How to Hire a Healthcare App Development Company?

Are you interested in how to hire a healthcare app development company for your next app development project?

In this article, we will discuss the steps you must follow to find the best healthcare app development company for your business requirements and answer the most popular questions about healthcare app development: How much does it cost to develop a healthcare mobile app? How much does it cost to hire an app developer?

According to Statista, revenue in the Online Doctor Consultations market is projected to reach US$9.46bn in 2024 and show an annual growth rate (CAGR 2024-2029) of 4.02%, resulting in a projected market volume of US$11.52bn by 2029.

According to another trustworthy source, Grand View Research, the global healthcare mobile application market was valued at USD 17.92 billion in 2019 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 45.0% from 2020 to 2027.

Healthcare Mobile Application Market Size 2020-2027

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A guide to hiring a healthcare app development company

1. Complete the preliminary work

Before looking for your healthcare app development partner, you must outline your project requirements. You should have a clear idea of what you want to develop. Healthcare apps fall into two main types:

1. Healthcare apps for healthcare professionals

2. Healthcare apps for patients.

So, you may want to develop diagnosis software, hospital management software, research software, etc., as well as mobile or web apps for a healthcare organization or healthcare providers. However, you might also want to build a health-tracking mobile app, appointment booking app, fitness mobile app, etc., for end users.

You must start by performing thorough market research to get an idea of what your competitors are offering users.

During this process, you will analyze rival medical apps, focusing on areas for improvement. With these opportunities in mind, you can plan the features you will deliver to your target audience.

This will give you a clear picture of what you want. With your clear mobile health app requirements, you can look for the right mobile app development partner.

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2. Answer these three important questions

Look for answers to the following three critical questions while looking for a healthcare mobile app development partner.

1. Should you manage an in-house team for your healthcare app development project?

In-house project teams seem a safe option. You have access to your project members at any time and on your premises. There is direct communication, therefore, less lapse in project communication, etc.

However, there are cons to building an in-house development team. There is a lengthy hiring process. Finding the right talent from a local population pool elongates the hiring process.

Once you hire the required talent, there are auxiliary expenditures such as office space and equipment maintenance, utility expenses, training of employees in certain skills, and from providing benefits such as health, travel, days off, etc.

Given these expenses, maintaining a full-time in-house development team does not make much sense, especially if your healthcare app development is a one-time project and you do not plan to engage in similar development projects again.

Moreover, the technical needs vary depending on the required frameworks, tools, etc. Therefore, you will need a different set of software developers with expertise in the required technologies.

2. Can you trust a freelance healthcare app developer?

It is likely that you are considering whether hiring freelance healthcare software developers is more suitable for you as you can easily hire a few according to your software project’s needs. There is a large freelance market out there that you can easily connect to using platforms like Upwork, Fiver, etc.

You simply need to post a job to acquire a freelancer in a matter of days.

Hiring a freelancer to write an article or design a portfolio might be a feasible option. However, you are planning to build a healthcare app here. The healthcare industry has stringent regulations and guidelines for incorporating technology and governing any digital transformation of conventional healthcare services.

Non-compliance with such healthcare industry regulations can put you and your business in a grave situation. You do not want that.

Such an incident can be avoided by partnering with highly-qualified software engineers who have a thorough understanding of the healthcare industry and its relevant laws.

Moreover, these app developers should be well-skilled in the required tech stack. Can you guarantee this in a freelancer? Unfortunately, no freelance platform guarantees its freelancers’ skills. They just match you with the appropriate freelancer.

The vetting process, in regard to freelance developers for your healthcare app development services,
is 100% up to you. If there is a slight misjudgment on your part, the result will almost certainly be a software product that does not meet your business goals or come up with industry standards in terms of data security, etc.

Moreover, if freelance healthcare mobile app developers leave your project midway to work on another ‘gig,’ you are left alone to face the consequences.

3. Should you partner with a reputed healthcare app development company?

The cons of the first two options lead us to the more reliable option of partnering with a healthcare app software development company.

An established healthcare app development company gives you the option to either outsource your entire healthcare app development project to them or hire the required number of software developers with the required skills for your app development, should you have the experience and expertise to plan and manage the process yourself of course.

This option helps you fill the gap in your in-house teams without having to resort to freelancers. You get instant access to high-quality independent medical app developers to develop all aspects of your app’s technical requirements.

Outsourced software developers from these companies are vetted for their skills by the software development agency. They also ensure the quality of their work so it is a win-win situation.

Moreover, they will have experience in working with similar software development projects. This helps them to make the best decisions in terms of the technology stack, development practices, etc.

One reservation you might have of working with medical app development companies is that of communication. Before working with remote global mobile health app developers, most companies believe that maintaining effective communication will be hard.

However, today software app developers use numerous communication and collaboration tools that make communication both reliable and speedy. Communication tools like Slack, Asana, Trello, etc. offer fast and easy communication and huge project management benefits.

Meanwhile, developer tools like GitHub, Jira, etc. help software developers to work on the same code base efficiently.

3. Partner with the Right Healthcare App Development Company

Now, that you have decided to go with a healthcare software app development company, you will need to follow these steps to hire the one that best suits your project and business needs.

Shortlist the prospective medical app development companies for your project

Visit platforms like Clutch, Reputedfirms, and Upcity to take a look at various software development companies developing mobile healthcare apps. You will be able to see the industries they developed software products for, and ratings and reviews from their previous clients, etc.

From here, you can shortlist the app development companies that have expertise in building mobile applications for your target industry and market. You can now visit their profiles on their business websites, social media channels like LinkedIn, etc. to research their background in more detail.

Their company profile will give you a comprehensive insight into the types of software projects they have worked on. You will also get an idea of their software development process, etc.

Develop a comprehensive understanding of their app development process

It is necessary to develop a detailed understanding of the software development workflow in a healthcare application development company. How do they perform project planning, which software development lifecycle do they use, etc?

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For example, many software development companies use the agile software development methodology for mobile app development. They plan the app development process by breaking it into multiple short iterations or sprints.

A workable app feature is expected at the end of each iteration which is deployed for users to use. The feedback is collected and incorporated in the next iteration, and so on.

Ask about software developers’ portfolios

At this point, also ask about the software developers that will work on your healthcare app. A good software development agency will showcase the skills and experience of their mobile app developers on their website.

You can see what their technical capabilities are. Healthcare digital services are based on cutting-edge emerging technologies. You have to make sure that your prospective app developers are experienced in all the latest tools and technologies to build medical apps.

These technologies may include artificial intelligence, deep machine learning, natural language processing, cognitive analysis, predictive data analytics, virtual reality, augmented reality, etc.

You will need software app developers with expertise and experience in the respective technology that you plan to incorporate into your healthcare application.

Read about the latest healthcare technology trends in our article here.

Moreover, these healthcare app developers should have a comprehensive understanding of the healthcare industry regulations.

They should be able to develop compliant mobile applications for healthcare organizations while protecting patients’ health data, meeting various integration standards, etc.

Some of these compliance standards for healthcare applications in the United States are Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Medicare, Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act (PSQIA), etc.

Your software development team should also have expertise in the latest software development practices like cloud computing, continuous integration/continuous delivery, DevSecOps, etc.

Prepare for the required agreements

Once you are satisfied with the development process and the developers of your new software development company, you can start preparing for signing important agreements relating to the security of your healthcare software app.

A non-disclosure agreement (NDA) is always a good point to start. You will ensure the confidentiality of your app idea, source code, etc.

The payment timelines, methods, and other terms should be agreed on at this point too.

Start Project Planning and Initiation

Now, you are ready to initiate your healthcare app development project. You can start planning the initial sprints to develop the essential features of your healthcare app that you will deploy as a minimum viable product (MVP).

Read more on developing MVP in our article here.

Additional factors to consider when hiring a service provider for healthcare app development

Keep the following additional factors in mind when evaluating healthcare app development companies:

1. Analyze whether you need a consulting company

Do you just need the development of mobile and web apps? That might be the case when you have analyzed and planned everything else required to develop digital business solutions for your target use case. You only need to hire a top software development company in that case.

On the other hand, do you still need to design your proposed healthcare business solution? You might need emerging tech consultancy services and domain-specific expert consulting services. Look for a software consulting and development company that offers healthcare-specific expert consulting services.

2. Assess the complexity of healthcare projects delivered by a digital product agency that you evaluate

The medical sector is complex. Developing digital business solutions for medical professionals or patients can be hard. The healthcare sector has many stakeholders, e.g., patients, healthcare providers, pharmaceutical companies, insurance companies, regulators, government agencies, and employers.

Systems with a wide range of stakeholders require many points of interaction. This increases the complexity of the medical industry. Timely delivery of healthcare services is important, however, this often doesn’t happen. The quality of patient care can be low due to the complexities.

Healthcare app development companies should know how to navigate these complexities. Digital agencies should demonstrate an extensive portfolio that includes complex projects. Evaluate their experience in developing successful apps with complex features.

3. Evaluate the experience in developing secure applications

Data security and privacy are important when you develop apps for the healthcare sector. You can’t afford security breaches in healthcare web and mobile apps.

Healthcare mobile and web apps process highly sensitive data. Whether those are billing applications, education applications, telemedicine applications, wellness apps, mental health apps, fitness tracking apps, or other healthcare apps, they must process data securely.

Patients, hospital administration teams, insurance companies, and other stakeholders need to prevent security breaches. Regulators pay close attention to data privacy and security. The healthcare sector is subject to stringent security and privacy regulations.

You need custom healthcare app development companies that can create secure mobile and web apps. Evaluate their relevant experience keenly.

4. Evaluate the breadth of technology expertise of a healthcare mobile and web development company

Depending on the kind of healthcare app you develop, you might need to utilize a wide range of technologies. The following are a few examples:

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• Web development technologies like Java, JavaScript, Node.js, etc.;
• Android app development technologies like Java and Kotlin;
• iOS app development technologies like Swift;
• Blockchain development technologies like Ethereum, Solidity, and Hyperledger Fabric;
• Artificial intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) technologies like Python;
• Big data technologies like Hadoop;
• Data science technologies like R;
• IoT and various IoT solutions.

Leading providers offering web and mobile healthcare application development services need expertise in all of the above-mentioned technologies. Hire an IT company only after you are sure that it has a considerable breadth of expertise.

5. Decide whether you need project management services as part of application development services

Project management is one of the top priorities when you develop a top healthcare app.

In one aspect, healthcare applications are different from other systems like e-Commerce. This aspect is the heavy scrutiny that healthcare applications must face.

The healthcare sector received plenty of investments. However, many stakeholders question the value they get.

Patient satisfaction indicators often tend to be below par. Patients often talk about the lack of affordable pricing of healthcare products and services. Healthcare companies like insurance or providers often highlight the lack of operational efficiency in the system.

Many observers comment that the healthcare sector doesn’t deliver value despite the use of advanced digital products. Succeeding in the healthcare IT space seems to require much more than just innovative developers.

Effective project managers play a key part in the success of a health app development team. They define, plan, execute, and control complex healthcare web and mobile development projects expertly.

Competent PMs set clear expectations with the various stakeholders. This helps to navigate the complexities of developing web and mobile solutions for the healthcare industry.

Do you have such experienced PMs in your organization? Even if you have, can you move such highly skilled professionals from their current responsibilities? If you answer “no” to these questions, then you need a reliable technical partner with comprehensive project management capabilities. Focus on getting such skilled professionals during the evaluation process.

6. Look for excellent knowledge of software development processes when evaluating healthcare app development companies

Healthcare projects aren’t only complex but they are often of strategic importance too. Web or mobile application development projects in the healthcare sector have high visibility. You want a predictable outcome.

Following the right software development processes help you to make a positive impact. This makes projects cost-effective too.

If you want to find a top healthcare app development company, then you should look for expertise in software development processes. A reliable partner needs comprehensive software engineering skills and experience.

7. Evaluate UI/UX design and development skills of software development companies

User experience is key in iOS and Android app development, and it’s important in web application development. The healthcare sector isn’t an exception to this rule. Look for web and mobile app development services(companies) that have delivered exceptional user experience in healthcare projects.

8. Assess the teamwork capabilities of dedicated teams

You aren’t hiring individual freelancers, therefore, you are evaluating healthcare app development companies. You are hiring full-time teams. Naturally, you need such a team to perform as a professional team.

Great teams deliver great quality products. Look for teams that have successfully completed important healthcare projects.

9. The future requirements of maintenance services are important too

You are developing web and mobile apps for the healthcare sector. However, that’s not the end of the story. You need maintenance services in the future.

Check whether a software development company also offers maintenance services. They might deliver such services from remote development centers for cost-effectiveness. It might help you if the software development company you hire can also maintain the app.

Planning to Partner with a Healthcare App Development Company?

By now, you have all the information required to partner with a healthcare app development company that meets your project requirements and aligns with your business values.

The healthcare industry and related application development companies are competitive markets. You should be diligent before partnering with one.

If you, as a business CTO, are still looking to partner with a software development company for custom software development, why not contact DevTeam.Space. Our community of field expert developers tick all the required boxes when it comes to the expertise and experience in building market-competitive software solutions such as mobile health apps.

DevTeam.Space is an innovative American software development company with over 99% project success rate. DevTeam.Space builds reliable and scalable custom software applications, mobile apps(including healthcare apps, medical apps for doctors, fitness and dietary mobile and web applications, AI chatbot healthcare apps), websites, live-streaming software applications, speech recognition systems, ChatGPT and AI-powered solutions, and IoT solutions and conducts complex software integrations for various industries, including finance, hospitality, healthcare, music, entertainment, gaming, e-commerce, banking, construction, and education software solutions on time and budget.

DevTeam.Space supports its clients with business analysts and dedicated tech account managers who monitor tech innovations and new developments and help our clients design, architect, and develop applications that will be relevant and easily upgradeable in the years to come.

Send us your healthcare app specifications via this quick form, and one of our account managers will reach out to you to discuss further details on how we can help.

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