Luckily, COVID-19 made it possible for them to refresh the working process by using specialized apps. We all know that during restrictions, it is either hard or impossible to book an appointment with a doctor if you do not have symptoms of COVID. This gave the boost and popularity of doctor appointment apps.
According to a Statista report, the revenue of the Online Doctor Consultations segment is projected to reach US$21.78bn in 2022 with an annual growth rate (CAGR 2022-2026) of 10.79%. This leads to a suggested market volume of US$32.81bn by 2026. Since online booking has become a habit now, most clinics will still use mobile apps even after restrictions are removed.
In this article, we show you a step-by-step process on how to develop a doctor appointment app and the benefits. Let's get started!
What is a Doctor Appointment App?
The doctor appointment app is exactly what its name suggests. This app is designed for both doctors and patients. It helps patients to choose the doctor, open slots, and schedule an appointment based on their disease online. Doctors can see these booked appointments and better organize their days. This also reduces manual work as patients input their personal data into the app, and doctors just need to transfer this data to the local database (if they have one).
How Do Clinics Benefit from Doctor Appointment App?
Streamlined Billing
These applications are ideal for a streamlined billing process. Once The appointment is made, or before the visit, the app automatically sends the invoice, which can be paid online using a card. Hospital administration is now able to issue bills through a mobile app, allowing patients to pay through built-in payment gateways. In addition, the billing history is always available for both sides and can be viewed at any time.
Increased Patient Satisfaction
A recent study found that 43% of patients prefer to book an appointment online, while 57% of modern people go online to find their best healthcare providers. Younger generations are definitely satisfied with this digital healthcare transformation, and they even want to visit their doctor through online calls rather than visit psychically in most cases. So they are more likely to use your services to book appointments through this app than to call the clinic or visit it.
Minimized Appointment No-Shows
Reports show that the US healthcare system loses $150 billion annually because of patients who don't show up on their visits. This happens due to many reasons, but one thing is clear - the hospital front desk does not always have time to reach out to every patient and remind them about their visit or reschedule the appointment. This is where technology comes into the picture. These apps can automatically send reminders about their appointment.
Minimized Manual Errors
Unfortunately, front desk employees tend to make manual errors that can affect the clinic's quality of services. These errors can occur with patient data or billings. Every mistake that may happen also leads to the financial loss of the organization. Therefore, it can be solved with automated processes offered by doctor appointment apps.Key Doctor Appointment App Features to Know
Doctor Profiles
Your app should help patients find their doctor based on their personal needs and preferences. That's why doctors' profiles should always be here and provide detailed information about the healthcare provider. The data in the doctor profile should include photos, core competencies, how many years of experience, as well as all vital information that the patient will probably want to learn in advance. You can also add the cost for consultation and treatment.
Patient Profiles
Whether it is the first appointment or the follow-up visit, the doctor should always have a chance to quickly go through the information about the patient. And their profiles are a great place to store sensitive data. It allows the doctor to learn about a patient's health condition, check what medications the patient already gets, how long this health issue lasts, daily habits, lifestyle, and so on.
Search Option
If your clinic has an extensive database, then you will probably need a smart search using keywords. You don't want your patients to struggle with finding the best fit for their needs. Therefore, the search option will be an excellent way to go through all those profiles. You can consider adding filters by desired treatments, doctor ratings, locations, experience, and more.
Booking Form
Ideally, booking an online doctor visit should be done as quickly as possible with no stress or hassle. This is why your booking form should be simple, understandable, and relevant. Once a patient chooses a doctor, they should be able to easily check open slots and book the desired time and available location. Do not make this a quest, only simple and quick booking always.
Push Notifications
Here's a vital feature of any successful doctor appointment app. Your users will be happy to always stay informed about new bookings, opening slots, their payment approval, information about their booking, and more. In addition, push notifications allow you to keep users engaged, boosting their loyalty and retention rates. But do not overwhelm users with these notifications, as they do not work like noisy ads. Send them before scheduled appointments to confirm their visits, minimize missed bookings, and so on.
Distance Healthcare Consultations
Telehealth applications work for some clinics. Even though the doctor appointment app is focused only on scheduling in-office appointments, you can also consider delivering more than just a scheduling component. Even if online consultations don't work for your clinic, you can still allow some communication options for your users.
Online Prescription Management
Keep your users informed about essential information about their prescription medications, such as potential interactions, dosage information, as well as potential side effects. The opportunity to prescribe drugs using the Internet, which local pharmacies can offer, provides amazing convenience.
Stages of No-Code Doctor Appointment App Development
Create a List of Features
Before you start your development process, the first thing to do is to create a detailed list of features. This is because you will need to show your team what exactly the app should look like and what it should do. Even though all doctor booking apps are similar, you may want to add extra features to your app.
Find Your No-Code Development Team
No-code is the best solution for doctor appointment app development. This is because no-code offers:
- Easiest;
- Quickest;
- The cheapest way to build such an application.
No-code is a new approach to building both mobile apps and websites, allowing clinics to get the software within a few weeks without compromising the quality.
However, if you want to deliver a top-notch product, you will need a team of no-code developers who have relevant experience in this field. This is why you should choose the trusted development team, checking the following:
- What tech stack do they use;
- Experience in that field;
- Case studies;
- Reviews;
- Cost policy.
Build a Doctor Database
Currently, there are several ways to access doctor-related information through the app, including:
- Connect to publicly available doctor databases like 1upHealth, Doctor.com, and Doctor Database via the API.
- Create a database of healthcare professionals from other organizations from scratch.
If your team builds a custom solution for a particular clinic or healthcare chain, the second approach will suit you best.
Work on UX/UI Design
If you hire a full-stack no-code app development team, you will also get qualified designers. The interface plays a 70% of success. This is why make sure the designers you hire have relevant skills and backgrounds. Here are some points to consider:
- Design for the patients' side should be intuitive;
- All EHR-related data on the doctors side should be easily accessible and up to date;
- Pay close attention to the needs of your front desk workers by designing software that can also handle administrative information.
Once your team has built a prototype, you are ready to move further.
Development
Since there are too many no-code tools the team can use, you should come up with those that suit your goals and can guarantee the best results. The bubble is an ultimate choice for a doctor appointment app, but some custom solutions require other tools that your team should suggest to you. It is essential to make your application HIPAA Compliant. This guideline is designed to protect patients' sensitive data from leaking out to unauthorized parties.
Improve the Product Based on User Feedback
Once The app is launched, you need to always update the product to stay competitive on the market. It is also vital to collect user feedback to get vital insight into how you can improve your app if users are not satisfied. Listen to your users and medical staff feedback to effectively satisfy their ever-changing needs.Final Thoughts
If you decide to build an online doctor appointment system, you can consider a no-code approach. This will allow you to develop an app with a high speed, low cost, and top-notch quality. However, it is also vital to hire an experienced no-code development team that will allow you to achieve success with a brand-new application.
