5 things to consider when building a patient app

Creating a patient app has myriad benefits to staff and patients alike: it can enhance engagement, for example, or streamline your patient services – all while saving crucial time for your clinicians and admin teams. In fact, 77% of health IT leaders are investing in enhanced patient portals or mobile apps, to improve the experience for patients and staff.

But it’s always going to be a huge endeavour for a healthcare business of any size, which is why it's essential to approach this task with careful consideration of several critical factors.

We spoke to Nick Bird, CEO of One Heart Clinic, and Nick Gradwell, CEO of Amberly Innovations, about their experience of building a patient app for the private cardiology practice - here's what they suggest you consider before starting the build. 

1. Patient engagement and ease of use

One of the primary reasons for developing an app for your practice is to improve patient engagement. With this in mind, it’s crucial that the app offers an intuitive interface that allows patients to access services easily.

One Heart Clinic prioritised a user-friendly experience for patients, so they could easily access their medical records, schedule appointments, and communicate with their healthcare providers without needing to pick up the phone.

Not only does this free up admin teams to continue with the more important aspects of their job, but the ease of use ensures patients remain engaged with their healthcare. Research has shown strong patient engagement often leads to loyal customers who are more responsive to treatment options, helping to reduce readmission rates.

2. Business Efficiency

Digitising pathways and processes can lead to substantial gains when it comes to practice efficiency. An app can streamline various administrative tasks, such as appointment booking, payments and sending reminders. This significantly reduces the burden on your admin teams and allows your practice to serve more patients with the same resources.

This efficiency can also be beneficial to your finances. One Heart Clinic found that by moving to an app, they could handle a higher volume of patient interactions more efficiently, meaning they could provide a better service without increasing costs.

3. Integration and Sustainability

Moving towards a paperless system is not only an environmental imperative but also a practical one. Integrating a healthcare app can help achieve this goal by digitising records and communications.

One Heart Clinic aimed to become a paperless clinic to enhance sustainability, a demand increasingly made by their patients. The app helps them to maintain a modern, efficient, and environmentally friendly healthcare service.

4. Data Security and Privacy

Healthcare apps handle sensitive patient information, so ensuring robust data security and privacy measures is paramount. This includes complying with GDPR. Patients need to trust that their personal health information is secure when using the app.

Semble ensures practices like One Heart Clinic have the safest environment for their app’s clinical data. With a strong focus on safeguarding, we hold ourselves to the highest security standards, which includes ISO27001. This means you can store and share sensitive data securely, maintaining control over your information while enhancing communication with your patients.

5. Scalability and Flexibility

As your healthcare services evolve, so should your app. Building a scalable and flexible app from the outset will save you from significant redevelopment costs in the future.

The app should be able to accommodate new features and integrate with other systems as needed. One Heart Clinic’s app was designed to adapt to new digital pathways and processes, ensuring it could continue to meet patient needs as technology and healthcare practices advance.

So, should you consider investing in a healthcare app?

Whilst a lot of work, it’s a move that pays significant dividends when it comes to growing your practice and improving patient engagement. Developing a healthcare app is a strategic move that will help revolutionise patient care and operational efficiency.

By focusing on patient engagement, business efficiency, integrations, data security, and scalability, you can create an app that not only meets current needs but also sets the foundation for future advancements.