and budget for the project
The main goal of this stage is to create a basic telemedicine app development project plan.
Key deliverables: plans alignment, project timeline, cost estimation
2. Project requirements
After our client decides to work with Addevice, our team moves on to the next stage of telemedicine app development. During this stage, we work on the identification of the following points:
- The target audience for the future telemedicine app
- Which problems the telemedicine software will solve
- Technical specifications and possible APIs integrations
- Security and privacy issues
The main goal of this stage is to get a full overview of the project that our team will be working on together with the client and the alignment of the assigned team with project requirements.
Key deliverables: contract agreement with details like timing, cost, and requirements.
3. Prototyping and design
At this stage, the actual work on your telemedicine project starts. During this stage, designers draft wireframes that define in-app user flow and interactions. The main goal is to create a prototype that will provide a great user experience.
Key deliverables: UX wireframes, UI design, telemedicine app concept
4. Development
This is the main stage of telemedicine app development, during which our developers are working on the functionality of your telemedicine software. Based on the agreement with our client, it is either possible to develop the first version of a telehealth app to test the idea or to create a platform with robust functionality.
Key deliverables: the first working version of an app or full-fledged telemedicine platform.
5. Testing and QA
This is a mandatory stage of the development process. Quality assurance engineers thoroughly test the whole functionality of an app to ensure a high quality of code, performance, and smooth user experience.
Key deliverables: telemedicine app ready for deployment
6. Deployment
Once the telemedicine app development stage is finalized, it is time to launch a new product to the market. Based on project requirements, our team can provide the client with the app’s source code or manage the entire process and publish your telemedicine app on relevant app stores.
Key deliverables: telemedicine software on app stores
7. Ongoing development and support
Once your app had been successfully launched to the market, the process of telemedicine app development continues. The main requirement for staying competitive is to provide regular app updates and improvements in functionality.
Key deliverables: app updates, guaranteed performance, and timely functionality improvements.
Telemedicine app development project: challenges & considerations
Telemedicine products are subjected to different data protection regulations and local requirements. There are a lot of challenges and pitfalls that you should be aware of before you start the telemedicine app development.
Note: You can circumvent any challenges with the help of an experienced healthcare mobile app development company.
Let’s investigate the main possible problems and identify the best solutions.
- Security
Telemedicine applications deal with personal and confidential information. As a result, such applications should take care of the security and protection of the stored and processed healthcare records. An important stage of telemedicine app development should be dedicated to security matters and finding ways of how to provide data protection.
- Local legislations
Regulatory standards make telehealth a very challenging sphere. In the USA, all mobile applications that deal that patient information must be HIPAA compliant. Each country has its own set of regulations and legislations.
- Technical infrastructure
Because of the specifications of the telehealth sphere, you should be very careful with the integration of third-party services. Before you integrate something into your telemedicine software, study their documentation to ensure their compliance with regulations.
- Lack of trust
Lack of patient trust might become another huge challenge in telemedicine app development. To ensure patients that they can entrust their health into the hands of your doctors, you need to provide the guarantee of their professionalism, social evidence in the forms of reviews, etc.
- Hiring a reliable telemedicine app development company
Finding a company that will help with the creation of your telemedicine app is as important as the features and tech stack. There are a few possible options that you can choose: hire an in-house development team, hire freelancers, or find an app development outsourcing company with the needed specialization.
Working with an outsourcing company is more advantageous for a business thanks to the lower development cost, access to a wide pool of talents, no bureaucracy of the hiring process, and much more. You can start your research with such platforms as Clutch, the Manifest, GoogleFirms, etc., that list the best telemedicine software companies.
Telemedicine app development cost
So, how much does it cost to develop a telemedicine app?
Before you start looking for a development vendor, you need to understand an approximate budget that might be required for telemedicine app development.
The cost of app development depends on the number of factors, including the location to which you outsource app development, the functionality you want to include, and the business model you are accustomed to working with.
Working with an offshore development company might be the most cost-effective approach to telemedicine app development.
After you decide to create telemedicine software, be ready to spend $60,000-$110,000+ for the first version of your application (single platform — iOS or Android).
If you decide to add even more features or expand to new platforms, the cost of the telemedicine system will rise accordingly. The development of a complex telemedicine app will cost $240,000 for a single app version.
Learn everything about Telemedicine App Development form scratch.
