There is no denying how the arrival and growth of smartphone apps have made life easier for millions. From the average neighborhood student to a busy corporate executive, everyone is relying on mobile apps to get things done fast, without hassles. The same thing is true about medical professionals too. The doctors and surgeons, and even their assistants rely on different clinical apps to manage nuances of work, minus hiccups and delay. The physicians –especially always jostle with time. Using clinical apps, tailor-made for doctors can prove to be saviors for them.

The market for healthcare apps made for doctors is growing

Along with the patients, physicians are using clinical apps like never before, and this trend has fuelled after the pandemic. This is corroborated by the latest healthcare app development data. A study carried out by Research and Markets shows the Healthcare apps segment targeted at the doctors is on the rise. The mobile health market may reach $102 billion by 2023. Now, over 70% of the big hospitals and clinical setups in the USA have their own mobile health apps.

Advantages of using clinical apps for the doctors

The major advantages of using mobile apps tailor-made for the doctors are:

Time-saving– This is a big benefit no doctor will like to miss out! Regardless of the discipline, the doctors find it daunting to save time. Apart from diagnosing ailments and treating patients, they have to look after numerous administrative tasks in clinics and hospitals. Using apps can help them save time involved in such tasks. The apps can serve as digital assistants.

Reduced frictions– When the doctors use apps tailor-made for them, they cope with fewer hassles at the workplace. Whether it is reminders about upcoming operations and check-ups and alert about an important task, apps can serve the needs better than human staffs.

Reduced burnout- The physicians cope with an enormous amount of stress. They have to deal with different types of patients and coping with deadlines adds to the stress. When they use clinical apps, they find it easier to complete their task with ease. It helps in reducing the level of stress they get subjected to at the workplace.

Enhanced performance– The physicians, however qualified and reputed, are humans after all. They may also occasionally forget things or miss out certain tasks, under stress. However, by using clinical apps, they get reminders and alerts, and that ensure they do not skip tasks. So, they are able to perform their tasks with improved accuracy. Their productivity gets a boost eventually.

This is why the healthcare mobile app development services are setting focus on developing apps for use by the doctors.

Types of apps the doctors use extensively

Here are the types of apps that the doctors use for various needs:

Apps for time management and information– These apps are useful for taking notes on the move, recording audio and videos, taking snaps, setting reminders and scheduling appointments etc.

Apps for EHR access– The doctors need access to the EHR system a lot of times. What can be better than a mobile app for that? It is required for previous cheeking patient medical records and cross-checking data.

Apps for consultation- During the pandemic, a lot of doctors relied on clinical apps with video conferencing features to treat patents and suggest them modes of treatment and medication etc.

Apps for patient management– In large-sized hospitals and clinical setups, the physicians have to attend to numerous patients every day. To monitor patients admitted for the long term, they often make use of apps with enhanced video recording and calling features. This can be helpful on busy days when they need to check out the updates on patients with chronic conditions.

Apps for imparting education– There are physicians who impart training to the junior doctors and medical students. The apps can be handy in that regard. They can take virtual classes at their convenient timing.

The top healthcare mobile app development agencies develop all these types of clinical apps. Sometimes, they develop apps that cover more than one of these areas.

How to create a functional clinical app for use by the doctors

To develop functional clinical apps for use by physicians, the focus should be on the following points.

Security- The clinical apps meant for the doctors should be made secure. The doctors deal with a huge amount of patient and clinical data every day. They also deal with crucial information about the hospitals and clinics they are working in. Maintaining the security of such data is quite important. So, the apps should have multiple layers of security. Apart from regular password protection, biometrics-based security or 2-step authentication should be there in such apps. In the near future, blockchain healthcare app development may get priority for this reason.

Ease of use– The doctors find it hard to manage everything within the working hours anyway. So, they should not have to spend much time in handling the apps. The app UI has to be streamlined, and the doctors using the apps should be able to find what they want within a few seconds. Smooth navigation is a must in such apps.

EHR system integration-The clinical apps meant for use by the doctors should have solid integration with the EHR system. This will ensure they can access the clinical data of various patients stored in the system whenever they need. They should not have to log out of the apps to access the system. Apart from EHR, the app should have sync with a calendar for setting reminders and alerts.

Wide file format support– The clinical apps used by the doctors should have excellent support for various file formats. The doctors need to download and upload images, documents, video files and other digital resources for sharing. So, such apps need to have support for widely used image, video, document formats.

Speed- The clinical apps targeted at the doctors have to be fast. The doctors often have to multitask, and a sluggish app can add to their working woes! So, the app should be light on the resources and load fast.

Standard compliance- Based on the area of usage, doctor centric clinical apps must adhere to regulatory compliances. This may vary from one country to another For example. Clinical apps meant for use in the USA have to be compliant with HIPAA protocol. For catering to the Canadian medical community, a clinical app has to be PIPEDA compliant.

Customization options– Not every doctor has the same way of working, and that is applicable to any discipline of medicine. So, the doctor centric clinical apps should have ample scope for customizations. Some doctors may prefer audiovisual reminders while some others may want alerts minus visuals, for example. The same is true about syncing with other software and apps.

Summing it up

Setting up clinical apps targeted at the doctors requires giving more focus on their needs. Such apps have to be highly functional, and there is no place for any bugs and sluggishness. These apps should have great integration with the calendar and the EHR system as well. It is necessary to make the apps compatible with region-specific regulatory standards, and security is another aspect that needs attention. Above all, it is necessary to hire an agency for developing doctor centric clinical apps that has considerable expertise in that niche.