Healthcare is one of the most dynamically changing industries in the 21st century.
And with the increasing dependence of people on smartphones, mHealth has become an emerging niche that has the potential to revolutionize the sector.
- Over 50% of smartphone users use their devices to gather health information online.
[Referral-MD] - Roughly 64% of American adults regularly rely on an app to monitor their health metrics.
[HIMSS] - The market size of the mHealth industry was over $56 billion in 2020.
[Global Market Insights] - Projections show that the CAGR for the industry between 2021 and 2030 would be 30%.
[Global Market Insights]
Well, the numbers make it clear that mHealth isn’t a fad. It is a trend that is here to stay.
So, what can you do to keep up with your competitors and serve patients betters?
Whether you are a healthcare professional practicing privately, a medical supplier, or own/operate a hospital with a team of diverse specialists, you need a healthcare or lifestyle management mobile app for your practice.
And that isn’t just because everyone else seems to be doing that.
Here are 5 solid reasons that will convince you to invest in mHealth today.
1. Ensure immediate access to healthcare
According to CDC, 136 million people visit emergency rooms in the U.S. each year. When life throws a hardball towards people, they immediately rush to healthcare providers for help. But the healthcare industry as a whole often fails to deliver immediate care.
- A patient visiting the ER with broken bones, for example, has to wait an average of 54 minutes before being given any sort of pain medicine.
- And the average time it takes a patient to go home from the ER is 135 minutes.
Can a mobile app fix that? Yes.
93% of doctors said in a survey that mHealth apps connected to emergency health services would be valuable.[Referral MD]
How?
- The app can help patients book an appointment while on their way to the hospital.
- The patient’s medical history can be accessed by healthcare professionals from the app database. This also reduces the chances of incorrect diagnosis or treatment averse to a patient’s pre-existing conditions.
- Payments can also be made via apps, allowing patients to go home quicker.
2. Increase operational efficiency
If you are running a hospital or a medical practice you know how important it is to be efficient in the job that you do. Efficiency has a direct relation with your bottom line.
And there is more than enough research-based evidence that mHealth apps can improve operational efficiency.
Here are a few numbers that validate the claim:
- 40% of physicians believe telehealth apps could reduce in-office visits.
Fewer patients visiting in-office = less waiting times and lower pressure on healthcare professionals.[Referral MD] - 74% of the hospitals that used mobile apps to collect patient data showed higher levels of efficiency than their counterparts not using any apps.
[Health IT Outcomes reports] - 84% of healthcare providers said they used mobile devices for post-discharge support.
[Fierce Mobile Healthcare]
Mobile healthcare in the form of post-discharge support reduces the pressure on medical facilities.
And these efficiency benefits of mHealth apps also translate to cost reduction. A 10-month pilot study at Philadelphia-based Hahnemann Hospital showed that with mobile healthcare, 30-day readmissions were reduced by 10%. This led to a 40% improvement in the hospital’s baseline.
Want to see it in action?
The PracticeAid mobile app developed by the team at SynergyTop helps doctors manage 40% more patients.
3. Prevent errors in diagnosis
According to Fierce Healthcare, the wrong diagnosis is the cause of 40,000 to 80,000 deaths in the US each year. And over 12 million Americans suffer from misdiagnosis at the primary level. And 33% of these cases result in serious or permanent damage.
All of that can be avoided with the use of technology.
To give you some perspective, SynergyTop developed a machine learning-based cancer detection app for a client. The app helps medical professionals diagnose skin cancer at an early stage. It lowers down the chances of death due to late or incorrect diagnoses. How? Because the application uses state-of-the-art technology that has 0 margins for errors and biases!
With better patient care, facilitated with a mobile health app, you can increase the reputation of your practice and also see a better bottom line.
4. Higher patient engagement
While you certainly are the healthcare provider, the results also depend on how involved and comfortable patients are in their treatments, right?
And mHealth apps have proved to be beneficial for enhancing patient engagement.
Various studies and surveys have yielded the following results:
- 42% of patients would rather digitally schedule an appointment than make a call.
[Accenture Health] - 43 percent of people between 24 to 40 years of age prefer accessing healthcare portals from their smartphones.
[Xerox study]
With the right kind of app, patients can feel more involved and comfortable. This yields better results and of course, more business for you. A New Jersey-based healthcare data-tracking platform was able to gather 40% more patient-reported outcomes with the web and mobile app developed by the SynergyTop team.
How?
Simply because the app ensured user engagement with survey notifications!
5. Seamless data flow and analysis
Most medical professionals and hospitals have a data collection system.
But how much of the information entered in the database is actually accessible at the right time?
How expensive and time-consuming it is for medical professionals to get the data provided to them in easy-to-understand formats?
All of those hurdles can get resolved with a mobile health app. Take the health data-tracking app developed by the SynergyTop team, for example. The app provides text and graphical reports based on the collected data making the analysis and understanding of the data simpler.
Ready to get your healthcare mobile app developed?
Did you know 2/3rd of the largest hospitals in the US offer mobile health apps? [Accenture] And you should be getting an app for your medical practice too. We, at SynergyTop, are ready to help you.
About SynergyTop
SynergyTop is a San Diego-based digital solution provider. Having developed over 50 native and cross-platform applications, we have the domain expertise and the hands-on experience required to create mHealth apps for you that improve efficiency, enhance the patient experience, and increase your bottom line.
Send us an email at info@synergytop.com to schedule a free e-consultation with our experts regarding your mHealth app today.
